DO NOT WRITE ON THIS EXAM
Unit 2 Quiz: Evolution
(40 Total pts)
MULTIPLE CHOICE: (2 PTS EACH)
1. The raw material for evolution is the unit of heredity called the
a. garden pea.
d. gene.
b. physical trait.
e. isolating mechanism.
c. genetic drift.
Answer: d
2. What is the relationship between a "gene" and DNA?
a. A gene is part of the complex molecule called DNA; it is a particular section that
contains the code responsible for a particular trait.
b. A gene is a complete molecule of deoxyribonucleic acid.
c. A gene is the visible trait created by the actions of DNA.
d. There is no relationship; the two are parts of different processes.
e. They are both the same thing.
Answer: a
3. Which of the following statements about chromosomes does NOT apply to chromosomes
in humans?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes.
Chromosomes are found in the cell nucleus.
Humans have 46 pairs of chromosomes.
Paired chromosomes may have slightly different versions of the gene for a particular
trait.
e. DNA is combined with protein to form structures called chromosomes.
Answer: c
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4. A chemical alteration of a gene that produces a new allele is called a
a. mutation.
b. meiosis.
c. genotype.
d. genetic drift.
e. directional selection
Answer: a
5. Natural selection
a. means the ability of some individuals to kill enemies and survive.
b. refers to the tendency for moral goodness to win out over moral badness in human
societies.
c. refers to the ability of some individuals to breed.
d. occurs when individuals possess certain genetically based traits that help them have
more offspring, and thus contribute a larger share of genes to future gene pools.
e. means "survival of the fittest."
Answer: d
6. The process by which a population becomes better adapted to its biological and social
environment is
a. adaptation.
b. mutation.
c. gene flow.
d. genetic drift.
e. meiosis.
Answer: a
7. Which of the following represents an example of natural selection?
a. Two nations go to war. After ten years, one side completely wipes out the other side.
The radiation caused by their use of nuclear weapons makes everyone sterile so the
victors are unable to have any children.
b. In a population of fish, some have a very unusual mutation that enables them to get
oxygen directly from the air as well as from water that runs over their gills. During a
time of drought, these were the only fish able to survive, and their descendants
possessed the same gene.
c. A young man works very hard at his studies, spends 10 years in graduate school, and
goes to work for a company that sends him all over the world. He meets presidents
and kings and by the time he is 40, he is earning a million dollars a minute. He dies at
the age of 49. He has been too busy being successful to get married and have a
family.
d. all of the above
e. none of the above
Answer: b
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8. As generation succeeds generation, nature selects the most advantageous variations, and
species evolve. So obvious did the idea seem in hindsight that _______________, one of the
pillars of 19th century British science, remarked: “How extremely stupid of me not to have
thought of that.”
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Aldous Huxley.
Charles Darwin.
Alfred Russell Wallace.
Stephen J. Gould.
Thomas Henry Huxley
Answer: e
9. According to the video, because DNA cannot leave the cell’s nucleus, the directions for a
specific protein are first converted into ribonucleic acid or _______________ in a process
called _______________.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
DNA/transmission.
RNA/transcription.
RTC/translation.
ribosomes/commission.
CGA/specification.
Answer: b
10. The video points out that some simple living things without nucleated cells, such as the
retrovirus that causes _______________, contain their genetic information only as RNA.
a. malaria
b. MS
c. cancer
d. tuberculosis
e. AIDS
Answer: e
11. The Human Genome Project is
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
conducting research on genetic drift.
an effort to sequence the entire human genetic code.
an effort to prove that inheritance is particulate, rather than blending.
is examining the similarities between human organisms.
an effort to discover which enzymes initiate chemical reactions.
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Answer: b
12. Which of the following is not one of the evolutionary forces that account for change in
the genetic composition of populations?
a. the genetic code.
b. natural selection.
c. gene flow.
d. genetic drift.
e. mutation.
Answer: a
13. _______________ are the smallest working unit in biological classificatory systems.
a. Generas
b. Species
c. Genes
d. Chromosomes
e. Enzymes
Answer: b
14. Craig Venter is the founder of this Genetic Engineering Company_______________
a. Biofuel
b. Pfizer
c. Genome Solutions
d. Celera
e. Genometics
Answer: d
15. The Human Genome Project is funded by this government organization______________
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Department of Health & Human Services
National Institute for Health
National Medical Center
Department of public welfare
Center for scientific discovery
Answer: b
TRUE/FALSE
16. DNA was discovered by Charles Darwin.
Answer: f
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17. Since human culture represents one of the most complex manifestations of life on earth,
the evolution of humans is a story of progressive improvement.
Answer: f
18. Charles Darwin was actually one of a number of scholars of the 19th-century who were
thinking about evolution.
Answer: t
19. Genetic and fossil studies have shown that humans are more closely related to orangutans
and gibbons than they are to African apes (chimps, and gorillas).
Answer: f
20. The Genome video stated clearly that DNA molecules float freely around our bodies in a
chaotic and disorganized manner.
Answer: f
21. Natural selection is often thought of as “survival of the fittest,” a phrase coined and used
by Darwin.
Answer: f
22. The Human Genome Project is possibly the most massive cooperative scientific
undertaking in the history of the natural sciences.
Answer: t
23. In humans as in all mammals, sex is determined by the male, as everyone inherits an X
chromosome from their mother, but has a 50-50 chance of inheriting an X or Y
chromosome from their father. Hence, there will always be unequal numbers of males as
females born.
Answer: f
24. Chromosomes are long strands of DNA combined with protein that can be seen under the
microscope in the cell nucleus.
Answer: t
25. The Human Genome Project was completed in 1998
f
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SHORT ANSWER
1. Describe the ethical, legal, and social implications of the Human Genome Project.
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