Multiple Choice Review – Evolution & Classification
Questions #1-4 refer to the following scenario:
Pesticide resistance is an increasing problem worldwide. Fruit flies that infest orange groves are an
example of pests that have evolved resistance. Pesticide resistance occurs very quickly, sometimes in
just one generation.
1. If a random mutation in one insect results in resistance to a specific pesticide, how would this
lead to resistance in the population?
a. The mutation makes the insect able to survive and reproduce, passing the mutation on
to the next generation.
b. The mutation allows the insect to ingest more food, enabling it to be healthier than
other insects.
c. The mutation allows the insect to avoid predation.
d. The mutation enables the insect to be better camouflaged than other insects.
2. In this example of natural selection, one extreme phenotype is favored over another phenotype.
What type of selection is this?
a. Stabilizing
b. Adaptive
c. Directional
d. Disruptive
3. Pesticide resistance illustrates what concept of evolution?
a. One ancestor can give rise to several different populations.
b. Mutations drive evolution by creating variation.
c. Individuals are the smallest unit that can evolve.
d. Homologies indicate common descent.
4. Suppose that a new pesticide is used in an effort to eliminate the fruit fly from an orange grove.
It effectively kills 90% of the population. The gene pool of the remaining population is greatly
altered from the original population. What has occurred?
a. Sympatric speciation
b. Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium
c. Founder effect
d. Bottleneck effect
5. You are examining whether or not two snakes are from the same species or different species.
Upon observation, you see that they are able to reproduce. What other question must you
answer before you can make a conclusion?
a. Are the offspring viable?
b. Where do the snakes live?
c. Are their gene frequencies changing?
d. What adaptations does each snake have?
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6. Humans and bacteria have similar genes that code for ribosomal subunits used in protein
synthesis. Of what is this an example?
a. Microevolution
b. Molecular homology
c. Comparative embryology
d. Vicariance
7. The Hardy-Weinberg Theorem proves that no evolution is occurring in a population. Which of
the following is not a parameter for the theorem?
a. No natural selection
b. Mutations
c. Large population
d. No migration
8. Natural selection can result from competition between species. The large ground finch and the
medium ground finch inhabit the same island. While both are equipped with beaks that can
crush seeds, the large ground finch is able to eat the larger and harder seeds. Medium ground
finches have smaller beaks and therefore eat smaller seeds. In this way, the two types of finches
can co-exist on the same island. In this example, two extreme phenotypes are selected for over
an intermediate phenotype. What type of selection is this?
a. Stabilizing
b. Disruptive
c. Bottleneck
d. Directional
9. In a population of lizards, the gene for stripe color has two alleles, B and b. If the frequency of B
is 65%, what is the frequency of b?
a. 65%
b. 35%
c. 12%
d. 46%
10. Homologies are used as evidence for evolution in species. Which of the following is not a type
homology?
a. Homologous structures
b. Molecular homologies
c. Vicariance structures
d. Comparative embryology
11. Three of Darwin’s finches are the small tree finch, the medium tree finch, and the large tree
finch. Although they are very similar, they are three different species. What does this mean?
a. Biogeography prevents them from interacting.
b. They are not able to interbreed to produce viable offspring.
c. They are in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.
d. They are able to interbreed to produce viable offspring.
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Questions #12-14 refer to the following phylogenetic tree:
Source: http://genomebiology.com
12. If the DNA of each animal were examined, which two would have the highest percentage of DNA
in common?
a. Anole lizard and blindsnake
b. Finch and chicken
c. Cobra and viper
d. Opossum and alligator
13. When constructing this tree, there were several options. Which tree was chosen as being most
accurate?
a. The tree with the least amount of evolutionary events.
b. The tree with the greatest amount of speciation.
c. The tree with the greatest amount of evolutionary events.
d. The tree with the least amount of equilibrium.
14. Which principle was followed to make the decision in #36?
a. Maximum parsimony
b. Least parsimony
c. Maximum speciation
d. Least genetic drift
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15. The wing of a bat and the forelimb of a cat have the same skeletal elements even though the
wing and the forelimb are used for different functions. What is an explanation for this?
a. The wing and the forelimb are vestigial structures from a common ancestor.
b. The cat and the bat evolved similar structures from separate ancestors.
c. Disruptive selection caused similar structures in each animal.
d. The wing and the forelimb are homologous structures from a common ancestor.
16. During embryonic development, a bird and a human both have pharyngeal gill slits. This is
evidence of descent from a common ancestor and is an example of what?
a. Biogeography
b. Homologous structures
c. Molecular homology
d. Comparative embryology
Questions #17-20 refer to the following information:
In 1835, Charles Darwin collected a variety of small birds from the Galapagos Islands. They have since
been named Darwin’s finches and include approximately 13 different species that inhabit the different
islands of the Galapagos. Darwin’s finches all evolved from the South American common ground finch.
The main difference between the species is the size and thickness of the beaks.
17. When several populations evolve from one species, it is referred to as what?
a. Convergent evolution
b. Stabilizing selection
c. Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium
d. Adaptive radiation
18. Which of the following is not something that scientists used as evidence to confirm that the
South American common ground finch was the common ancestor of Darwin’s finches?
a. Similar structures
b. Similarities on the molecular level
c. Similar mutations
d. The geographic distribution of all the finches
19. The large ground finch has a large, thick beak that is used for crushing large seeds. The warbler
finch has a small, thin beak that is used for probing and finding insects. What mechanism drove
the evolution of different beak shapes?
a. Mutation
b. Adaptive radiation
c. Homology
d. Macroevolution
20. When this South American common ground finch spread from the mainland to the different
islands of the Galapagos, a variety of different species evolved. What type of speciation is this?
a. Sympatric
b. Adaptive
c. Allopatric
d. Prezygotic
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21. When a population is in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, individuals mate randomly. How does this
relate to evolution?
a. If individuals mate for a specific reason, gametes do not mix randomly and the gene
frequencies change.
b. When individuals mate randomly, genetic drift increases.
c. If individuals mate for a specific reason, genes can be deleted or duplicated.
d. When individuals mate for specific reasons, gene frequencies stay the same.
22. The coccyx in humans, also known as the tailbone, is the last section of the vertebrae. It no
longer serves a purpose but is the remnant of the tail of our ancestor. What is another name for
this type of structure?
a. Convergent
b. Allopatric
c. Stabilizing
d. Vestigial
Questions #23-24 refer to the following information:
A population of insects that feed on apple trees live in an apple orchard. While the apple orchard
traditionally grew only red apples, the farmer recently introduced green apples as well. The insects
begin specializing on apple type, with some only feeding on green apples and some only feeding on red
apples. After several generations, the subpopulations have evolved into separate species.
23. What type of speciation is this?
a. Sympatric
b. Adaptive
c. Allopatric
d. Solitary
24. What is also true of the two new species?
a. They will never be in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.
b. They cannot interbreed to create viable offspring.
c. They are more susceptible to mutation.
d. They are still able to interbreed to create viable offspring.
25. When trying to determine if two species evolved from a common ancestor, which of the
following is not something that scientists look for and examine?
a. Fossil record
b. Mutational homology
c. Biogeography
d. Homologies
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26. A population of flowers grows in a mountain valley along with tall grasses. When grown in the
lab, the flowers have a variety of heights. In the valley, however, the population is
predominated by intermediate heights. Small flowers do not receive direct sunlight due to being
hidden by the tall grasses. Tall flowers are subject to high winds that blow through the valley. On
the graphs below, the red line portrays the initial population while the blue line portrays the
population after natural selection. Which of the graphs illustrates the type of selection occurring
in the valley flowers?
a.
b.
c.
d. Not enough information.
Questions #27-28 refer to the following information:
The bearded vulture was hunted to extinction in the European Alps during the early 1900s. Because
several bearded vultures were in zoos around the world, a program to reestablish a wild population
began in the 1970s. Captive vultures were bred and the new generation was released into the wild.
27. Some scientists were concerned about the genetic diversity of the captive vultures compared to
the original wild population. What were they worried about?
a. The captive vultures may have decreased genetic diversity.
b. The captive vultures may have a genetic diversity that approaches Hardy-Weinberg
equilibrium.
c. The captive vultures may have increased genetic diversity.
d. The captive vultures may have a mutating genetic diversity.
28. The change in genetic diversity was caused by the drastic reduction in population size due to
hunting. This type of event is also called what?
a. Founder effect
b. Competition
c. Speciation
d. Bottleneck effect
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Questions #29-32 refer to the following information:
A population of trees has a gene that confers immunity against a fungus. There are two alleles for
this gene, B and b, with immunity being dominant. When the gene was first studied, the population
was not being affected by the fungus. Fifteen years later, an epidemic spread through the
population. Afterwards, the allele frequencies were reassessed. The number of affected trees during
each study is shown in the table below.
Year
Total population
1985
2000
652
368
Number of immune
trees
489
350
29. What can be concluded about the population of trees?
a. The allele frequency for the immunity gene has changed.
b. The population is not evolving.
c. Macroevolution is occurring.
d. The population is in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.
30. Quantitative: In 1985, what was the frequency of heterozygotes?
31. Quantitative: In 2000, what was the frequency of the dominant immunity allele?
32. The fungal epidemic led to what occurrence in the population?
a. Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium
b. Genetic drift
c. Sympatric speciation
d. Founder effect
33. The medium ground finch is a seed-eating bird who uses its small beak to eat small, soft seeds.
In 1977, however, the seed supply was diminished as a result of a drought. The only seeds
available were hard and large. Which of the following describes a probable result of the drought
for the medium ground finch?
a. Beak size decreased in subsequent generations.
b. There was no change in beak size.
c. Beak size increased in subsequent generations.
d. The birds migrated to a different island to find food.
34. A population that is in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium experiences no evolution. When this
happens, what always remains constant?
a. Competition
b. Vicariance
c. Biogeography
d. Gene pool
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Questions #35-37 refer to the following information:
During periods of abundant rainfall, there is plenty of food and the predominant beak size of the
Galapagos cactus finch is intermediate. During drought years, however, food is scarce and the cactus
finch must adapt. The population specializes into 1) deep, strong beaks that can strip bark to eat insects,
2) large, heavy beaks that can break cactus seeds and 3) very long beaks that can tear open cactus pads
to reach insects.
35. What type of selection is this?
a. Directional
b. Stabilizing
c. Adaptive
d. Disruptive
36. Suppose that, during a prolonged drought, a group of cactus finch with very long beaks moves to
an island with a larger supply of cactus. This newly formed population will be susceptible to
what?
a. Bottleneck effect
b. Mutation
c. Founder effect
d. Temporal isolation
37. After several years, the new population moves back to the original population. They are no
longer able to successfully mate with the original population. What has occurred?
a. Stabilizing selection
b. Allopatric speciation
c. Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium
d. Sympatric speciation
38. In a certain insect, a gene that affects pesticide resistance has two alleles, B and b. In a
population of this insect, there are 98 BB individuals, 30 bb individuals and 72 Bb individuals.
What can be concluded about this population?
a. The population is in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.
b. The population is experiencing microevolution.
c. The population is experiencing adaptive radiation.
d. The population is experiencing macroevolution.
39. Reproductive barriers that lead to macroevolution are considered either prezygotic or
postzygotic. Which of the following is an example of a postzygotic barrier?
a. Two species of flowers live in the same geographic area; however, one flowers in the
spring and the other flowers in the fall.
b. Two species of lizards are able to reproduce; however, the embryos do not survive
development.
c. Two species of snakes live in the same geographic area; however, one lives on land and
the other lives in the water.
d. Two species of spiders coexist in the same habitat; however, the incompatible shape of
their genitals prevents them from reproducing.
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Questions #40-42 refer to the following phylogenetic tree:
40. Based on the information in the tree, how many ancestors do mammals and ostriches have in
common?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
41. Lungfishes and hawks have what characteristic in common?
a. Tetrapod limbs
b. Amnion
c. Feathers
d. None of the above
42. What groups share the characteristic of an amnion?
a. Mammals and crocodiles
b. Lungfishes and amphibians
c. Amphibians and snakes
d. Lungfishes and ostriches
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Quantitative Review – Evolution & Classification
1. In a population of insects, having spots is completely dominant to not having spots. If the
homozygous recessive allele frequency is 16%, what is the frequency of the dominant allele in
the population?
2. Rorquals are the largest group of baleen whales. How many common ancestors are in the
phylogenetic tree for rorquals, shown below?
3. A sexually producing population is composed of 534,000 individuals. The population has a gene
for hair color that is incompletely dominant. How many alleles for hair color are present in the
population?
4. In a population of wildflowers, there are five different variations of flower color. After a storm
passes through the area, a majority of the population is killed. The initial and final frequencies of
all but one flower color variation is noted in the table below. Find the missing frequency,
marked “X” in the table.
Variation
White
Red
Yellow
Pink
Orange
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Initial Frequency
0.20
0.20
0.20
0.20
0.20
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Final Frequency
0.40
0.06
0.20
X
0.20
Evolution & Classification
ANSWER KEY
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
A
C
B
D
A
B
B
B
B
C
B
B
A
A
D
D
D
C
A
C
A
D
A
B
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25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
B
B
A
D
A
50%
78%
B
C
D
D
C
B
B
B
C
D
A
1.
2.
3.
4.
60%
7
1,068,000
0.14
Evolution & Classification