Deck 23: An Introduction to Evolution

Question 1

The concept of a species was proposed by

A) Charles Darwin.
B) John Ray.
C) Carolus Linneaus.
D) Erasmus Darwin.
E) George Cuvier.

Answer 1

John Ray.

Question 2

Which of the following could be classified as a "transitional form" fossil?

A) Hyracotherium, the first fossil of a horse that was found 55 mya.
B) An early amphibian tetrapod from 360 mya.
C) A clam shell laying at the bottom of the ocean.
D) A fossil that has all of the ancestors traits and none of the present day animals traits.
E) A fossil that has some ancestoral traits and some traits that are found in present day animals.

Answer 2

Hyracotherium, the first fossil of a horse that was found 55 mya.

Question 3

An important message from the work of Thomas Malthus that influenced Charles Darwin was

A) animals tended toward "human perfection."
B) only a fraction of any population will survive and reproduce.
C) population size of humans can.
D) inheritance of acquired characteristics.
E) none of these. Charles Darwin was influenced by John Ray not Thomas Malthus.

Answer 3

only a fraction of any population will survive and reproduce.

Question 4

According to Thomas Malthus, food supplies tend to increase arithmetically while populations tend to increase exponentially, which means that populations will outgrow their food supply.

Question 5

Did Darwin develop his theory of evolution through experimentation or observation or other methods?

A) Experimentation.
B) Observation.
C) Both experimentation and observation because he collected samples but also worked experimentally with finches.
D) Mathematical analysis of experimental data.

Question 6

The result of natural selection is

A) extinction.
B) catastrophism.
C) adaptation.
D) synthesis.
E) behavioral change.

Question 7

Why was it important that Darwin visited islands, and then compared island species with continental species?

A) Because Darwin found unique species on the islands. These island species did not have any of the . characteristics of their ancestral continental species.
B) Because Darwin's attention was drawn to the uniqueness of the island species, even though they . retained some resemblance to continental species.
C) Because Darwin's attention was drawn to the uniqueness and variety of finches on the islands, determining that their adaptations came from eating different food than continental species.
D) Because Darwin saw very low reproductive survival rates on the island as compared to the mainland.
E) Because Darwin observed continental species of finch flying to the islands.

Question 8

How did Thomas Malthus's ideas, about human population, affect Darwin's ideas on natural selection?

A) Darwin decided that if human population increased with each successive generation, all animals and . plants must reproduce using the same principles.
B) Darwin abandoned his idea of natural selection because Malthus' work proved that populations . would continually double in number with each generation.
C) Thomas Malthus believed that human populations declined when temperature drops, therefore . Darwin concluded that all plant species will not reproduce in cold temperatures.
D) Mallthus believed that only a fraction of any population will survive and reproduce, Darwin . contradicted Malthus's theories and said that all species will continue to survive and reproduce indefinitely.
E) Malthus theorized that only a fraction of any human population will survive and reproduce. Darwin's . observations during his voyage on the Beagle, supported Malthus' theory.

Question 9

The Modern Synthesis of evolution is based on

A) observations of the formation of new species.
B) Darwin's ideas and modern concepts of genetics.
C) experimental studies of populations performed by Darwin.
D) recent concepts of adaptation and reproduction.
E) recent developments of DNA replication and PCR machines.

Question 10

A species that is naturally found only in a particular location is called

A) extinct.
B) endemic.
C) extinct due to the action of humans.
D) exotic.
E) transitional.

Question 11

The island fox, Urocyon littoralis, is only found on the Channel Island off the coast of California. This species is not found on the mainland where the gray fox, Urocyon cinereoargenteus, lives. This species would be considered to be

A) extinct.
B) a transitional form.
C) endemic.
D) exotic.
E) an ancestral form.

Question 12

When Darwin observed several species of finches on the Galápagos Islands had unique beak characteristics, he compared them with finch beaks on the mainland. Which of the following studies use geographic distribution of extinct and living species to determine patterns of evolution?

A) Biology.
B) Geology.
C) Palentology.
D) Geneology.
E) Biogeography.

Question 13

Cacti in the deserts of southwestern North America and some euphorbs of the deserts of Africa, have barrel-shaped stems, short-lived leaves, and spines, yet these two types of plants are from different evolutionary lineages. This is an example of

A) selective breeding.
B) transitional forms.
C) homologous traits.
D) convergent evolution.
E) concave evolution.

Question 14

The long snout of the giant anteater, Myrmecophaga tridactyla, of South America, and the echidna, Tachyglossus aculeatus, of Australia, are animals of different evolutionary lineages that are both adapted to eating ants. This is an example of

A) selective breeding.
B) anatomical homology.
C) analogous traits.
D) artificial selection.
E) Both analogous traits and artificial selection are correct.

Question 15

English ivy (Hedera helix) and wintercreeper (Euonymus fortunei) both have aerial rootlets that allow them to climb up and stick to bark on trees. As you can tell from their scientific name these plants are not closely related, but yet they have both evolved similar morphological structures used for the same purpose. What type of evolution is this?

A) Analogous.
B) Convergent.
C) Radial.
D) Bivalent.
E) Both analogous and convergent.

Question 16

The underlying phenomenon that makes selective breeding or artificial selection possible is genetic variation. It is possible to have phenotypic variation in natural populations because of.

A) artificial selection.
B) gene inversion.
C) differences in alleles for a specific trait.
D) similarity in alleles for a specific trait.
E) both artificial selection and gene inversion.

Question 17

The gene (IGF1) that encodes a growth hormone has one allele (IGF1-A) that is found in small dogs but not in dogs that are very large. What does this suggest about body size of small dogs?

A) Body size depends on how much growth hormone is produced during early fetal development.
B) Body size depends on whether or not the IGF1-A allele is present, if it is the dog grows very large, . if it is not present the dog retains a small size.
C) It suggests that small dogs are small because the IGF1-A allele is expressed, perhaps inhibiting the . growth of the dog and the release of growth hormone.
D) It suggests that small dogs have more growth hormone released during fetal development but none . released after the birthing process.
E) Body size depends on nutrition, not on genetics.

Question 18

Similarity in evolutionarily unrelated groups due to adaptation to similar environments is called

A) concentric evolution.
B) convergent evolution.
C) biogeographic evolution.
D) Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.
E) both biogeographic and convergent evolution.

Question 19

Which of the following pairs are NOT homologous?

A) the wing of a bat and the front flipper of a whale
B) the wing of a bat and the wing of a chicken
C) the foreleg of a turtle and the front flipper of a whale
D) the wing of an insect and the wing of chicken
E) both the wing of an insect and chicken and the wing of a bat and chicken

Question 20

In humans, structures that show developmental homology include

A) eyes and nose.
B) temporary gill slits and bony tail.
C) legs and arms.
D) lungs and stomach.
E) both eyes and nose and lungs and stomach.

Question 21

When humans are developing, in utero, they have characteristics that are not found in the fully developed infant. Gill slits are one example of these characteristics. Which type of homology does this typify?

A) Developmental.
B) Structural.
C) Vestigal.
D) Molecular.
E) Both developmental and vestigal.

Question 22

Molecular homologies are shown in

A) all organisms using DNA to store information.
B) access to cellular information via RNA.
C) proteins being the functional products of most genes.
D) similarities in biochemical pathways.
E) All of the choices are correct.

Question 23

Molecular homologies indicate that living species evolved from a common ancestor or interrelated group of common ancestors.

Question 24

The gene sequence of the p53 protein illustrates

A) near complete dissimilarity of gene sequence between organisms yet shows a similarity in function for a protein.
B) greater similarity within closely related groups, but differences from other groups.
C) evolutionary relatedness of primates, other mammals, birds, and fish.
D) greater similarity within closely related groups, but differences from other groups and evolutionary . relatedness of primates, other mammals, birds, and fish are correct.
E) no connection between any of the nine animals and their p53 gene sequence.

Question 25

Molecular homology can be compared by analyzing the

A) sequences of amino acids of various proteins in different species.
B) elemental makeup of different species.
C) positions of genes on the chromosomes of different species.
D) vestigial structures of different species.
E) protein structure during development.

Question 26

Genes encoding the blood proteins myoglobin and hemoglobin are derived from a common gene ancestor. These proteins both occur in humans. The genes for myoglobin and hemoglobin are

A) analogs.
B) topologs.
C) paralogs.
D) orthologs.
E) pentalogs.

Question 27

Esherichia coli and Clostridium acetylbutylicum are reported to be derived from a common ancestor. They both have similar but not identical gene sequences. Which of the following could best explain this difference in genetic coding?

A) They have a common ancestor, their DNA has been inherited from the common ancestor, therefore it will be similar.
B) The two species never diverged but they were discovered by two different scientists and therefore
Given different names.
C) These orthologs show identical gene segments, but the entire sequence has differences, therefore they are related through ancestoral genes.
D) Gene duplication created paralogs.
E) After the two species diverged, the genes accumulated random mutations that resulted in similar but not identical gene sequences.

Question 28

Introns and an exons are removed from Gene 1 and inserted into Gene 2. What could happen to the protein product as a result of this mistake?

A) Nothing; Gene 2 receives all of its necessary exons so the protein will be translated correctly.
B) Only the first segment of Gene 2 will be translated into a protein, therefore the protein will be nonfunctional.
C) All of Gene 1 and 2 will be translated into proteins; there is an insertion of an Exon 2 from Gene 1 . into Gene 2, the protein may not function properly. Natural selection may eliminate this protein or if the new protein provides a beneficial trait it may increase in prevalence in the population.
D) The start codon from Gene 1 is not present after intron removal, therefore this gene will not be translated.
E) Only Gene 1 will be translated into a protein since Gene 2 has an extra Exon 2.

Question 29

Gene families are created when

A) genes duplicate.
B) exons converge.
C) viral infections occur.
D) introns are not removed from the mRNA after transcription.
E) both exon convergence and intron splicing.

Question 30

Transfer of a functional domain from one gene to another, creating a novel protein, can occur by ________; this could provide an evolutionary advantage because

A) intron realignment; it shifts protein structure.
B) intron shuffling; it increases genetic variation in a population.
C) exon shuffling; it increases genetic variation in a population.
D) proteomics; it shifts protein structure.
E) both intron shuffling and proteomics; it shifts protein structure and increases genetic variation.

Question 31

Vertical evolution arises from

A) genetic mutations.
B) gene duplication.
C) exon shuffling.
D) genetic mutations and gene duplication.
E) genetic mutations, gene duplication and exon shuffling.

Question 32

During endocytosis, if a bacterial cell is not degraded and bacterial DNA is taken up by the eukaryotic cell, what may have occurred?

A) vertical evolution.
B) horizontal gene transfer.
C) vertical exon shuffling.
D) chromosomal duplication and genomic exchange.
E) both chromosomal duplication and vertical evolution.

Question 33

The bacterium Bacillus tumefaciens has been harnessed in biotechnology because it can insert a gene from one species of plant into another. This can also occur in nature and is referred to as

A) vestigial transfer.
B) homology.
C) horizontal gene transfer.
D) vertical evolution.
E) exon shuffling through endocytosis.

Question 34

A gene has been discovered in the genome of a eukaryote that is identical to a gene of a bacterium that the eukaryote normally engulfs and digests. This is probably due to

A) a mutation of an existing gene in the eukaryote that coindcidentally is the same as the bacterial gene.
B) horizontal evolution.
C) horizontal gene transfer.
D) a mutation of an existing gene in the eukaryote that coindcidentally is the same as the bacterial gene . and vertical evolution are correct.
E) endocytosis of the bacterium by the eukaryote and insertion of bacterial DNA into the eukaryotic DNA; resulting in vertical evolution.

Question 35

Exchange of genetic material among different species is called

A) homolgous gene exchange.
B) horizontal gene transfer.
C) exon shuffling.
D) genetic recombination.
E) exon shuffling and or genetic recombination.

Question 36

Evolution at the genomic level involves changes in

A) chromosome structure and number.
B) sequences of amino acids in proteins.
C) sequences of nucleotides in RNA molecules.
D) incorporation of new organelles such as the mitochondrion.
E) DNA and histone relationships.

Question 37

In comparing the chromosomes of humans, chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans which type of genomic evolution has occured with chromosome 3 in the orangutan compared to the other species?

A) inversion.
B) duplication.
C) splitting.
D) both inversion and duplication.
E) splitting of the gene and duplication of the entire chromosome.

Question 38

Which of the following mechanisms may be responsible for the occurrance of exon shuffling?

A) double crossover could promote the insertion of an exon into another gene.
B) nonhomologous recombination.
C) transposable elements may promote the movement of exons.
D) both nonhomologous recombination and transposable elements.
E) none of these are mechanisms responsible for exon shuffling.

Question 39

In comparing the chromosomes of humans, chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans which type of genomic evolution has occured with chromosome 3 in the orangutan compared to the other species?

A) inversion.
B) duplication.
C) splitting.
D) both inversion and duplication.
E) splitting of the gene and duplication of the entire chromosome.

Question 40

Which of the following mechanisms may be responsible for the occurrance of exon shuffling?

A) double crossover could promote the insertion of an exon into another gene.
B) nonhomologous recombination.
C) transposable elements may promote the movement of exons.
D) both nonhomologous recombination and transposable elements.
E) none of these are mechanisms responsible for exon shuffling.