Darwinian Evolution Answer Key

Biology: The Core Darwinian Evolution 1) Before the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, what was the prevailing public consensus regarding species evolution? A) That species were permanent and unchanging B) That species evolved through physical changes that led to success C) That species evolved by means of natural selection D) That species were modified over time but did not change into new species Answer: A Module: 7.1 Skill: Remembering/Understanding Learning Outcome: 7.1 Global Learning: G1 2) What contribution did Charles Lyell make? A) He found some bird specimens on the Galapagos Islands. B) He found some fossils of extinct species. C) He suggested that life evolves through physical changes within the life span of an organism. D) He provided the first evidence that the Earth is much older than was previously thought. Answer: D Module: 7.1 Skill: Remembering/Understanding Learning Outcome: 7.1 3) What prompted Darwin to publish his book decades after he began writing it? A) He had completed the last of his experiments. B) He had returned from his voyage around the world. C) Wallace, a colleague, was about to publish a similar manuscript. D) After years of searching, he finally found a publisher willing to accept it. Answer: C Module: 7.1 Skill: Remembering/Understanding Learning Outcome: 7.1 Global Learning: G1 4) Which of the following was a scientist around the time of Charles Darwin? A) Lamark was a French naturalist that first explored the idea of evolution. B) Lyell was a geologist that was examining the age of Earth. C) Wallace was an evolutionary biologist developing hypotheses about evolution. D) All of the above were scientists around the time of Charles Darwin. Answer: D Module: 7.1 Skill: Remembering/Understanding Learning Outcome: 7.1 5) Which two observations led Darwin to conclude that there is competition for survival? A) Overproduction of organisms and limited food resources B) Fossils and mutations C) Gene and allele differences in organisms D) Natural selection and descent with modification Answer: A Module: 7.2 Skill: Remembering/Understanding Learning Outcome: 7.2 Global Learning: G1 6) Individuals with variations that make them best suited to their environment are, on average, more likely to ________. A) evolve B) change over time C) survive and reproduce D) become larger Answer: C Module: 7.2 Skill: Applying/Analyzing Learning Outcome: 7.2 Global Learning: G2 7) Before Darwin published his work, Lamarck and others had suggested mechanisms for evolution. By what means did Darwin propose species evolved over time? A) Overproduction of young B) Passing on acquired traits C) Survival of the strongest D) Natural selection Answer: D Module: 7.2 Skill: Remembering/Understanding Learning Outcome: 7.1, 7.2 8) Natural selection acts on ________, and ________ evolve. A) individuals; individuals B) individuals; populations C) populations; populations D) populations; individuals Answer: B Module: 7.2 Skill: Applying/Analyzing Learning Outcome: 7.2 Global Learning: G2 9) Can you inherit physical traits that your parents acquired during their lifetime? A) No B) Yes C) Only if it improves survivability D) Only if it improves reproductive success Answer: A Module: 7.2 Skill: Applying/Analyzing Learning Outcome: 7.2 Global Learning: G7 10) A weed that exhibits resistance to an herbicide ________. A) developed the resistance in response to the herbicide B) mutated when exposed to the herbicide C) inherited the gene that made it resistant to the herbicide D) is less likely to pass on the gene to the next generation Answer: C Module: 7.2 Skill: Applying/Analyzing Learning Outcome: 7.2 Global Learning: G7 11) Evolution can be best defined as ________. A) the production of new species B) change in the composition of populations C) change in the gene pool of a population D) always taking a very long time to occur Answer: C Module: 7.2 Skill: Applying/Analyzing Learning Outcome: 7.2, 7.4 Global Learning: G2 12) What is radiometric dating? A) The process of determining the age of a fossil from radioactive isotopes B) The mineralization process by which living things are turned into fossils C) The process of determining the age of a fossil based on its location in layers of rocks D) The process of determining the age of a fossil using radio waves Answer: A Module: 7.4 Skill: Remembering/Understanding Learning Outcome: 7.3 13) The oldest fossils are typically found in the sediments ________. A) located closest to the surface B) located deep under the surface C) located close to water D) located close to human dwellings Answer: B Module: 7.4 Skill: Remembering/Understanding Learning Outcome: 7.3 14) Which of the following is evidence for evolution in action? A) Bacteria becoming resistant to antibiotics over time B) Mosquitoes becoming resistant to pesticides C) The different domesticated breeds of dogs customized for our needs D) All are evidence for evolution Answer: D Module: 7.3 Skill: Remembering/Understanding Learning Outcome: 7.3 15) What is an adaptation? A) The result of natural selection B) A specialized feature C) The accumulation of favorable traits over time D) All of the above are correct Answer: D Module: 7.3 Skill: Remembering/Understanding Learning Outcome: 7.2 16) Apples that we find in the grocery store today are much larger and sweeter than those found in the wild hundreds of years ago. Which process is responsible for this change? A) Resistance to pesticides B) Artificial selection C) Survival of the fittest D) Genetic drift Answer: B Module: 7.3 Skill: Remembering/Understanding Learning Outcome: 7.3 Global Learning: G2 17) Which of the following are considered fossils? A) Footprints or other impressions preserved in stone B) Mineralized bones C) Animals frozen in ice or preserved in amber D) All of the above are considered fossils Answer: D Module: 7.4 Skill: Remembering/Understanding Learning Outcome: 7.3 18) What is the name for the study of the geographic distribution of species? A) Biogeography B) Ecology C) Systematics D) Taxonomy Answer: A Module: 7.5 Skill: Remembering/Understanding Learning Outcome: 7.3 19) Comparing the body structures of organisms to find evidence of a shared evolutionary history is called ________. A) outgrouping B) physiology C) comparative anatomy D) analogous reconstruction Answer: C Module: 7.5 Skill: Remembering/Understanding Learning Outcome: 7.3 20) The approach that consists in comparing DNA sequences to find evidence of a shared evolutionary history is called ________. A) genomics B) proteomics C) comparative anatomy D) bioinformatics Answer: D Module: 7.5 Skill: Remembering/Understanding Learning Outcome: 7.3 21) If two organisms of different species share more similar DNA sequences with each other than with other species, we can conclude that ________. A) these two species are not closely related B) these two species are very closely related C) these two species happen to share similar DNA by chance D) there is no relationship between similar DNA and how closely related organisms are Answer: B Module: 7.5 Skill: Applying/Analyzing Learning Outcome: 7.3 22) Human embryos have a developmental stage during which they have a tail and pharyngeal pouches (those pouches develop into gills in fish). How can we explain these characteristics of human embryos? A) Human embryos need a tail and gills to breathe during development in the placenta. B) Human embryos spend time in the water where tails and gills are useful. C) Human embryos share a common ancestor who had gills. D) Both A and B are correct. Answer: C Module: 7.5 Skill: Synthesizing/Evaluating Learning Outcome: 7.3 23) Which of the following are lines of evidence that support the theory of evolution by natural selection? A) The study of the geographic distribution of species on Earth B) The comparison of DNA sequences in different organisms C) The comparison of body structures in modern organisms D) All of the above are lines of evidence that support the theory of evolution Answer: D Module: 7.5 Skill: Remembering/Understanding Learning Outcome: 7.3 24) The modern evolutionary synthesis of the 1930s and 1940s melded together Darwin's findings with ________. A) genetics B) sociology C) psychology D) chemistry Answer: A Module: 7.6 Skill: Remembering/Understanding Learning Outcome: 7.4 25) What is the smallest unit that can evolve? A) The ecosystem B) The population C) The individual D) The cell Answer: B Module: 7.6 Skill: Remembering/Understanding Learning Outcome: 7.4, 7.5 26) What defines a population in evolution? A) Members of the same community B) Members of a single species that may, or may not, share a common space C) Interbreeding members of the same species that share a common space D) Multiple species interacting together in an ecosystem Answer: C Module: 7.6 Skill: Remembering/Understanding Learning Outcome: 7.4 27) Which of the following best defines microevolution? A) Changes in genes between populations B) Changes in genes within a population over time C) Changes in genes that do not change the gene pool over time D) Changes across species but not in genes Answer: B Module: 7.6 Skill: Applying/Analyzing Learning Outcome: 7.4 28) What does fitness mean when speaking in terms of evolution? A) Level of overall health of the individual B) How many offspring an individual produces C) Physical strength of a given individual in a population D) The size and diversity of the gene pool Answer: B Module: 7.7 Skill: Remembering/Understanding Learning Outcome: 7.4, 7.5 29) What events can lead to offspring having a unique arrangement of their parents' genes? A) Crossing over B) Independent assortment C) Both crossing over and independent assortment D) Neither crossing over nor independent assortment Answer: C Module: 7.7 Skill: Applying/Analyzing Learning Outcome: 7.4 Global Learning: G7 A zombie apocalypse wipes out almost the entire human species before the zombie threat is eliminated. Only a group of 100 people who were at a family reunion on an uninhabited island survived. They returned to the mainland completely unaware of what had happened to everyone. Answer the following question(s) regarding the few survivors who now begin to rebuild the human population. 30) Certain traits will have been lost from the gene pool forever. This loss of diversity in a reduced population is called ________. A) gene flow B) genetic drift C) bottleneck effect D) founder effect Answer: C Module: 7.7 Skill: Applying/Analyzing Learning Outcome: 7.4 Global Learning: G5 31) Despite an abundance of habitat, why will it be difficult for the human species to recover? A) Related humans are not able to reproduce. B) The founder effect will slowly kill off the survivors in a small population. C) Modern humans lack the ingenuity needed to survive without an extended social network. D) The reduced genetic diversity will make it difficult for the population to adapt to new diseases or other environmental changes. Answer: D Module: 7.7 Skill: Synthesizing/Evaluating Learning Outcome: 7.4 Global Learning: G5 32) Which of the following processes is most likely to occur on this small population of humans? A) Genetic drift B) Gene flow C) Mutations D) Sexual selection Answer: A Module: 7.7 Skill: Applying/Analyzing Learning Outcome: 7.4 33) Which process of evolution does not change the total number of species? A) Branching evolution B) Nonbranching evolution C) Extinction D) All change the number of species Answer: B Module: 7.9 Skill: Remembering/Understanding Learning Outcome: 7.5 Global Learning: G2 34) What is the leading hypothesis for what might have brought about the extinction of the dinosaurs? A) A new disease B) Competition from mammals C) An asteroid impact D) Massive volcano eruptions Answer: C Module: 7.9 Skill: Remembering/Understanding Learning Outcome: 7.6 35) How old is our planet Earth? A) 6,000 years old B) 4.6 million years old C) 4.6 billion years old D) We do not have enough information to accurately date the age of Earth. Answer: C Module: 7.8 Skill: Remembering/Understanding Learning Outcome: 7.6 Global Learning: G2 36) When did life first appear on the planet? A) 3.5 billion years ago B) 2.1 billion years ago C) 3.5 million years ago D) 2.1 million years ago Answer: A Module: 7.8 Skill: Remembering/Understanding Learning Outcome: 7.6 37) The slow drifting of sections of the earth's crust, sometimes separating, other times colliding, is known as ________. A) continental convergence B) continental divergence C) crust dynamics D) plate tectonics Answer: D Module: 7.8 Skill: Remembering/Understanding Learning Outcome: 7.6 38) The four eras each represents an equal time of Earth's history. A) True, the four eras are each roughly the same length of time B) False, the four eras are vastly different in their durations Answer: B Module: 7.8 Skill: Remembering/Understanding Learning Outcome: 7.6 39) Today, we are in the ________ geologic era. A) Precambrian B) Paleozoic C) Mesozoic D) Cenozoic Answer: D Module: 7.8 Skill: Remembering/Understanding Learning Outcome: 7.6 40) Which of the following are examples of macroevolution? A) The creation of new species B) Mass extinctions that wipe 50% or more of living species C) The evolution of novel biological features D) All of the above are examples of macroevolution Answer: D Module: 7.9 Skill: Remembering/Understanding Learning Outcome: 7.5, 7.6