Deck 15: Darwin and Evolution

Question 1

The theory of ________ proposed that sudden and widespread disasters that result in mass extinctions followed by repopulation could explain why species change over time.

A)artificial selection
B)natural selection
C)uniformitarianism
D)catastrophism

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Over many generations man has chosen certain desirable characteristics in dogs by allowing dogs possessing those characteristics to reproduce.In this way,150 breeds of dogs,all the same species,have descended from wolves.This process is referred to as

A)natural selection.
B)inheritance of acquired traits.
C)artificial selection.
D)convergent evolution.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Lamarck's inheritance of acquired characteristics included the idea that

A)there is a natural force in all living things that pushes them toward perfection.
B)local catastrophes cause mass extinctions of species.
C)species are only produced through special creation.
D)species are fixed and unchanging over time.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Darwin's geometric ratio of increase pertains specifically to

A)the inheritable variations found in a population.
B)the artificial selection of traits in plants or animals.
C)the inheritance of acquired traits.
D)the overproduction potential of a species.

Question 5

During the course of Darwin's journey aboard the HMS Beagle he was collecting and recording ________ and ________.

A)biological; genetic evidence
B)religious; political evidence
C)historical; biological evidence
D)fossils; geological evidence
E)geological; biological diversity evidence

Question 6

Tiktaalik roseae,also known as the "fishapod," is an example of an extant species.

Question 7

Which of the following ideas was most commonly held in the eighteenth century?

A)evolution by natural selection over time
B)genetic change through mutation
C)the fixity of species
D)changes in a species through adaptation to the environment

Question 8

Explain how the graphed data of beak size and weather conditions is evidence for natural selection.

Question 9

Cutting off the tails of mice over several generations should cause the tails of their offspring to become shorter,according to the ideas of which of these scientists?

A)Darwin
B)Lamarck
C)Cuvier
D)Lyell
E)Wallace

Question 10

Georges-Louis Leclerc was an eighteenth-century taxonomist who developed the binomial system of nomenclature.

Question 11

Aristotle believed that

A)all species are equal in complexity.
B)life originated from inorganic substances.
C)living organisms can be arranged based on their order of increasing complexity.
D)every species on Earth has a perfect or "essential" form.

Question 12

Linnaeus developed his classification system for organisms according to

A)a theory of descent by modification.
B)Darwin's theory of evolution.
C)Lamarck's theory of evolution.
D)fixity of species and the sequential ladder of life.

Question 13

In his theory of natural selection,Darwin incorporated the premise that available resources were not sufficient for all members of a population to survive.Darwin adopted these ideas of competition and survival from

A)Erasmus Darwin.
B)Malthus.
C)Cuvier.
D)Lamarck.
E)Plato.

Question 14

Erasmus Darwin,in his discussion of evolutionary possibilities,included all of the following EXCEPT

A)changes during the development of organisms.
B)comparative anatomy of plants and algae.
C)vestigial organs.
D)animal breeding by humans.

Question 15

Baron Georges Cuvier ________.(Select all that apply.)

A)founded the science of paleontology
B)used comparative anatomy to devise a system for classifying animals
C)proposed the idea of uniformitarianism
D)was an advocate for the ideas of the fixity of species and special creation
E)was particularly interested in vestigial structures

Question 16

Before Darwin could conceive of the idea of "descent with modification," he first had to accept

A)the earth was very old.
B)that organisms could inherit acquired characteristics.
C)the idea of catastrophism.
D)that the size of human populations is limited only by the quantity of resources.

Question 17

The fossilized remains of two different species are found and scientists are interested in determining the evolutionary relationship of the two species.Which of the following could be used to determine the relatedness?

A)homologous structures
B)vestigial structures
C)biogeography
D)All of the choices could be examined to determine relatedness.

Question 18

An idea that could be traced back to Plato is that

A)species could change with time.
B)variation is due to imperfections in copies of some perfect ideal form.
C)artificial selection of animals by humans proves that evolution can occur.
D)acquired characteristics could be passed from parents to offspring.
E)worldwide catastrophes caused extinction,followed by creation of new species.

Question 19

Which of the following statements relate to natural selection? Select all that apply.

A)differential reproductive success
B)competition for resources
C)heritable variation
D)breeding to increase the frequency of desired traits
E)fitness

Question 20

Which naturalist wrote a 44-volume natural history on plants and animals,and suggested migration,environmental influences,isolation,and overcrowding might affect how organisms descend with modifications?

A)Darwin
B)Lamarck
C)Cuvier
D)Lyell
E)Leclerc

Question 21

A line of evidence NOT considered by Darwin in his development of the theory of natural selection is

A)comparative anatomy.
B)biogeography.
C)the fossil record.
D)comparative biochemistry.

Question 22

Which of the following is/are true about natural selection?

A)It acts on genotypes rather than phenotypes.
B)It assures the survival of every fit individual.
C)On average,it favors the survival of individuals that have adaptive characteristics.
D)It always selects for more complex forms.
E)All of the choices are correct.

Question 23

A population must have ________ for natural selection to occur.

A)a stable environment
B)abundant resources
C)many individuals
D)heritable variation

Question 24

Natural selection was independently proposed as a means of evolution by Darwin and

A)Lyell.
B)Wallace.
C)LeClerc.
D)Lamarck.

Question 25

Darwin was very interested in why animals on distant and isolated landmasses appear related to animals on the mainlands,yet were very distinct.Which of the following types of evidence would help Darwin make sense of his observations?

A)anatomical
B)biochemical
C)fossil
D)biogeographical

Question 26

Birds and insects both have wings,but we do not consider this similarity as evidence of relatedness because

A)bird wings,but not insect wings,function on the physics principles of lift.
B)insect wings are vestigial.
C)the wings are not homologous structures with a common ancestral origin.
D)they did not evolve in the same region or live at the same time period.
E)there is no fossil link between these groups.

Question 27

On the Galápagos Islands,the amazing tool-using "woodpecker finch" can modify twigs to pry out grubs.Because there are no true woodpeckers on the Galápagos Islands,this behavior allows this finch to exploit an untapped food source.However,not all members of this species exhibit this behavior,which is probably learned from watching other finches.Therefore,

A)young chicks isolated at hatching will not know how to do this.
B)it is probably not "hardwired" in the brain as a behavior passed on genetically.
C)there must be a great advantage to reaching this food source for this learned behavior to be repeated by most descendants of each generation.
D)All of the choices are correct.

Question 28

Hutton's theory of geological change included all EXCEPT

A)sudden extinction of species due to sudden,widespread disasters.
B)slow cycles of erosion and uplift.
C)production of layers of sediment through slow deposition.
D)extreme geological change occurring over a long period of time.

Question 29

Homologous structures such as the bones in wings,flippers,and arms would be studied in the field of

A)comparative anatomy.
B)biogeography.
C)the fossil record.
D)comparative embryology.
E)comparative biochemistry.

Question 30

Which scientist presented arguments to support a theory of geological change,proposing that the earth was subject to slow but continuous erosion and uplift?

A)Leclerc
B)Lamarck
C)Cuvier
D)Lyell

Question 31

Fossils like Archaeopteryx offer evidence linking

A)reptiles and mammals.
B)fish and amphibians.
C)birds and mammals.
D)birds and dinosaurs.
E)amphibians and reptiles.

Question 32

The organisms on the Galápagos Islands that were most important to the development of Darwin's theory of natural selection were

A)rabbits and hares.
B)plants and fungi.
C)tortoises and finches.
D)snails and fish.
E)monkeys and armadillos.

Question 33

Individual "A" produces 10 offspring,8 of whom survive to adulthood.Individual "B" (a member of the same population)produces 15 offspring,7 which survive to adulthood.Based on the concept of natural selection,individual "A" has the higher fitness.

Question 34

At Thanksgiving,your friend laments about having to eat Brussels sprouts."I hate Brussels sprouts.I wish humans had never caused Brussels sprouts to evolve!" Based on your knowledge of biology,you know that humans caused the evolution of Brussels sprouts through the mechanism of uniformitarianism.

Question 35

About 12,000 years ago,a mass extinction event occurred and 75% of the world's large mammal species were eliminated.While a small number of cheetahs managed to survive and restore the world's population of cheetahs,this event caused an extreme reduction of the cheetah's genetic diversity.Based on the principles of natural selection,which of the following is a consequence of their reduced genetic diversity?

A)Cheetahs have never fully adapted to the current environment.
B)Cheetahs within the same population do not vary in their reproductive success.
C)Cheetahs are unable to effectively compete with each other for resources.
D)Cheetahs have very little heritable variation,which will make it difficult for them to adapt as the environment changes.

Question 36

Fossils are the remains and traces of past life that have been preserved in the Earth's crust.What type of fossils is most important in supporting the principle of evolution? Explain your answer and give examples.

Question 37

Darwin's assumption that living forms must be descended from extinct forms was based on ________ evidence.

A)anatomical
B)biochemical
C)fossil
D)biogeographical

Question 38

The post Darwinian view of the world includes which of the following idea(s)?

A)the age of the Earth is billions of years old.
B)species are related by descent.
C)an interaction of random variation and environmental conditions produce environmental adaptation.
D)All of the choices are correct.
E)Only two of the answers are correct.

Question 39

Most of Darwin's observations about changes in species over time and in different environments took place in and near

A)North America.
B)Africa.
C)South America.
D)Asia.
E)Greenland.

Question 40

All of the following are examples of natural selection EXCEPT

A)the distribution of dark and light colored peppered moths in Britain.
B)a rise in bacterial resistance to antibiotics.
C)the reduction in beak length of scarlet honeycreepers when they changed food sources.
D)the 150 breeds of dogs developed from ancestral wolves.
E)two of these are not examples of natural selection.

Question 41

The distribution of species can help provide information about all of the following EXCEPT

A)past geological events.
B)the movement of continents.
C)formation of volcanic islands.
D)ecological change.
E)the time period in which a species was present on Earth.

Question 42

Which of the following observations were made during Darwin's journey aboard the Beagle that led him to believe in evolution?

A)geological formations and species variations
B)geological formation and the fixation of species
C)artificial selection and species variation
D)All of the above are correct.

Question 43

Analogous structures serve the same function,are similarly constructed,and are inherited from a common ancestor.

Question 44

Alfred Wallace came to his conclusions about natural selection after eight years of collecting and identifying thousands of species in the Malay Archipelago.

Question 45

What is the main reason that the alternative explanations to evolution are not considered scientific?

A)The alternative explanations are not testable by the scientific method.
B)The people suggesting the alternative explanations are not scientists.
C)The scientific community is biased and will not look at any other explanation.
D)All of these are reasons why the alternative explanations are not considered scientific.

Question 46

Which of the following misconceptions about evolution can be refuted with the molecular evidence that is being collected through DNA analysis?

A)Evolution is a theory about how life originated.
B)There are no transitional fossils.
C)Evolution is not observable or testable,thus it is not science.
D)Evolution proposes life changed as a result of random events; traits are too complex to have originated by chance alone.

Question 47

Which of the following piece of fossil evidence was not observed during Darwin's journey aboard the Beagle?

A)fossilized remains of the Glyptodont
B)fossilized remains of a giant ground sloth
C)13 different species of fossilized finches on the Galápagos Islands
D)fossilized marine shells in the cliffs of the Andes Mountains

Question 48

Darwin observed that

A)members of a population vary in their functional,physical,and behavioral characteristics.
B)there is a constant struggle for survival of organisms.
C)organisms in a normal population differ in reproductive success.
D)All of the choices are correct.
E)None of the choices are correct.

Question 49

Which of the following features were present in the transitional species between amphibian tetrapods and the fishes?

A)fins,rounded head with eyes on the side,and a neck
B)lungs,fins,and scales
C)a flat head with eyes on the top,fins,and scales
D)fins,simple wrist bones,and expanded ribs

Question 50

Which of the following observations is not part of natural selection as posed by Darwin?

A)Individuals within a species exhibit variation.
B)Organisms compete for available resources.
C)Individuals within a population differ in terms of reproductive success.
D)Organisms become adapted to conditions as the environment changes.
E)All of these observations are part of natural selection as posed by Darwin.

Question 51

Marsupials are more numerous in Australia than South America because of less competition with placental mammals.

Question 52

What was Darwin's main purpose during his time aboard the HMS Beagle?

A)to serve as the ship's naturalist
B)to develop evidence that could be used to support the theory of evolution
C)to document evidence that would support the concept of natural selection
D)Darwin was a sailor with no specific purpose aboard the HMS Beagle.

Question 53

Erasmus Darwin,Charles Darwin's grandfather,suggested the possibility of evolutionary descent in his writings.

Question 54

During a break at work you and a coworker begin discussing the topic of evolution.He indicates that he does not believe in evolution because it is just a theory about how life originated and this is in direct conflict with the beliefs he was taught during his childhood.How would you convince him that evolution is factual?

Question 55

The oldest mammals were large,dinosaur-like creatures that flourished over 600 million years ago.

Question 56

HIV and cancer cells are becoming more drug resistant over time.

Question 57

The chart depicts the number of amino acid differences in cytochrome C between several different organisms and humans.What conclusions can you draw from this chart?

Question 58

Explain how the overuse of antibiotics could lead to the evolution of drug resistant strains of bacteria.

Question 59

Which of the following is an example of evolution that can be observed and studied?

A)bacterial resistance to antibiotics
B)resistance of weeds to select herbicides
C)resistance of HIV to drug treatment
D)All are examples of evolution that can be observed and studied.