Name:_____________________________________________Quiz Date:___________
Study Guide Evolution Quiz
Scientists estimate that the Earth is 4.6 billion years old. This gives time for evolution to occur,
organisms to adapt, and species to become extinct.
Adaptations:
 A characteristic that helps an organism survive & reproduce in its environment.
 Adaptations can include structures and behaviors for finding food, for protection, and for
moving from place to place.
Example: 1. The smoky jungle frog’s color allows it to blend into the forest floor. This is
an example of camouflage.
2. Humans now have the opposable thumb to grasp things.
Species:
 A group of organisms that can mate with one another to produce fertile offspring.
Example: A strawberry dart-poison frog would mate with a member of the same-species –
another strawberry dart-poison frog.
 Traits are distinguishing qualities of an organism.
Theory of Evolution:
 A theory is an explanation supported by evidence from multiple experiments.
 Process by which populations accumulate inherited changes over time due to mutations
 Because of evolution, scientists think that all living things, from daisies to crocodiles to
humans, share a common ancestor.
Evidence of Evolution is based on:
 Similar DNA structures
 Similar bone structures
o Example: a human arm,
cat’s front leg, dolphins front flipper
 Similar embryonic structures
 fossil records
 vestigial structures
Fossils:
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The solid remains or imprints of once-living organisms.
Fossils are usually formed when a dead organism is covered by a layer of sediment.
Fossils are commonly found in sedimentary rock.
Fossils provide a historical sequence of life known as the fossil record.
Fossils found deeper in the Earth’s crust are generally older than fossils found in the upper
layers of Earth’s crust.
Vestigial Structures:
 Remnants of once-useful structures.
 Example: whales have remnants of hind-limb bones inside their bodies.
Some questions to ask yourself while studying:
1. Give an example of an adaptation.
2. A group of organisms that can mate with one another to produce fertile offspring is called
what?
3. What is the process by which populations inherit changes over time?
4. How old do scientists estimate that the Earth is?
5. What are 5 things that provide evidence of evolution?
6. What are fossils?
7. What kind of rock are fossils commonly found in?
8. Would an older fossil be found further down in the Earth’s crust than a newer fossil, or
closer to the top?
9. Which 4 animals in our text had similar kinds of bones in their front limbs?
10. Why do scientists hypothesize that all organisms living today evolved from a common
ancestor?
11. Warm-blooded animals that breathe air, give live birth, and produce milk for their young
are called what?
Answer Key
1. (answers will vary) opposable thumbs on humans, coloring of the smoky jungle frog,
long neck of the giraffe.
2. species
3. evolution
4. 4.6 billion years
5. similar DNA, Fossil record, Similar bone structures, similar embryonic structures,
vestigial structures
6. The solidified remains or imprints of once-living organisms.
7. sedimentary rocks
8. further down in the Earth’s crust
9. human, cat, dolphin, bat
10.because they all have the same kind of genetic material – DNA
11.mammals
Similar
DNA
Structure
Vestigial
structures
Evidence
Of
Evolution
Similar
Embryonic
structures
Fossil
Record
Similar
Bone
Structure
s