Darwin and Natural Selection
Part I. Matching. Match the terms to the descriptions below.
A. HMS Beagle
B. Galapagos Islands C. Evolution
E. Naturalist
F. Lyell
G. Malthus
I. Artifical Selection
D. Fitness
H. Natural Selection
__ 1. A change over a period of time.
__ 2. Ship on which Darwin sailed around the world.
__ 3. Place where Darwin found fascinating wildlife, including tortoises and marine iguanas.
__ 4. Ability of an organism to survive and reproduce.
__ 5. Wrote an essay on overpopulation, stating that war, famine, and disease would limit the
human population.
__ 6. The process by which humans breed organisms with desired characteristics.
__ 7. Darwin's job on the HMS Beagle.
__ 8. The process by which organisms well-suited to their environment survive and reproduce.
__ 9. Geologist who proposed that the Earth must be older than previously thought due to
geologic forces that must have shaped the Earth over a long period of time.
Part II. Multiple Choice. Select the best answer(s) for each question below.
__ 10. Which of the following best describes the beliefs of people in Darwin's time? .
(A) The Earth and its inhabitants was formed by a Divine creator and had not changed in its
thousands of years of existence.
(B) The Earth was shaped by geologic forces for millions of years.
(C) Organisms changed many times over the millions of years they inhabited the Earth.
(D) The Earth was millions of years old.
__ 11. During his five-year voyage around the world, Darwin
(a) collected plant and animal specimens.
(b) collected fossils of ancient organisms.
(c) was most influenced by his visit to the Brazilian rain forest.
(d) read the works of the geologist Charles Lyell.
__ 12. The geologist Charles Lyell proposed that
(a) the Earth must be much older than people thought.
(b) observed phenomena could be explained by supernatural events.
(c) scientists must explain the past in terms of events and processes that they could observe.
(d) the ancient world could not have been shaped by the same geological forces at work
during his lifetime.
__ 13. In 1788, the English economist Thomas Malthus wrote that
(a) people were dying faster than babies were being born.
(b) if population growth continued, the Earth would be overburdened with humans.
(c) since one oyster can produce millions of eggs each year, the oceans would soon fill up
with oysters.
(d) war, famine, and disease would limit human population.
14. According to Darwin's theory of natural selection,
(a) there is a tendency towards overproduction in nature.
(b) there is variation among populations of organisms.
(c) because of their adaptations, some organisms are better suited to their environments
than others.
(d) organisms compete for resources such as food, water, and space.
Part III. Short answer. For each adaptation below, explain why the adaptation makes the
organism fit to survive.
15. The nonpoisonous viceroy butterfly mimics the poisonous monarch butterfly in appearance.
16. Fish swim in schools.
17. Female humans are not able to have children later in life (in then- 50's or 60's).
Part IV. Darwin vs. Lamarck. Read each phrase below. If it sounds like something Darwin would
have said, write a (D) beside the phrase. If it sounds like something Lamarck would have said, write
an (L).
__ 18. A woman dyes her hair blonde, then her kids inherit her new hair color.
__ 19. Albino animals are more likely to die in the wild, while animals with normal
pigmentation survive.
__ 20. People who are carriers for Sickle Cell Anemia are more likely to survive in South
America than those who do not carry the trait because carriers are immune to Malaria.
__ 21. Giraffes evolved their long necks because each generation stretched their necks,
passing on the longer necks to the next generation.
Part V. Natural vs. Artifical selection. Read each phrase below and identify whether it occurred
through natural (N) or artificial (A) selection.
__ 22. A fruit is bred with the color of an orange and the taste of a lemon.
__ 23. Chickens are bred to have more meat on their bones.
__ 24. Small iguanas survive an El Nino year when little food is available, while the larger
iguanas die off.
__ 25. Light-colored moths are eaten by predators while dark-colored moths blend into the
trees and are hidden from predators.