Human Evolution Exam Questions 2015
VCAA EXAM 2, 2006-2009
Question 21 (2006)
Hominids are believed to have evolved in Africa because
A. the oldest hominid fossils have been found in Africa.
B. the most hominid fossils have been found in Africa.
C. monkey fossils were found in Africa.
D. Africa is the oldest continent.
Question 22 (2006)
Consider the following diagrams of skulls.
The skull most likely to be that of a chimpanzee is
A. W
B. X
C. Y
D. Z
Question 23 (2006)
There is evidence that Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis coexisted in Europe more than 30 000 years
ago. Both of these species left signs of cultural evolution from this period.
An example of evidence which would show that cultural evolution was occurring in these groups at this time
is
A. drawings and carvings on rocks.
B. animal remains close to a Homo skeleton.
C. male and female skeletons in the same area.
D. Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis skeletons in the same area.
Question 17 (2007)
Lactase is an enzyme in humans which breaks down lactose, one of the sugars in milk. Milk is a safe and
nutritious food which is readily available year-round. Although most adults around the world lose the ability
to produce lactase as they mature, more than 90% of Europeans have a lactase-producing allele which
remains active into adulthood.
Scientists analysed DNA in bone samples from a number of Neolithic Europeans (dated between 5840 BC
and 5000 BC) and found that none of them had the adult lactase allele.
The most likely explanation for this data is that
A. the adult lactase-producing allele which remains active into adulthood arose millions of years ago in
ancestors of modern humans.
B. possession of the adult lactase-producing allele which remains active into adulthood confers a significant
evolutionary advantage.
C. the adult lactase-producing allele which remains active into adulthood did not arise in Europe.
D. modern Europeans are not descended from the Neolithic Europeans tested.
Question 25 (2006)
Comparisons of the amino acid sequences of the α-globin polypeptide have been made between humans
and a number of other vertebrates. The number of differences is shown in the table below.
An evolutionary relationship between these vertebrates was determined and illustrated in the figure below.
Question 19 (2007)
Traces of starch from wild barley (Hordem) and wheat (Triticum) species were found on a 23 000-year-old
seed-grinding stone used by ancient humans in Israel.
The method which would have been used to date these ancient starch grains is
A. radioactive carbon-14 dating.
B. radioactive uranium-235 dating.
C. relative dating by comparing rock strata.
D. the use of a molecular clock.
Question 21 (2007)
Cytochrome-c is a protein found in most organisms. The amino acid sequence of this protein varies
between species. The numbers of differences in the amino acid sequences in the protein of cytochrome-c
between three species of chordate A, B and C are shown in the table below.
Question 22 (2007)
This diagram illustrates one interpretation of the origin of humans. The dotted lines indicate possible
evolutionary relationships, and the vertical bars show the period from which fossils are known for each
species.
This diagram suggests that
A. Homo habilis is an ancestor of modern humans.
B. Homo sapiens is descended from Paranthropus aethiopicus.
C. Homo erectus became extinct before modern humans appeared.
D. Australopithecus species may have given rise to modern humans.
Question 24 (2007)
Complex social activities require articulate speech. Evidence found with early Homo fossils suggests that
this genus was the first to use articulate speech.
This suggestion would be best supported by evidence of
A. burial ceremonies.
B. use of stone tools.
C. living in groups.
D. organised hunting of prey.
Question 10 (2007)
The highest level of genetic variation in mitochondrial DNA in modern-day humans occurs in African
populations. The most likely explanation is that
A. Homo sapiens evolved in Africa.
B. mitochondrial DNA has a higher mutation rate in African environments.
C. gene flow occurred between Homo sapiens and other Homo species in Africa.
D. natural selection does not operate on mitochondrial DNA in African environments.
Question 12 (2008)
Two hominin (also called hominid) skull fragments were found in separate locations and each was
associated with a number of artefacts. Skull X was dated and shown to be 100 000 years old, while skull Y
was dated at 20 000 years old.
The artefacts most likely discovered with skull Y but not skull X would be
A. fireplace fragments.
B. stone tools for cutting.
C. pigment used in rock paintings.
D. bones from hunted animals.
The following information relates to Questions 15 and 16.
The following table shows a stratigraphic section of rock. Scientists found
that fossils A and C had analogous structures.
Question 15
From the data it can be concluded that
A. fossil A is less than 5 million years old.
B. fossil D is the youngest fossil present.
C. fossils A and C are closely related.
D. fossil B is extinct.
Question 16 (2008)
Fossils A and C both have limb-like appendages.
As they had analogous structures then they must have shared very similar
A. DNA sequences.
B. RNA sequences.
C. habitats.
D. selection pressures.
Question 21 (2009)
Examine the following primate evolutionary tree.
Analysis of the evolutionary tree above shows that
A. gibbons and old world monkeys are unrelated.
B. lorises is the oldest group in the evolutionary tree.
C. the most recent group to evolve separately is humans.
D. chimps and humans are more closely related than gorillas and chimps.
Question 22 (2008)
Scientific opinion was once evenly divided regarding the geographical origin of the modern human.
Two hypotheses were put forward – the ‘Out-of-Africa’ hypothesis and the ‘Multi-Regional’ hypothesis.
In general, researchers now accept that the Out-of-Africa hypothesis is better supported by current information.
Findings from worldwide human fossil sites which would best support the Out-of-Africa hypothesis include
A. dating of fossils by radioactive uranium.
B. the degree of decomposition of remains.
C. the present-day climate of the region.
D. variations in mitochondrial DNA.
Question 8 (2008)
Two paleoanthropologists each used fossil data to draw a model of the human evolutionary tree. The two
models they produced are shown below.
Question 6 (2009)
The press recently reported:
‘Anthropologists have uncovered ancient fossil footprints in Kenya dating back 1.5 million years, the oldest evidence
that indicates our ancestors walked like present-day humans . . .’