Evolution Unit Test
Ch 21-26
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Know your Scientists and their contributions
Darwin
Cuvier and Lamarck
Wallace and Lyell
Hutton and Linnaeus
Miller and Urey
Oparin & Haldane
• Darwin and Wallace's theory of evolution by natural
selection was revolutionary because it ____.
• A) was the first theory to refute the ideas of special
creation
• B) proved that individuals acclimated to their
environment over time
• C) dismissed the idea that species are constant and
emphasized the importance of variation and change in
populations
• D) was the first time a biologist had proposed that
species changed through time
• C
• Which of these conditions are always true of populations
evolving due to natural selection?
• Condition 1: The population must vary in traits that are
heritable.
• Condition 2: Some heritable traits must increase
reproductive success.
• Condition 3: Individuals pass on most traits that they
acquire during their lifetime.
• A) Condition 1 only
• B) Condition 2 only
• C) Conditions 1 and 2
• D) Conditions 2 and 3
• C
• Fossils of Thrinaxodon, a species that lived during the
Triassic period, have been found in both South Africa and
Antarctica. Thrinaxodon had a reptile-like skeleton and laid
eggs, but small depressions on the front of its skull suggest
it had whiskers and, therefore, fur. Thrinaxodon may have
been warm-blooded. The fossils of Thrinaxodon are
consistent with the hypothesis that ____.
• A) mammals evolved from a reptilian ancestor
• B) Antarctica and South Africa separated after
Thrinaxodon went extinct
• C) fossils found in a given area look like the modern species
in that same area
• D) the environment where it lived was very warm
• A
• Members of two different species possess a similar-looking
structure that they use in a similar way to perform about the same
function. Which of the following would suggest that the
relationship more likely represents homology instead of convergent
evolution?
• A) The two species live at great distance from each other.
• B) The two species share many proteins in common, and the
nucleotide sequences that code for these proteins are almost
identical.
• C) The structures in adult members of both species are similar in
size.
• D) Both species are well adapted to their particular
environments.
• B
• What must be true of any organ described as
vestigial?
• A) It must be analogous to some feature in an
ancestor.
• B) It must be homologous to some feature in an
ancestor.
• C) It must be both homologous and analogous to
some feature in an ancestor.
• D) It need be neither homologous nor analogous
to some feature in an ancestor.
• B
• For a biologist studying a small fish population
in the lab, which Hardy-Weinberg condition is
easiest to meet?
• A) no selection
• B) no genetic drift
• C) no gene flow
• D) no mutation
• C
• The higher the proportion of loci that are
"fixed" in a population, the lower are that
population's ____.
• A) nucleotide variability
• B) chromosome number
• C) average heterozygosity
• D) nucleotide variability and average
heterozygosity
• D
• In the United States, the parasite that causes
malaria is not present, but African-Americans
whose ancestors were from equatorial Africa are
present. What should be happening to the sicklecell allele in the United States, and what should
be happening to it in equatorial Africa?
• A) stabilizing selection; disruptive selection
• B) disruptive selection; stabilizing selection
• C) directional selection; disruptive selection
• D) directional selection; stabilizing selection
• D
• Two species of frogs belonging to the same
genus occasionally mate, but the embryos
stop developing after a day and then die.
These two frog species separate by ____.
• A) reduced hybrid viability
• B) hybrid breakdown
• C) reduced hybrid fertility
• D) gametic isolation
• A
• The production of sterile mules by
interbreeding between female horses (mares)
and male donkeys (jacks) is an example of
____.
• A) reduced hybrid viability
• B) hybrid breakdown
• C) reduced hybrid fertility
• D) mechanical isolation
• C
• You want to study divergence of populations, and you need to
maximize the rate of divergence to see results within the period of
your grant funding. You will form a new population by taking some
individuals from a source population and isolating them so the two
populations cannot interbreed. What combination of characteristics
would maximize your chance of seeing divergence in this study?
• 1. Choose a random sample of individuals to form the new
population.
• 2. Choose individuals from one extreme to form the new
population.
• 3. Choose a species to study that produces many offspring.
• 4. Choose a species to study that produces a few, large offspring.
• 5. Place the new population in the same type of environment as the
source population.
• 6. Place the new population in a novel environment compared to
that of the source population.
• A) 1, 3, and 6
• B) 1, 4, and 6
• C) 2, 3, and 5
• D) 2, 3, and 6
• D
• Which of the following statements best describes the
rationale for applying the principle of parsimony in
constructing phylogenetic trees?
• A) Parsimony allows the researcher to "root" the tree.
• B) Similarity due to common ancestry should be more
common than similarity due to convergent evolution.
• C) The molecular clock validates the principle of
parsimony.
• D) The outgroup roots the tree, allowing the principle
of parsimony to be applied.
• B
• Given that phylogenies are based on shared derived characteristics,
which of the following traits is useful in generating a phylogeny of
species W, X, Y, and Z?
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Trait 1
Trait 2
Trait 3
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A)
B)
C)
D)
Species W
Species X
A
A
A
A
A
B
Trait 1
Trait 2
Trait 3
Traits 1, 2, and 3
Species Y
A
B
C
Species Z
A
B
D
• B
• In a comparison of birds and mammals, having
four limbs is ____.
• A) a shared ancestral character
• B) a shared derived character
• C) a character useful for distinguishing birds
from mammals
• D) an example of analogy rather than
homology
• A
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Endosymbiosis is an evolutionary theory that explains the origin of eukaryotes and suggests a
specific order in which this might have occurred. Ancestral cells engulfed and then began to use the
metabolic processes of the smaller cells. Based on shared core processes and features, which
statement most accurately describes the order, the theory and the evolutionary implications for all
organisms within domain Eukarya?
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A)
Ancestral heterotrophic eukaryotes most likely engulfed both a heterotrophic and an
autotrophic prokaryote, whereas ancestral photosynthetic eukaryotes probably provided the host
cell for the first mitochondria. Over time, natural selection favored these relationships and these
cells became ancestors of all eukaryotes.
B)
All ancestral eukaryotes would have most likely consumed a nucleus-like prokaryote that
eventually became the eukaryotic nucleus. These new eukaryotic cells would have had an
advantage over prokaryotic cells by acquiring a nuclear command center for regulating cellular
activities.
C)
As carbon dioxide levels were increasing over time, natural selection would have favored
organisms that acquired a photosynthetic prokaryote to convert carbon dioxide into sugars. These
would have likely been the first eukaryotic cells. At which point, these ancestral cells engulfed
mitochondria-like prokaryotes that would have provided an even greater advantage for cells in this
environment.
D)
As Earth was becoming more aerobic, mitochondria would have provided an advantage to
host cells by converting "toxic" oxygen into energy for heterotrophic cells. Since mitochondria are
found in all eukaryotes, these combinations likely evolved first. Photosynthetic eukaryotes probably
acquired an autotrophic prokaryote, which developed an advantageous symbiotic relationship with
the host cell.
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• D
• Understand & be able to give examples of
Darwin’s contributions to the field of
evolutionary biology
• Such as:
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non-constancy of species
common descent of all species
changes in species
Natural selection
• Understand & be able to discuss how the
following enhanced Darwin’s ideas
– Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium
– Punctuated equilibrium
– Genetic engineering
• Be able to explain and give examples of
mutation
adaptive radiation
polyploidy
population bottlenecks
growth of the human population
• How do they affect diversity?
• Be able to explain the theory of evolution by
natural selection as presented by Darwin
• Be able to relate the following to Natural
Selection & give examples
– Convergent evolution
– The formation of resistant organisms
– Speciation and isolation
– Natural selection and behavior such as kinesis,
fixed-action-pattern, dominance hierarchy, etc.
– Heterozygote advantage