Question 1

What influence did the writings of Thomas Malthus have on Darwin's ideas of natural selection?

Accepted Answer

A)   Malthus described the reproduction of elephants to Darwin.
B)   Malthus explained how variation was maintained within populations.
C)   Malthus illustrated that some individuals possessed favorable traits while others did not.
D)   Malthus wrote a detailed history of artificial selection examples.
E)   Malthus showed how the human population grows faster than the food supply and that death and famine were inevitable.F) B) and C)
G) B) and D)

Question 2

Fitness refers to

Accepted Answer

A)   the variation in traits within the population.
B)   reproductive success.
C)   mutations that benefit an organism's survival.
D)   the physical health of an individual.
E)   the physical health of a population.F) B) and C)
G) B) and D)

Question 3

Refer to the figure shown here. Which of the following would not have been a selective agent or pressure that could lead to the reduction in hindlimbs through time?

Accepted Answer

A)   The animal's body size was too heavy to support the weight on land and hindlimbs were no longer useful.
B)   More emphasis was placed on flexing the backbone than on paddling with hindlimbs for swimming.
C)   Appendages cause resistance, or drag, when moving through water.
D)   Before moving into the ocean, smaller legs were advantageous to escaping predators on land.
E)   With the increased size of the tail and its use in swimming, the hindlimbs were not as necessary.F) C) and E)
G) A) and B)

Question 4

One species forming multiple new species is called __________.

Accepted Answer

A)   natural selection
B)   speciation
C)   adaptation
D)   biogeography
E)   artificial selectionF) A) and E)
G) A) and B)

Question 5

Darwin and Wallace, both, concluded that species evolve through the process of natural selection. What similar experiences and information helped them both reach the same conclusion?

Accepted Answer

A)   Both supported the ideas of Cuvier.
B)   Both were familiar with the writings of Lyell.
C)   Both traveled the world and collected specimens for museums in England.
D)   Both were naturalists
E)   Both collected specimens from islands in the Malayan Archipelago.F) C) and D)
G) A) and B)

Question 6

Which one of the following statements is true?

Accepted Answer

A)   Organisms always evolve the characteristics they need to survive.
B)   Some individuals within the population must die for natural selection to occur.
C)   Darwin used molecular biology as evidence of evolution.
D)   Natural selection can only work on variation that already exists.
E)   Convergent evolution produces homologous structures.F) D) and E)
G) B) and D)

Question 7

Which of the following is not a step in the process of natural selection?

Accepted Answer

A)   members of a population possess heritable variations
B)   the population produces more offspring than the environment can support
C)   individuals who have favorable traits survive and reproduce more than those individuals lacking such traits
D)   people select which individuals breed and which ones do not
E)   over multiple generations of reproducing, a larger proportion of the population will have those favorable traits and thus adaptation has occurredF) B) and C)
G) B) and D)

Question 8

Why are Australian mammals all marsupial while mammals on other continents are mostly placental?

Accepted Answer

A)   The marsupial anatomy is better adapted to the environments of Australia than is the anatomy of placental mammals.
B)   The placental anatomy is better adapted to the environments of North and South America than is the anatomy of marsupial mammals.
C)   When the continents separated from one another, marsupials on Australia did not have the placental competitors that were present in the Americas.
D)   Marsupials out-competed the placental mammals in Australia.
E)   Australian mammals have a different common ancestor than mammals elsewhere in the world.F) A) and D)
G) B) and E)

Question 9

Darwin's primary mission on the HMS Beagle was to

Accepted Answer

A)   develop the theory of evolution.
B)   observe natural selection in action.
C)   gather data on geologic processes from around the world.
D)   describe as many different new species as possible.
E)   expand the Navy's knowledge of natural resources around the world.F) A) and D)
G) C) and E)

Question 10

The species of finches, tortoises, cacti, iguanas, and many others that are found on the Galápagos Islands are found nowhere else in the world. Which physical attribute of these islands has not played a role in permitting such unique life forms to evolve?

Accepted Answer

A)   There is geographic isolation from mainland species.
B)   Multiple islands exist.
C)   Food is plentiful and diverse on every island.
D)   The islands are small compared to the South American mainland.
E)   Each island has its own unique environment.F) A) and B)
G) A) and D)

Question 11

Georges Cuvier and his fellow catastrophists believed that

Accepted Answer

A)   species were fixed although they did change through time in response to catastrophes that occur.
B)   when species became extinct to a local catastrophe, organisms from surrounding areas moved in to repopulate the area.
C)   fossil strata showing change through time was explained by evolution.
D)   species were not fixed and that they adapted in response to catastrophes that occur.
E)   catastrophes could not explain the changes in species seen through the fossil strata.F) B) and C)
G) None of the above

Question 12

Analogous structures are evidence of common ancestry.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 13

Which of the following cannot be determined from the fossil record?

Accepted Answer

A)   Geologic uplift has occurred.
B)   Transitional fossils exist.
C)   Diversity has changed through time.
D)   Evidence of prior natural disasters/catastrophes exist.
E)   Evidence of every species that ever existed.F) D) and E)
G) A) and B)

Question 14

Environmental catastrophes are a requirement of natural selection.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 15

The theory of evolution, is supported by multiple sources of evidence described by many different people, and by a variety of fields of study.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 16

Lyell's Principles of Geology was the first text to give evidence that the Earth

Accepted Answer

A)   was created a few thousand years ago.
B)   did not change over time.
C)   was actually much younger than previously believed.
D)   was undergoing slow and continuous cycles of erosion and uplift.
E)   was undergoing different process today compared to what occurred in the past.F) A) and B)
G) A) and D)

Question 17

Broccoli, kohlrabi, Brussels sprouts, Chinese cabbage, and cauliflower were all derived from the single wild species. This diversity is a result of __________.

Accepted Answer

A)   	adaptation 
B)   	natural selection 
C)   	biogeography 
D)   	artificial selection 
E)   	speciation F) None of the above
G) D) and E)

Question 18

What characteristics of Archaeopteryx tell us that it is a link to reptiles and birds?

Accepted Answer

A)   feathers
B)   tail with vertebrae
C)   teeth
D)   teeth and a tail with vertebrae
E)   feathers and teethF) A) and B)
G) B) and C)

Question 19

The forelimbs of manatees, penguins, seals, and sea turtles are all flipper shaped. This is an example of

Accepted Answer

A)   convergent evolution to a structure permitting movement in water.
B)   natural selection to a structure permitting movement in water.
C)   adaptations to eating fish.
D)   inheriting a common trait from a recent common ancestor.
E)   selective breeding for the flipperlike forelimbs by humans.F) B) and D)
G) None of the above

Question 20

Following Lamarck's ideas, if a person were to lose their arm in an accident, then that person's children would

Accepted Answer

A)   inherit one arm.
B)   inherit two arms.
C)   inherit three arms.
D)   inherit one arm, larger and stronger than their parent.
E)   inherit two arms, each slightly smaller than the parent's single arm.F) C) and D)
G) A) and B)

Exam 14: Darwin and Evolution

Why are Australian mammals all marsupial while mammals on other continents are mostly placental?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Fitness refers to

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Environmental catastrophes are a requirement of natural selection.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Lyell's Principles of Geology was the first text to give evidence that the Earth

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Broccoli, kohlrabi, Brussels sprouts, Chinese cabbage, and cauliflower were all derived from the single wild species. This diversity is a result of __________.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

One species forming multiple new species is called __________.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which one of the following statements is true?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Darwin and Wallace, both, concluded that species evolve through the process of natural selection. What similar experiences and information helped them both reach the same conclusion?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Darwin's primary mission on the HMS Beagle was to

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

What influence did the writings of Thomas Malthus have on Darwin's ideas of natural selection?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Following Lamarck's ideas, if a person were to lose their arm in an accident, then that person's children would

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Refer to the figure shown here. Which of the following would not have been a selective agent or pressure that could lead to the reduction in hindlimbs through time?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The forelimbs of manatees, penguins, seals, and sea turtles are all flipper shaped. This is an example of

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

What characteristics of Archaeopteryx tell us that it is a link to reptiles and birds?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following cannot be determined from the fossil record?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The theory of evolution, is supported by multiple sources of evidence described by many different people, and by a variety of fields of study.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following is not a step in the process of natural selection?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The species of finches, tortoises, cacti, iguanas, and many others that are found on the Galápagos Islands are found nowhere else in the world. Which physical attribute of these islands has not played a role in permitting such unique life forms to evolve?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Analogous structures are evidence of common ancestry.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Georges Cuvier and his fellow catastrophists believed that

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified