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- 1. Multiple ChoiceWhich statement represents the best explanation for the observation that the nuclear DNA of wolves and domestic dogs has a very high degree of sequence homology?
Dogs and wolves...have very similar morphologies.belong to the same order.are both members of the order Carnivora.share a very recent common ancestor. - 2. Multiple ChoiceIt has been observed that organisms on islands are different from, but closely related to, similar forms found on the nearest continent. This is taken as evidence that ...island forms are descended from mainland forms.common environments are inhabited by the same organisms.island forms and mainland forms have identical gene pools.the island forms and mainland forms are converging.
- 3. Multiple ChoiceArrange the following in order from most general to most specific:
1) natural selection
2) microevolution
3) intrasexual selection
4) evolution
5) sexual selection4, 1, 2, 3, 54, 2, 1, 3, 54, 2, 1, 5, 31, 4, 2, 5, 3 - 4. Multiple ChoiceDog breeders maintain the purity of breeds by keeping dogs of different breeds apart when they are fertile. This kind of isolation is most similar to which of the following reproductive isolating mechanisms?temporal isolationbehavioral isolationhabitat isolationgametic isolation
- 5. Multiple ChoiceWhich of the following is the best modern definition of evolution?descent with modificationchange in the number of genes in a population over timesurvival of the fittestinheritance of acquired characteristics
- 6. Multiple ChoiceWhich statement about variation is true? *remember that phenotypes are influenced by enviromentsAll phenotypic variation is the result of genotypic variation.All genetic variation produces phenotypic variation.All nucleotide variability results in neutral variation.All new alleles are the result of nucleotide variability.
- 7. Multiple ChoiceGenetic variation ____.is created by the direct action of natural selectionarises in response to changes in the environmentmust be present in a population before natural selection can act upon the populationtends to be reduced by when diploid organisms produce gametes
- 8. Multiple ChoiceMutation is the only evolutionary mechanism that ____.does little to change allele frequenciesis more important in eukaryotes than in prokaryoteshappens in all populationshas no effect on genetic variation
- 9. Multiple ChoiceWhich of the following is a fitness trade-off (compromise)?In some hornbill species, the male helps seal the female in a tree with her nest until the young are ready to fledge.Hummingbirds are the best pollinators of certain flowers, but bees are the best pollinators for orchids.The strong, thick beak of a woodpecker helps it find insects in trees.Turtle shells provide protection but are heavy and burdensome when moving.
- 10. Multiple ChoiceCatastrophism was Cuvier's attempt to explain the existence of ____.evolutionthe fossil recorduniformitarianismthe origin of new species
- 11. Multiple ChoiceDarwin and Wallace's theory of evolution by natural selection was revolutionary because it ____.was the first theory to refute the ideas of special creationproved that individuals acclimated to their environment over timedismissed the idea that species are constant and emphasized the importance of variation and change in populationswas the first time a biologist had proposed that species changed through time
- 12. Multiple ChoiceDuring a study session about evolution, one of your fellow students remarks, "The giraffe stretched its neck while reaching for higher leaves; its offspring inherited longer necks as a result." Which statement is most likely to be helpful in correcting this student's misconception?Characteristics acquired during an organism's life are generally not passed on through genes.Spontaneous mutations can result in the appearance of new traits.Only favorable adaptations have survival value.Disuse of an organ may lead to its eventual disappearance.
- 13. Multiple ChoiceStarting from the wild mustard Brassica oleracea, breeders have created the strains known as Brussels sprouts, broccoli, kale, and cabbage. Therefore, which of the following statements is correct?In this wild mustard, there is enough heritable variation to permit these different varieties.Heritable variation is low in wild mustard—otherwise this wild strain would have different characteristics.Natural selection is rare in wild populations of wild mustard.In wild mustard, most of the variation is due to differences in soil or other aspects of the environment.
- 14. Multiple ChoiceWhich of these conditions are always true of populations evolving due to natural selection?
Condition 1: The population must vary in traits that are heritable.
Condition 2: Some heritable traits must increase reproductive success.
Condition 3: Individuals pass on most traits that they acquire during their lifetime.Condition 1 onlyCondition 2 onlyConditions 1 and 2Conditions 2 and 3 - 15. Multiple ChoiceA farmer uses triazine herbicide to control pigweed in his field. For the first few years, the triazine works well and almost all the pigweed dies; but after several years, the farmer sees more and more pigweed. Which of these explanations best explains what happened?The herbicide company lost its triazine formula and started selling poor-quality triazine.Natural selection caused the pigweed to mutate, creating a new triazine-resistant species.Triazine-resistant pigweed has less-efficient photosynthesis metabolism.Triazine-resistant weeds were more likely to survive and reproduce.
- 16. Multiple ChoiceWhich of the following is NOT a characteristics of a stable, non-evolving population?the population is smallthere is no migration in or out of the populationthere is no natural selection in the populationmating in the population is random
- 17. Multiple ChoiceWhy would a population with a large amount of genetic variation be more likely to survive a severe climate change in its environment?Individuals will only create offspring well-suited to the climate changeThe individuals would produce more offspringIndividuals better suited to the new climate will help less-suited individuals surviveSome individuals will posses traits better suited to the new climate and be more likely to pass them on
- 18. Multiple ChoiceClaytonia virginica is a woodland sring herb with flowers that vary from white to pale pink to bright pin. Slugs prefer to eat pink-flowering over white-flowering plants (due to chemical differences between the two), and plants experiencing severe herbivory are more likely to die. The bees that pollinate this plant also prefer pink to white flowers, so that Claytonia with pink flowers have greater relative fruit set than Claytonia with white flowers. A researcher observes that the percentage of different flower colors remains stable in the study population from year to year. Given no other information, if the researcher removes all slugs from the study population, what do you expect to happen to the distribution of flower colors in the population over time?The percentage of pink flowers should increase over time.The percentage of white flowers should increase over time.The distribution of flower colors should not change.The distribution of flower colors should randomly fluctuate over time.
- 19. Multiple ChoiceWhich of the following, if discovered, could REFUTE our current understanding of the pattern of evolution?no fossils of soft-bodied animalsa modern bird having reptile-like scales on its legsradioactive dating of rocks showing that rocks closer to Earth's surface are younger than lower rock stratadiverse fossils of mammals in Precambrian rock
- 20. Multiple ChoiceOver long periods of time, many cave-dwelling organisms have lost their eyes. Tapeworms have lost their digestive systems. Whales have lost their hind limbs. How can natural selection account for these losses?Natural selection cannot account for losses, but accounts only for new structures and functions.Natural selection accounts for these losses by the principal of use and disuse.Under particular circumstances that persisted for long periods, each of these structures presented greater costs than benefits.The ancestors of these organisms experienced harmful mutations that forced them to lose these structures.
- 21. Multiple ChoiceThe greatest number of endemic species is expected in environments that areeasily reached and ecologically diverseisolated and show little ecological diversityisolated and ecologically diverseeasily reached and show little ecological diversity
- 22. Multiple Choice
Looking at the image in the background, which species is most closely related to species W?V is most closely related to species W.X is most closely related to species W.Y & Z are equally closely related to species W.It is not possible to say from this tree. - 23. Multiple ChoiceThe higher the proportion of loci that are "fixed" in a population, the lower are that population'snucleotide variabilitychromosome numberaverage heterozygositynucleotide variability and average heterozygosity
- 24. Multiple ChoiceOver time, the movement of people on Earth has steadily increased. This has altered the course of human evolution by increasingnonrandom matinggeographic isolationgenetic driftgene flow
- 25. Multiple ChoiceA biologist doing a long-term study on a wild spider population observes increased variation in silk thickness. Which of the following could the spider population be experiencing?directional selectionstabilizing selectiondisruptive selectiongenetic drift
- 26. Multiple ChoiceAdult male humans generally have deeper voices than do adult female humans, which is the direct result of higher levels of testosterone causing growth in the larynx. If the fossil records of apes and humans alike show a trend toward decreasing larynx size in adult females and increasing larynx size in adult males, thensexual dimorphism was evolving over time in these speciesintrasexual selection seems to have occurred in both speciesstabilizing selection was occurring in these species concerning larynx sizeselection was acting more directly upon genotype than upon phenotype
- 27. Multiple ChoiceMacroevolution isthe same as microevolution, but includes the origin of new speciesevolution above the species leveldefined as the evolution of microscopic organisms into organisms that can be seen with the naked eyedefined as a change in allele or gene frequency over the course of many generations
- 28. Multiple ChoiceHow are two different species most likely to evolve from one ancestral species?sympatrically; by point mutation affecting morphology or behaviorsympatically; due to extensive inbreedingallopatrically; due to extensive innbreedingallopatrically; after the ancestral species has split into two populations
- 29. Multiple ChoiceMost causes of speciation are relatively slow, in that they may take many generations to see changes, with the exception ofpolyploidyreinforcementcolonizationnatural selection
- 30. Multiple ChoiceReinforcement is the process by which natural selection increases reproductive isolation. Reinforcement is most likely to occur whenthe environment is changinghybrids have lower fitness than either parent populationprezygotic isolating mechanisms are in placegene flow is low
- 31. Multiple ChoiceAccording to the concept of punctuated equilibrium,natural selection is unimportant as a mechanism of evolutiongiven enough time, most existing species will gradually give rise to new speciesa new species accumulates mos of its unique features as it comes into existenceevolution of new species features long periods during which changes are occurring, interspersed with short periods of equilibrium, or stasis
- 32. Multiple ChoiceWhich of the following is the correct sequence of events in the origin of life?
1. formation of protobionts
2. synthesis of organic monomers
3. synthesis of organic polymers
4. formation of DNA-based genetic systems1, 2, 3, 41, 3, 2, 42, 3, 1, 42, 3, 4, 1 - 33. Multiple ChoiceSeveral scientific laboratories across the globe are involved in research concerning the origin of life on Earth. Which of these questions is currently the most problematic and would have the greatest impact on our understanding if we were able to answer it?How can amino acids, simple sugars, and nucleotides be synthesized abiotically?How did RNA sequences come to carry the code for amino acid sequences?How could polymers involving lipids and/or proteins form membranes in aqueous environments?How can RNA molecules act as templates for the synthesis of complementary RNA molecules?
- 34. Multiple ChoiceWhich of the following would be the LEAST likely in the fossil record?burrowing speciesmarine-dwelling speciesmarsh-dwelling speciesdesert-dwelling species
- 35. Multiple ChoiceWhich of the following statements best describes the rationale for applying the principle of parsimony in constructing phylogenetic trees?Parsimony allows the researcher to "root" the tree.Similarity due to common ancestry should be more common than similarity due to convergent evolution.The molecular clock validates the principle of parsimony.The outgroup roots the tree, allowing the principle of parsimony to be applied.
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