Name:
Date:
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Evolution Practice Test
Note that the actual test will have 36 questions!
Standard
7a
7b
7c
7d
8a
8b
8c
8d
8e
Grade
Standards
7. The frequency of an allele in a gene pool of a population depends on many factors
and may be stable or unstable over time. As a basis for understanding this concept:
a. Students know why natural selection acts on the phenotype rather than the genotype of an organism.
b. Students know why alleles that are lethal in a homozygous individual may be
carried in a heterozygote and thus maintained in a gene pool.
c. Students know new mutations are constantly being generated in a gene pool.
d. Students know variation within a species increases the likelihood that at least
some members of a species will survive under changed environmental conditions.
8. Evolution is the result of genetic changes that occur in constantly changing
environments. As a basis for understanding this concept:
a. Students know how natural selection determines the differential survival of
groups of organisms.
b. Students know a great diversity of species increases the chance that at least some
organisms survive major changes in the environment.
c. Students know the effects of genetic drift on the diversity of organisms in a
population.
d. Students know reproductive or geographic isolation affects speciation.
e. Students know how to analyze fossil evidence with regard to biological diversity,
episodic speciation, and mass extinction
7a.
1.
A.
B.
C.
D.
Natural selection acts on:
all mutations
only on recessive alleles
on phenotypes that are expressed
only on heterozygous genotypes
2. Studies of a fish species show that ones that eat bigger bugs in fewer feeding
sessions are able to survive to reproduce more than ones that eat smaller bugs in
more frequent feeding sessions. (Each feeding session exposes a fish to a higher risk
of being eaten itself.) In this example, where does the main force of natural selection
on these fish occur?
A. on the bugs
B. on the genotype
C. on the diversity
D. on the behavior
3. Natural selection can cause the spread of an advantageous adaptation throughout
a population over time.
A. True
B. False
4. In stabilizing selection, the range of phenotypes becomes wider. (We have not
learned this yet, but you can look in the book on pages 398 and 399)
A. True
B. False
7b.
5. Sickle-cell anemia is the result of a recessive gene. Sickle-cell anemia may show
up in a child if
A.
B.
C.
D.
both parents are homozygous
both parents are heterozygous
the mother is heterozygous and the father is homozygous
the mother is homozygous and the father is heterozygous
6. Two heterozygous individuals, who are both carriers for a lethal recessive gene,
have offspring. What is the probability that they will have offspring who will be
homozygous recessive and will express the lethal gene?
A. 0%
B. 25%
C. 40%
D. 50%
7. A population of spiders has two common phenotypes: a tan form and a brown
form. Often white spiders are produced when two tan spiders mate, but the white
spiders always die before they can reproduce. What is the best genetic explanation
for the existence of white spiders?
A. They are a result of spontaneous mutation.
B. They are dominant heterozygotes.
C. They are dominant homozygotes.
D. They are recessive homozygotes.
8. An allele that is lethal when homozygous is maintained at a constant rate in a
population. Why doesn't this lethal allele disappear from the population?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Heterozygotes pass on the allele.
Homozygotes pass on the allele.
Heterozygotes benefit from the allele.
Homozygotes benefit from the allele.
7c.
9. A rare species of iris only reproduces asexually through the budding of new bulbs
underground. The flowers are blue. In a very large population of the iris, a whiteflowered form of this species appears. What is the most likely explanation for the
appearance of the white-flowered iris?
A.
B.
C.
D.
recombination
immigration
mutation
selection
10. A plant that entirely self-fertilizes arrives on an island. Eventually this plant
evolves into two different species. How is this most likely to occur?
A. Selection acts on the genetic code.
B. New mutations are selected for.
C. Selection increases the mutation rate.
D. Outcrossing individuals are selected for.
11. Bacteria were collected and put on a food source but the food source also
contained a type of chemical which kills bacteria. After three days, there was only
one spot of bacteria on the food source; evidence that a few bacteria have survived
the toxin, while the rest died out. Which explanation is the most accurate that
describes why a few bacteria survived a toxin while others died when exposed the
toxin?
A.
B.
C.
D.
A few bacteria adapted to the toxin more easily than others.
A few bacteria were mutated by the toxin and survived.
A few bacteria already had a mutation which allowed them to survive.
A few bacteria mutated the food and were able to survive the toxin
12. What is the main cause of genetic variation that occurs in all organisms?
A. recombination
B. environment
C. mutations
D. transcription
7d
13. Which of the following is true about individuals who survive in a changing
environment?
A.
B.
C.
D.
They live longer than those less suited to the environment.
They reproduce more rapidly than those less suited to the environment.
They are smaller and need less food than those less suited to the environment.
They reproduce more successfully than those less suited to the environment.
14. In order to increase the chance of survival in a changing environnment, it is
important for a species to have
A.
B.
C.
D.
a large number of strong individuals.
a larger number of dominant genes.
diversity of genetic traits.
individuals with similar genetic make-up.
8a
15. The hypothesis that evolution occurs at a slow, constant rate is known as (we
have not learned this yet, look it up in the book)
A.
B.
C.
D.
gradualism
slow motion.
natural selection.
adaptation.
16. Natural selection favors
A. traits that benefit the species.
B. traits that benefit the individual.
C. traits that benefit the group.
D. traits that benefit the order.
17. The major idea that Darwin presented in his book The Origin of Species was that
A. species changed over time and never competed with each other.
B. animals changed, but plants remained the same.
C. elephants and bacteria changed constantly.
D. species changed over time by natural selection.
18. Population A of a frog species needs 7 weeks of wet weather with temperatures
above freezing in order to reproduce. Population B needs 8 to 10 weeks of this
weather. Each population matches the weather conditions of its area. How would
natural selection have acted to produce these differences between the populations?
A. Frogs that were not locally adapted died.
B. Frogs that were not locally adapted did not reproduce.
C. Frogs that were not locally adapted had offspring later.
D. Frogs that were not locally adapted had more offspring.
8b
19. A fire burns through several regional parks. Which park would be most likely to
have organisms that survive the fire?
A. The one with the most individuals.
B. The one with the fewest trees.
C. The one with the fewest fish.
D. The one with the most species.
20. Populations of the same species living in different places
A. do not vary.
B. always show balancing selection.
C. have a half-life in relation to the size of the population.
D. become increasingly different as each becomes adapted to its own environment.
21. Scarcity of resources and a growing population are most likely to result in
A. homology.
B. protective coloration.
C. competition.
D. convergent evolution.
22. Since natural resources are limited, all organisms
A. must migrate to new habitats.
B. face a constant struggle for existence.
C. display vestigial structures.
D. have a species half-life.
8c
23. In a small population, a shift in gene frequency caused by a random event is
likely to cause
A.
B.
C.
D.
speciation.
predation.
survival by natural selection.
evolution of acquired traits.
24. When many members of a species die due to some event (climate change,
natural disaster, drought, famine), it is called
A. a rubberneck
B. a bottleneck
C. the founder effect
D.
walkin’ on walkin’ on broken glaaaaaaaaaaaaass
25. In a population of aloe vera plants, 25% of the population is homozygous
dominant for spiny leaves (NN), 40% of the population is heterozygous (Nn), and
35% of the population is homozygous recessive (nn) and has smooth leaves. What
are the allele frequencies of both the dominant allele and the recessive allele?
Dominant N allele frequency =
Recessive n allele frequency =
26. In 1814, 15 British colonists founded a settlement on Tristan da Cunha, a group
of small islands in the Atlantic Ocean, midway between Africa and South America.
One of the early colonists carried a recessive allele for retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic
recessive form of blindness. After several generations, the population grew to 240
people. Four of the 240 people in this new population had retinitis pigmentosa. The
frequency of the allele that causes this disease is ten times higher on Tristan da
Cunha than in the populations that the founders of the new population came from.
This is an example of:
A. genetic drift and a bottleneck
B. genetic drift and the founder effect
C. a bottleneck and the founder effect
D. polydactly
8d
27. Geographic isolation over long periods of time leads to
A. polyploidy.
B. mutation.
C. speciation.
D. colonization.
28. When two populations of an organism do not interact and reproduce with one
another, after a long period of time _______ will occur.
A. mutation.
B. extinction.
C. speciation.
D. death.
29. Which of the following is NOT a type of isolation that can lead to speciation?
A. geographic
B. temporary
C. behavioral
D. reproductive
8e
30. Fossil evidence tells us that
A. the number of species alive today is a very small number compared to the total
number of species that has lived.
B. carbon dioxide using plants were among the first organisms on earth.
C. plant cells, animal cells, bacterial cells and viruses all have the same nucleic acid.
D. there are more species alive today than in the earth's past.
31. Evidence in the fossil record supports which current theory concerning
dinosaur extinction?
A. Melting polar ice caps raised ocean levels worldwide and flooded the Pangaea
landmass.
B. New species of mammals emerged after the last Ice Age and this led to increased
competition for resources.
C. A massive dust cloud from a meteor impact on the Yucatan peninsula changed
global weather patterns.
D. Poisonous gases were released from volcanic activity caused by movement of the
tectonic plates.
32. Two-thirds of all terrestrial life disappeared in the last mass extinction
approximately
A. 440 million years ago.
B. 360 million years ago.
C. 245 million years ago.
D. 65 million years ago.
33. The first four mass extinctions were likely caused by global geological and
weather changes.
A. True
B. False