Deck 2: Organizing the Diversity of Life

Question 1

Examine the evolutionary tree pictured below.
In this evolutionary tree, which groups of organisms are likely to share the most behaviors?

A) 5 and 4
B) 5 and 3
C) 5 and 2
D) 5 and 1

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Any two groups of organisms will have

A) 2 most recent common ancestors.
B) no more than 4 most recent common ancestors.
C) only 1 most recent common ancestor.
D) as many as 16 most recent common ancestors.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Evolutionary tree diagrams showing the relationships between various organisms can be drawn because those organisms share

A) common descendants.
B) distinct lineages.
C) common cellular metabolism.
D) a common ancestor.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

A set of shared derived features

A) will be unique to each Linnaean taxon.
B) marks a group of species as a set of close relatives.
C) most often indicates convergences.
D) can be found only in humans.

Question 5

The emergence of each new branch on the evolutionary tree represents

A) the addition of a new Linnaean taxon within that lineage.
B) the completion of a generation for that particular organism.
C) the introduction of the most important features of a group.
D) a common ancestor and the introduction of a new shared, derived feature.

Question 6

DNA analysis has become a useful tool for understanding the relationships between organisms because

A) DNA codes for all traits, visible or invisible.
B) DNA is used by all organisms to collect energy.
C) only mammals have DNA.
D) knowing the DNA codes means we no longer have to use systematics.

Question 7

Descendant organisms

A) do not share any features with their descendants.
B) have all the same features as their descendants.
C) share some features with their ancestors.
D) do not have features their ancestors lacked.

Question 8

Which of the following events occurred between each branch on an evolutionary tree?

A) the evolution of a new derived feature
B) the loss of a derived feature
C) the evolution of a shared ancestral feature
D) the evolution of a convergent feature

Question 9

Evolutionary trees are based on

A) the principle of convergent evolution.
B) a set of shared characteristics believed to have arisen in a common ancestor.
C) similarities in function of a characteristic.
D) consensus regarding the usefulness of particular traits.

Question 10

Which of the following features is not convergent?

A) the caudal fin of a whale and shark
B) the opposable thumb of a human and panda
C) the hand of a chimpanzee and human
D) the wing of a bat and bird

Question 11

The organisms farthest from the base of an evolutionary tree are

A) unrelated to the organisms separated by one or more branch points.
B) less primitive than the organisms lower on the tree.
C) those that have evolved most recently.
D) chronologically older than the organisms lower on the tree.

Question 12

The presence of convergent features

A) indicates a close evolutionary relationship.
B) indicates that two species have merged to become a single species.
C) indicates distantly related species adapting to similar environmental conditions.
D) occurs only in plants.

Question 13

Examine the evolutionary tree pictured below.
In this evolutionary tree, which number represents the most recent common ancestor of A, B, and C?

A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) 4

Question 14

Reconsideration of the Gobi Desert site where Oviraptor fossils were found has led paleontologists to hypothesize that

A) the most recent common ancestor of the turtles and crocodilians was a dinosaur.
B) some dinosaurs commonly ate eggs.
C) some dinosaurs exhibited parental care.
D) dinosaurs were driven to extinction shortly after the appearance of birds.

Question 15

All of the following sources of information except _______ can be used to construct evolutionary trees.

A) habitat preferences
B) body form
C) instinctive behavior
D) learned behaviors

Question 16

To produce an evolutionary tree it is necessary to first determine

A) which organisms are the oldest.
B) the full DNA sequence of each organism that will be included within the tree.
C) the shared derived features present within each group of organisms.
D) the number of lineages in each group.

Question 17

Evolutionary trees have been successfully used to

A) identify those species most closely related to humans.
B) explain how evolution works.
C) explain why most carnivorous mammals have four or five toes.
D) explain the potential impact of global climate change.

Question 18

The science of systematics is used to

A) predict an organism's future evolution.
B) decide when an organism died.
C) show relationships among organisms.
D) decipher an organism's DNA.

Question 19

The following numbered sets of characters each represent a distinct group of organisms.
1) three toes per foot, feathers, cold blooded, no finger adaptations
2) three toes per foot, body hair, warm blooded, opposable thumbs
3) three toes per foot, feathers, warm blooded, no finger adaptations
4) three toes per foot, body hair, warm blooded, no finger adaptations
Which of the following choices is the most likely to represent the order in which these groups would appear on an evolutionary tree, from oldest to youngest group? (Hint: the more primitive characters are cold bloodedness, feathers, and no finger adaptations.)

A) 1, 2, 3, 4
B) 4, 2, 3, 1
C) 1, 3, 4, 2
D) 2, 1, 4, 3

Question 20

If a biologist finds an insect that doesn't resemble anything seen before, it

A) may be a new species.
B) may be an undescribed life history stage of an already known species.
C) may be a member of the other gender of a known species.
D) all of the above

Question 21

In taxonomy, individuals belonging of the same class would also belong to the same

A) species.
B) genus.
C) order.
D) none of the above

Question 22

The members of which of the following taxons would be most similar to one another?

A) class
B) genus
C) order
D) kingdom

Question 23

The most inclusive category in the Linnaean classification system is

A) order.
B) phylum.
C) kingdom.
D) species.

Question 24

Species of the following kingdoms except _______ are placed within the domain Eukarya.

A) Protista
B) Plantae
C) Bacteria
D) Fungi

Question 25

The level in the Linnaean hierarchy immediately above class is

A) phylum.
B) genus.
C) kingdom.
D) order.

Question 26

In order to determine relationships among organisms scientists would examine

A) DNA.
B) behavior.
C) body structures.
D) all of the above

Question 27

At the base of the evolutionary tree of all life is the

A) universal ancestor.
B) convergent ancestor.
C) derived ancestor.
D) descended ancestor.

Question 28

One unexpected result following the inclusion of DNA analysis in systematics is that

A) fungi are more closely related to animals than to plants.
B) plants and fungi should be regrouped to represent a single kingdom.
C) fungi should be placed lower on the evolutionary tree than plants to reflect their appearance earlier in the history of life.
D) DNA analysis produces inconsistent results and should not be used as a classification tool.

Question 29

Analysis of both cellular metabolism and DNA support the hypothesis that members of the _______ are the most closely related.

A) Fungi and Bacteria
B) Fungi and Animalia
C) Plantae and Fungi
D) Plantae and Animalia

Question 30

Which of the following would contain the most closely related group of phyla?

A) class
B) order
C) genus
D) kingdom

Question 31

Which of the following is a kingdom?

A) Bacteria
B) Eukarya
C) Plantae
D) Archaea

Question 32

The most restrictive category in the Linnaean classification system is

A) species.
B) order.
C) kingdom.
D) phylum.

Question 33

Which of the following statements about modern systematics is not correct?

A) Systematic studies have revealed so many errors within the Linnaean hierarchy that it is no longer reliable.
B) The number of taxons in the Linnaean hierarchy has been determined subjectively; it represents a human understanding of natural processes..
C) A complete evolutionary lineage includes all the descendants of a single common ancestor.
D) Many scientists refuse to accept classification information from newer technologies like DNA analysis.

Question 34

Which of the following taxons in the Linnaean hierarchy has the greatest number of species?

A) family
B) class
C) phylum
D) order

Question 35

There are currently three recognized domains; which of the following is not included within this taxon?

A) Archaea
B) Bacteria
C) Procarya
D) Eukarya

Question 36

The figure below illustrates the three-domain, six-kingdom taxonomy of life.
Bacteria are equivalent at the kingdom and domain taxon; what explains this equivalency when the domain Eukarya is subdivided into four kingdoms?

A) Bacteria are small and relatively insignificant; most systematists focus on more important biological questions.
B) Bacteria are difficult to study, as more becomes known about them systematists will undoubtedly propose reclassifications.
C) All living bacteria are so similar that only a handful of families have been proposed.
D) At present, no significant shared derived features have been identified that would indicate major evolutionary divisions have occurred within the group.

Question 37

Canis latrans is the scientific name for the coyote. The term Canis represents the coyotes'

A) genus.
B) kingdom.
C) order.
D) species.

Question 38

Which of the following avian species are most closely related?

A) Picoides villosus and Picoides borealis
B) Picoides borealis and Phylloscopus borealis
C) Numenius borealis and Picoides borealis
D) Numenius americanus and Grus americana

Question 39

Which of the following pairs of kingdoms would be included exclusively in the domain Eukarya?

A) Plantae and Bacteria
B) Animalia and Archaea
C) Animalia and Fungi
D) Protista and Bacteria

Question 40

What single feature, shared by all organisms, allows scientists to compare distantly related living organisms?

A) most recent common ancestor
B) universal ancestor
C) most recent common lineage
D) DNA

Question 41

A key shared derived feature in fish, reptiles, and humans is a(n) __________.

Question 42

The closest relatives of modern birds are the ___________.

Question 43

The father of modern scientific naming is___________.

Question 44

Along the evolutionary tree which of the following are thought to be most closely related?

A) an oak tree and a squirrel
B) a mushroom and a cactus
C) a honeybee and a clover plant
D) a clam and a mushroom

Question 45

Systematists can also be called _______.

Question 46

Protists are not considered to represent a complete evolutionary lineage because

A) there are three lineages within the group.
B) they evolved long ago.
C) they evolved recently.
D) there is only one lineage within the group.

Question 47

A feature may appear to be shared by an unrelated group of organisms if it independently evolved in both groups. Such features are called _______ features, and can mislead scientists who are trying to determine evolutionary relationships.

Question 48

Classification systems are continually revised as new information becomes available from various sources such as

A) better understanding of the details of physiological processes.
B) using DNA analysis to compare nonstructural features of different organisms.
C) the continued evolution of current Earth species.
D) the identification of alien species that have reached Earth via meteorites and comets.

Question 49

_______ _______ are diagrams that show the relationships between various organisms as indicated by DNA analysis or comparative studies on body form, physiology, or behavior.

Question 50

The most recent common _____________ marks the point at which a lineage diverges to begin a new evolutionary pathway.

Question 51

There is some debate regarding the recognition of reptiles as a legitimate lineage because

A) reptiles are no longer a dominant group nor particularly important to life on Earth.
B) reptiles and birds share a single common ancestor but are placed into different phyla within the Linnaean hierarchy.
C) reptiles reproduce using eggs, but are not grouped with other organisms sharing a similar reproductive method such as the fish and amphibians.
D) as a single group the reptiles contains too many species.

Question 52

Analysis of body morphology and DNA indicate the closest living relatives of human beings are

A) chimpanzees.
B) orangutans.
C) gibbons.
D) lemurs.

Question 53

One unique feature that supports the hypothesis that humans and chimpanzees are closely related is the _______.

Question 54

In order to determine whether the Iceman mummy was modern or ancient, biologists studied

A) his DNA.
B) his tattoos.
C) the construction of his stone tools.
D) the ice where he was preserved.

Question 55

The figure below shows the primate evolutionary tree.
A close human relative, Homo habilis, has been identified by fossil remains. Where on the tree above should Homo habilis be placed?

A) Homo habilis cannot be positioned on the primate tree because it is not a currently living species.
B) Without detailed information it's difficult to be precise, but definitely to the right of the branch leading to the chimpanzee.
C) Since Homo habilis is an ancient organism and the primates represented are all currently living, the branch point should be to the left of the lemur.
D) Because humans and the chimpanzee are so closely related its position should be between the gorilla and the chimpanzee.

Question 56

Within an evolutionary tree descendants share common features because they share a common ______.

Question 57

The evolutionary tree below illustrates the hypothesized relationships among the six kingdoms and the three domains.
Many biologists have suggested revising the kingdom Protista. One current problem with the Protista, as shown in the figure, is that

A) protists are single-celled organisms and should be grouped with the bacteria or archaeans.
B) the cells of protists contain nuclei and organelles.
C) the current classification model does not reveal that plants evolved from protist ancestors.
D) the organisms currently grouped as protists do not share a recent common ancestor.

Question 58

_______ is the science of naming and classifying organisms and determining the relationships among them.

Question 59

The Linnaean hierarchy goes from species to genus to family to order to _______ to phylum to kingdom.

Question 60

Evolutionary trees use shared derived features to determine _______ between organisms.

Question 61

Evolutionary taxonomy is based on a scientist's educated decisions.

Question 62

Switching the order of the last two organisms on an evolutionary tree has no effect on how the tree is read.

Question 63

Most evidence suggests that _______ was the first domain to emerge within the evolutionary tree of life.

Question 64

Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya are the three biological domains.

Question 65

The kingdom Bacteria consists of the same species as the domain Bacteria.

Question 66

The Iceman mummy was found to be a close relative of people currently living in _______.

Question 67

DNA analysis has confirmed the relationships among most species well beyond any reasonable doubt.

Question 68

A lineage is a group of relatives that have a common ancestor.

Question 69

Bacteria, protists, and fungi belong to the domain Archaea.

Question 70

Horizontal gene transfer is a hypothesis that proposes genes can move from one branch of an evolutionary tree to another.

Question 71

The broadest classification category currently used by most biologists is the domain.

Question 72

Convergent features are good traits to use for revealing relationships.

Question 73

The root of the evolutionary tree of domains begins with an unknown organism termed the _____________ ancestor.

Question 74

Protists are part of the domain Bacteria.

Question 75

Evolutionary trees can be used to predict the behavior of organisms.