Deck 11: The Present and Future of Human Evolution

Question 1

Which of the following statements is true?

A) Currently, due to variations in societal and economic patterns, HIV infection is decreasing in women at a faster rate than in men.
B) Currently, due to variations in societal and economic patterns, HIV infection is increasing in women at a faster rate than in men.
C) Currently, due to variations in societal and economic patterns, HIV infection is increasing in women and decreasing in men.
D) Currently, due to variations in societal and economic patterns, HIV infection is decreasing in women and increasing in men.

Answer 1

Currently, due to variations in societal and economic patterns, HIV infection is increasing in women at a faster rate than in men.

Question 2

A ranking of carbohydrate levels in food based on their immediate effect on blood sugar levels is called the

A) glaucoma index.
B) glucose index.
C) glycemic index.
D) sugar index.

Answer 2

glycemic index.

Question 3

In recent history, we have been relatively successful in eradicating or substantially diminishing the threat of many common

A) types of heart disease.
B) viruses.
C) bacteria.
D) colds.

Answer 3

bacteria.

Question 4

A portion of the variation in the way humans' bodies look is due to all of the following EXCEPT

A) gene flow.
B) bipedality.
C) selective differences in dietary patterns.
D) the diets' impact on the existing physiology of the individual.

Question 5

According to the text, cranial capacity is limited by all of the following EXCEPT

A) the size of the birth canal.
B) female body size.
C) intelligence.
D) the physics of bipedality.

Question 6

Which one of the following was NOT one of the three leading causes of death in 2001 in less developed countries?

A) strokes
B) heart disease
C) respiratory infections
D) HIV/AIDS

Question 7

Which one of the following was NOT one of the three leading causes of death in 2001 in more developed nations?

A) strokes
B) heart disease
C) respiratory infections
D) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Question 8

Regarding HIV, which of the following is NOT true?

A) Average age of infection is higher in females than in males.
B) Females have a 40% higher chance of infection than males during unprotected copulation.
C) In Africa, infection rates are higher among women.
D) In Africa, HIV has resulted in dramatic lowering of life expectancy.

Question 9

Which of the following statements is true?

A) Humans are still evolving.
B) Humans are still evolving at a remarkably slow pace.
C) Humans stopped evolving 50,000-40,000 years ago.
D) Humans stopped evolving 70,000-60,000 years ago.

Question 10

Which of the following is NOT a reason that it is unlikely we will eventually look like super-intelligent aliens illustrated in Star Trek, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and countless grocery store tabloids?

A) Our cranial capacity is limited.
B) Most current technologies still require substantial manual labor.
C) Our ability to genetically engineer humans remains in its infancy.
D) Our ability to create extra-somatic means to deal with environmental pressures probably works with the . evolution of significant changes in body structure.

Question 11

Which of the following statements is true?

A) Our basic morphology and physiology have changed very little.
B) Our basic morphology and physiology have changed a lot.
C) Our basic morphology has changed very little, but our physiology has changed a lot.
D) Our basic morphology has changed a lot, but our physiology has changed very little.

Question 12

The word for a general disease producing agent is

A) illness.
B) virus.
C) bacteria.
D) pathogen.

Question 13

Which of the following probably did NOT contribute to the emergence of SARS?

A) a coronavirus
B) a coronabacteria
C) human dietary practices
D) human cultural behavior

Question 14

According to the text, which of the following probably contributed the least to the emergence of SARS?

A) evolutionary change in another organism
B) butchering
C) human sexual behavior
D) human travel patterns

Question 15

Millions of Native Americans perished from _____________ almost immediately after first European contact.

A) chickenpox
B) smallpox
C) cholera
D) influenza

Question 16

Which of the following statements is true?

A) The processes of evolution are driven by organisms' interactions with the environment and with the social context in which they live.
B) The processes of evolution are not driven by organisms' interactions with the environment nor are they driven by the social context in which they live.
C) The processes of evolution are not driven by organisms' interactions with the environment, but are driven by the social context in which they live.
D) The processes of evolution are driven by organisms' interactions with the environment, but are not driven by the social context in which they live.

Question 17

Which of the following is NOT true for most large mammals?

A) They require large continuous tracts of land.
B) They require very specific, relatively stable environments.
C) Often, they cannot survive rapid environmental change.
D) Often, they cannot survive dramatic environmental change.

Question 18

Usually, the common 'cold' is caused by

A) an illness.
B) a viral infection.
C) a bacterial infection.
D) being cold.

Question 19

According to the text, certain aspects of disease may have become _____________ _____________ selective pressures on humanity.

A) somewhat important
B) somewhat unimportant
C) extremely important
D) extremely unimportant

Question 20

Which of the following statements is true?

A) Evolutionary processes are linear.
B) Evolution has a goal.
C) Evolution has an endpoint.
D) Evolution results from biological processes.

Question 21

Which of the following does NOT pertain to/is NOT true about viruses?

A) Most rely on high densities.
B) Most rely on frequent movement by their hosts.
C) Some cause colds.
D) Most may find our current modification of the environment very unfavorable.

Question 22

According to the text, lower rates of daily activity, prolonged sitting, and little physical activity, combined with extended periods of social stress and poor dietary patterns can have pronounced physiological consequences such as all of the following EXCEPT

A) reduced fertility.
B) hypertension.
C) nervous disorders.
D) circulatory disorders.

Question 23

SARS is an abbreviation/acronym for

A) serious acute respiratory syndrome.
B) severe acute respiratory syndrome.
C) serious acute respire syndrome.
D) strict acute respire syndrome.

Question 24

Which of the following statements is true?

A) Modern humans are limited to responding to environmental pressures via morphological means and simple behavioral means.
B) Modern humans are not limited to responding to environmental pressures via morphological means, but they are limited to responding via simple behavioral means.
C) Modern humans are limited to responding to environmental pressures via morphological means, but they are not limited to responding via simple behavioral means.
D) Modern humans are not limited to responding to environmental pressures via morphological or simple behavioral means.

Question 25

According to the text, HIV has different effects in different populations due to all of the following EXCEPT

A) health infrastructure.
B) access to health care.
C) sexual behavior.
D) economic and social variables.

Question 26

The bubonic plague, that swept through much of the world, decimating human populations, was caused by

A) an illness.
B) a virus.
C) bacteria.
D) a disease.

Question 27

Which of the following is NOT true for most amphibians?

A) They require large continuous tracts of land.
B) They require very specific, relatively stable environments.
C) Often, they cannot survive rapid environmental change.
D) Often, they cannot survive dramatic environmental change.

Question 28

The term pathogen means

A) disease producing agent.
B) death producing agent.
C) viral or bacterial agent.
D) deterioration producing agent.

Question 29

Given our species' ability to alter our environments and ameliorate the challenges organisms face,

A) selective pressures on humanity are greatly reduced.
B) disease has become an important selective pressure on humanity.
C) both A and B are correct.
D) neither A nor B is correcct.

Question 30

Changes in allele frequencies over time result from

A) mutation.
B) gene flow.
C) natural selection.
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 31

In the distant past, infectious diseases could have substantial impact on

A) foreign populations or groups, but seldom significantly impacted large regions or areas.
B) foreign populations or groups and often significantly impacted small regions or areas.
C) local populations or groups, but seldom significantly impacted large regions or areas.
D) local populations or groups and often significantly impacted large regions or areas.

Question 32

Different populations on the planet are under distinct pressures from disease because of all of the following EXCEPT

A) socio-economic realities.
B) geopolitical realities.
C) underlying genetic composition or other biological factors.
D) global culture.

Question 33

A person's body form is determined by all of the following EXCEPT

A) dietary practices.
B) physiology.
C) morphology.
D) reproduction.

Question 34

Variation in dietary patterns and the resultant impact on physiology and morphology

A) are examples of selective pressure.
B) are not evolutionarily relevant unless they in some way impact reproduction.
C) Both A and B are correct.
D) Neither A nor B is correct.

Question 35

Body modifications such as scarification, tattooing, genital modification, breast augmentation, and other surgical modifications

A) increase the amount of variation in form in our species.
B) impact evolutionary patterns if they result in sterility or otherwise reduce or enhance reproductive potential.
C) Both A and B are correct.
D) Neither A nor B is correct.

Question 36

Physiological changes only become relevant to evolution if they

A) have measurable impact within a population or between populations.
B) affect reproductive fitness.
C) Both A and B are correct.
D) Neither A nor B is correct.

Question 37

The most easily observed evolutionary process(es) in modern humans is/are

A) genetic drift.
B) gene flow.
C) gene flow and genetic drift.
D) adaptation.

Question 38

The potential result(s) of humans from differing populations coming into more frequent contact is/are

A) an increase in overall genetic variation.
B) a reduction in differences in allele frequencies between populations.
C) Both A and B are correct.
D) Neither A nor B is correct.

Question 39

Which of the following is NOT characteristic of the evolutionary pattern of the hominin lineage ancestral to modern humans?

A) increasing brain size
B) increasing reliance on extrasomatic means to overcome environmental challenges
C) decreasing sexual dimorphism
D) increasing body and dental robustness

Question 40

Alteration of DNA sequences by inserting a normative sequence into a noncoding region of DNA to replace a nonfunctional gene is called

A) gene therapy.
B) genetic manipulation.
C) gene alteration.
D) genetic modification.

Question 41

The human form has been remarkably stable (within quite variable boundaries) for at least the last

A) 10,000 years.
B) 30,000-10,000 years.
C) 50,000-40,000 years.
D) 70,000-60,000 years.

Question 42

Which of the following is NOT a potential effect of dramatic increases in human population size?

A) increased genetic diversity, which generally increases adaptive ability
B) an increase in highly industrialized farming techniques
C) near-complete reliance on manufactured goods
D) improved land use leading to reduced population densities in inhabited areas

Question 43

According to the text, gene therapy currently includes all of the following methods EXCEPT

A) inserting a sequence into a coding region of DNA.
B) replacing one sequence with another at the same locus via induced mutation.
C) replacing one sequence with another at the same locus via recombination.
D) altering the regulatory portions of a locus such that the alleles at the locus are turned on or off differently.

Question 44

Today, calculations and scientific tests about the relationships of specific behaviors to both genomic elements and reproductive success become increasingly complex due to all of the following EXCEPT

A) lack of information exchange.
B) massive globalization.
C) changes in technologies.
D) changes in population densities.

Question 45

The text refers to direct genetic/genomic alteration as

A) biocultural adaptation.
B) an example of selective pressure.
C) a fifth, rapid, force of evolution.
D) None of these answers is correct.

Question 46

Discuss how evolutionary processes are affecting humans today. Explain how at least four factors such as gene flow, disease, diet, activity patterns, cultural patterns, body modification, etc. are affecting human evolutionary processes today.

Question 47

Discuss current HIV infection rates and different effects in different populations in relation to at least four of the following disparities in health infrastructure and access to health care, economic variables, social variables, gender, age, income, and/or sexuality.

Question 48

Discuss human densities and global population in regards to at least three of the following A) time - 10,000 years ago compared to today; B) agricultural technologies and food supply now and in the future; C) infant mortality rates, life expectancy rates, and changing demography; D) the rate of novel genetic combinations and gene pool diversity; and E) the environment.

Question 49

Use your understanding of our evolutionary history to make predictions about our future for at least three of the following six variables. What will our bodies, behaviors, cultures, densities, environments, and technologies be like in the future? How will they affect one another? How will they affect us and vice versa?

Question 50

Discuss why biological anthropology is critical for understanding human nature(s) and human biology. In your answer, be sure to include at least four of the following the scientific method; collaboration; critical thinking; the holistic, comparative approach; biological aspects of humanity; evolutionary processes; and cultural constructs.