Deck 2: In the Beginning

Question 1

Scientists agree that the universe began with a "big bang."

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The advantage of mammals was that they were larger than the reptiles.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Mammals took to the trees as a result of climatic changes on earth.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Prosimians developed grasping hands with which they hung onto branches.

Question 5

The first hominid appeared on earth some 90 million years ago.

Question 6

Humans evolved in a straight line from prosimian to Ramapithecus.

Question 7

Homo sapiens is the ancestor of our own species.

Question 8

Cro Magnon humans have given us the stereotype of the "caveman."

Question 9

Until the invention of agriculture, humans survived by hunting and gathering.

Question 10

Biological and cultural evolution proceeded separately.

Question 11

Walking on two feet instead of four was a successful adaptation for humans to their environment.

Question 12

When human mothers began to walk on two feet, they became less effective food providers because they had to hold on to their babies.

Question 13

All manner of social processes developed from biological changes in our pre human ancestors.

Question 14

Organization into troops, tribes, and tribal confederations became necessary with theincrease in numbers.

Question 15

The discovery of fire contributed to the development of language and religion.

Question 16

Human nature and the way of life of people emerged in tandem with biological developments.

Question 17

The theory of evolution proposes that species change to adapt to changing environments.

Question 18

The biblical view is one of immutable creation.

Question 19

The 19th century introduced a questioning attitude that made the work of Darwin and Mendel acceptable.

Question 20

Darwin maintained that species were changeable, that they evolved into more successful forms, and that the less successful forms became extinct.

Question 21

Gregor Mendel said that the traits of each parent are blended in the offspring.

Question 22

Natural selection is a process in which all of an individual's traits are passed on to his/her offspring.

Question 23

A trait that helps in survival is at first acquired at random.

Question 24

The science that studies heredity is evolution.

Question 25

Chromosomes are organized into genes.

Question 26

The genetic blueprints are contained in the cell nucleus.

Question 27

A person's genotype is his/her visible traits.

Question 28

An offspring receives two genes for each trait, one from each parent.

Question 29

Genes are made up of a complex biochemical substance.

Question 30

Permanent changes in genetic material are called gene flow.

Question 31

Gene flow is the movement of genes from one breeding population to another.

Question 32

Genetic drift causes changes in the gene pool.

Question 33

Speciation is the evolution of one species from another.

Question 34

Variation among humans occurs because of heredity.

Question 35

here are a definite number of races in the world.

Question 36

A race is a breeding population in which a number of inherited traits appears with great frequency.

Question 37

The traits that differ among breeding populations are adaptations to a specific environment at a certain stage of evolution.

Question 38

volution refers to:

A) The gradual development of living organisms over time
B) the development of humans from early forms of hominids
C) the process of genetic flow and mutation
D) the beginning of technology in human history

Question 39

Definite Homo sapiens fossils date back approximately:

A) 12 billion years
B) 75, 000 years
C) 1 million years
D) 2000 years

Question 40

Which of the following hominids has living descendants?

A) Homo Boisei
B) Australopithecus robustus
C) Australopithecus Africanus
D) Possibly Neanderthals

Question 41

The fossil remains of the Neanderthals have been found:

A) only in western Europe
B) in North Africa
C) in the Fertile Crescent
D) on all continents except Oceania and the Americas

Question 42

The Cro Magnon are:

A) an African tribe contemporary to the Neanderthal
B) definitely classified as Homo sapiens sapiens
C) what is meant by the stereotype of a caveman
D) the inventors of agriculture

Question 43

It is thought that Homo sapiens sapiens first arrived in the Americas by way of the:

A) Panama Canal
B) Fertile Crescent
C) Bering Strait
D) Persian Gulf

Question 44

Which statement is true?

A) The earth is the center of the universe
B) The Milky Way galaxy is the largest in the universe
C) The Big Bang theory is the only possible explanation for the origin of the universe
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 45

The first form of life was probably :

A) created by the interaction of chemicals in existence in the "primordial soup" that was the Earth
B) one celled organism on land
C) multi celled organism on both land and in water
D) multi celled organism in the air

Question 46

Which early thinkers believed that life changed by adapting to different environments?

A) Christian thinkers
B) Greek and Roman thinkers
C) followers of Biblical writings
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 47

During the 17th and 18th centuries, events and trends led to an emphasis on:

A) stability
B) lack of critical thinking
C) change
D) none of the above
E) all of the above

Question 48

Darwin's famous work, The Origin of the Species, stated that:

A) species do change
B) change results from adaptation to the environment
C) natural selection is the basis of evolutionary change
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 49

Natural selection refers to:

A) lack of adaptation
B) having a trait or traits useful in a change of environment
C) creationism
D) none of the above

Question 50

Darwin's theory lacked an explanation of:

A) how traits were transmitted to offspring
B) environmental influences
C) how species changed
D) why chimps did not evolve into humans

Question 51

Gregor Mendel's experiments indicated that traits:

A) would disappear completely
B) were blended
C) were either dominant or recessive
D) would repeat themselves in every third generation

Question 52

The original size of the universe, according to the Big Bang theory, was:

A) unthinkable in its vastness
B) submicroscopic
C) about that of a grapefruit
D) no larger than our solar system

Question 53

The chemical basis of the gene consists of:

A) ABC
B) BBD
C) DNA
D) DOC

Question 54

Regarding chromosomes, it is true that:

A) they are found in the nucleus of a cell
B) humans have 46 of them
C) each parent contributes half of them to the offspring
D) none of the above
E) all of the above

Question 55

Change in a gene caused by a change in its chemical composition is called:

A) mutation
B) gene drift
C) gene flow
D) speciation

Question 56

Change in the gene frequency when traits are lost by chance in a small population is referred to as:

A) gene flow
B) gene presence
C) gene drift
D) gene theft

Question 57

Speciation refers to:

A) one species becoming larger
B) a species separating into new species that cannot interbreed with one another
C) the development of the human species
D) the disappearance of a species

Question 58

Human evolution is:

A) based only on biochemical changes
B) also related to cultural factors like mating customs
C) not related to any genetic factors
D) a figment of the creationists' imagination

Question 59

The first major primate adaptation was to:

A) mountains
B) trees
C) water
D) deserts

Question 60

Hominids are primates that exhibit:

A) bipedal locomotion
B) tool making
C) fire
D) none of the above
E) all of the above

Question 61

Studies of human fossils and molecular evidence:

A) agree that hominids appeared 14 million years ago
B) differ in that fossil studies show humans to be only 4 million years old
C) show that hominids appeared between 7 and 5 million years ago
D) prove that humans were created only six thousand years ago

Question 62

Australopithecus robustus, Australopithecus africanus and Australopithecus boisei had these traits in common:

A) very tall bodies
B) macrobiotic diet
C) they coexisted by exploiting different resources
D) ability to write

Question 63

Precursors of modern humans:

A) had language
B) had teeth like present day apes
C) hunted alone
D) lived in an urban setting

Question 64

Neanderthals:

A) had tall bodies but thin skulls
B) exhibited no brow ridges
C) buried their dead
D) had organized religion

Question 65

The hominid that lived in France 35,000 years ago and painted cave walls was:

A) Homo habilis
B) Homo erectus
C) Cro-Magnon
D) Piltdown Man
E) all of the above

Question 66

Agriculture developed:

A) only in the Near East
B) only in Central America
C) in several areas independently
D) only in Palestine

Question 67

Agriculture stimulated:

A) population growth
B) permanent settlements
C) warfare
D) none of the above
E) all of the above

Question 68

The enlargement of the human brain is related to:

A) a long period of human infant dependency
B) increasingly complex behavior
C) greater dependence on learning
D) none of the above
E) all of the above

Question 69

Human females are unusual among primates in that they have:

A) estrus
B) continual sexual receptivity
C) less intelligence than human males
D) larger brains than human males

Question 70

Humans are unusual in that adults:

A) share food
B) care for infants
C) eat meat
D) are social
E) all of the above

Question 71

Molecular biologists:

A) have found that we differ substantially from the apes in genetic makeup
B) have shown that we are very close to chimps in genetic makeup
C) state that humans are really kinds of monkeys
D) have made little progress in determining our relationship to apes

Question 72

The ancestors of crabs, lobsters, and insects deserve credit for:

A) providing food for the first humans
B) forcing humans to leave the warm waters of the oceans
C) being the first creatures to seek life on dry land
D) forming the first proteins

Question 73

Mammals:

A) made their appearance on earth some 65 to 55 million years ago
B) fed at night to stay out of the way of gigantic reptiles
C) became accustomed to be active in cool temperatures
D) all of the above

Question 74

Humans, monkeys, and apes are all:

A) mammals
B) primates
C) arthropods
D) BOTH mammals and primates

Question 75

In the evolutionary process:

A) every organism progresses through a number of definite stages
B) random characteristics prove to be successful in adaptation
C) monkeys eventually become human
D) small brained animals invariably become large brained

Question 76

All the visible or apparent traits of an individual constitute that individual's:

A) phenotype
B) genotype
C) chromosome
D) nucleus

Question 77

A population whose members are capable of breeding among themselves but are incapable of breeding with other populations is a:

A) gene pool
B) race
C) hybrid stock
D) species

Question 78

Permanent changes in genetic material are referred to as:

A) speciation
B) races
C) mutations
D) hybridizations

Question 79

Protoplasm:

A) is the basic building block of life
B) refers to the first living things, probably microorganisms
C) is found in fossil remains
D) is a kind of complex protein

Question 80

Monkeys, apes, and humans all belong to the same order of:

A) prosimians
B) hominids
C) pithecines
D) primates