Evolution Unit Test
Teacher: Mr. Nebbe
1. Which evolutionary force is responsible for creating genetic variation in a species?
a. Natural selection
b. Genetic mutation
c. Genetic drift
d. Chance
2. What evolutionary force acts on a mutation determining whether it will spread throughout a
population or disappear?
a. Natural Selection
b. Genetic mutation
c. Genetic drift
d. Chance
3. The creative force that drives evolution in Darwin’s theory of evolution is what?
4. Which of the following choices is a piece of evidence that Darwin used to develop his theory?
a. He compared genetic mutations in closely related species.
b. He studied the inheritance of acquired characteristics.
c. He compared extinct South American fossil species to related living species.
d. None of the above
5. Darwin identified what factor as the major weakness in his theory of evolution?
a. It could not adequately explain the existence of fossils.
b. It was unable to explain why embryos of very different species look alike.
c. It proposed no selective force to drive evolutionary change.
d. It could not explain how traits were inherited from one generation to the next.
6. Of all the DNA in an organism’s genome, what percent actually codes for the production of proteins?
a. 50%
b. 2%
c. 10%
d. None of the above
7. Which of the following most accurately describes a switch?
a. A gene that produces an enzyme.
b. A highly conservative Hox gene.
c. A sequence of DNA that, when triggered, turns on a gene
d. None of the above
8. What was the difference between the fruit flies that had spots on their wings and those that did
not?
a. A switch was broken in the flies without spots.
b. A genetic mutation was responsible for the appearance of spots.
c. There was a Hox gene in the fly with spots that the other fly did not have.
d. Each of the flies had very different body plan genes.
9.
The discovery of the genetics behind why freshwater sticklebacks do not have belly spikes may lead
to many revolutionary gene therapies.
a. True
b. False
10. Which of the following roles do Hox genes play in the development of an organism?
a. They synthesize proteins that build an organism’s tissues.
b. They are switches that are turn on and off by body plan genes.
c. They control the differentiation of cells and tissues in the embryo.
d. None of the above
11. According to one of the researchers in the video “What Darwin Didn’t Know,” what is the
evolutionary adaptation that created the anatomical space for the human brain to grow?
a. A weak jaw
b. Stereoscopic vision
c. Straightened spine
d. Arms
12. Archaeopteryx is a fossil that has characteristics that are both dinosaur-like and bird-like. What kind
of fossil is it?
a. A coprolite fossil
b. A transitional fossil
c. A rare fossil
d. A very old fossil
13. The mutation of a _____________________ gene could have had a large enough impact on a
developing organism to change a “fin to a limb.”
14. The marked differences in the beaks of Darwin’s finches were not because of differences in genes,
but differences in when genes were turned on and for how long they were turned on.
a. True
b. False
15. The fact chimpanzees and humans show a significant number of anatomical and behavioral
differences is indicative of our not sharing as many genes as we had originally thought.
a. True
b. False
16. (2 Points) What are body plan genes and how do they control the “genes that make stuff (produce
proteins)?”
17. (3 Points, though a very good answer could get you up to 5 points – 2 points extra credit) How do
natural selection, mutation, and variation work together to produce speciation?