This exam is worth 50 pts.
Evolutionary Biology
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Exam I Fall 2015
Multiple Choice Questions. Choose the best possible answer. Use the bubble sheet. 1 pt. each
1. Which structure is not surrounded by one or more membranes? A) ribosome B) chloroplast C) mitochondrion
D) nucleus E) vacuole
2. Jean Baptiste Lamarck would likely support which of the following scenarios about the increase in the length of the
elephant’s trunk over time? A) The elephant stretched its trunk progressively longer and longer and passed these
traits on to its offspring. B) A genetic mutation occurred giving elephants longer trunks that they passed on to their
offspring. C) The elephant was blessed with a long trunk by God and this trait was passed on to its offspring. D) Elephants
were created with varying lengths of trunks and over time the shorted trunked elephants died out leaving the longer
trunked elephants alive today. E) Elephants appear to suffer from pleiotrophy and as a result have compensated by
developing longer trunks.
3. What structure is generally present in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic plant cells? A) chloroplasts B) cell walls
C) nucleus D) mitochondria E) microtubules
4. A new organism with feathers is found and classified as a modern bird. Which of the following is consistent with that
classification? (A) bony tail with free vertebrae, flat breast bone, bipedal, reversed big toe, and wings.
(B) wings, pneumatic bones, wishbone, bipedal, reversed big toe. (C) wings, bony tail with free vertebrae, pneumatic
bones, wishbone. (D) long snout, flat breastbone, three claws on wing, bipedal, reversed big toe.
(E) beak, bony tail with free vertebrae, pneumatic bones, bipedal, reversed big toe.
5. According to radiometric dating, the (A) solar system is about 6,000 to 10,000 years old. (B) the earth is about 4.5
years million years old and the solar system is 13 billion years old (C) the oldest fossils on earth are 4.6 billion years old
and the universe is 13 billion years old (D) the earth is 4.6 billion years old and the oldest fossils are 3.5 billion years
old. (E) the solar system is 4.6 billion years old and the oldest fossil is 2.2 billion years old.
6. The scientific method involves making careful observations, asking questions, formulating hypotheses, collecting data,
testing, and making conclusions about the collected data. Of the following statements about toxic wastes, select the choice
that science cannot address. (A) Science can test for the presence of toxin in a river. (B) Science can determine the level of
toxin that is lethal to fish in the river. (C) Science can say that a river should not be polluted. (D) Science can
formulate hypotheses about how a river was polluted. (E) Science can determine the rate of mutations caused by toxins in
a river.
7. The function of tRNA is to (A) provide a place for polypeptide synthesis (B) transport amino acids to the ribosome
(C) travel to the ribosome to direct the assembly of polypeptides (D) transcribe DNA (E) translate DNA.
8. Oil birds and whales use echolocation (sonar) to navigate around their surroundings. This is an example of (A) a
homoplastic trait because it is highly unlikely that the common ancestor had this ability. (B) a homologous trait
because the process of producing high frequency sounds and the neurological ability of these animals to detect objects is
too complex to imagine that the trait evolved more than once (C) an analogous trait (D) adaptive radiation (E) reverse
evolution.
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9. Which statement about eukaryotic chromosomes is not true? A) They sometimes consist of two chromatids. B) They
sometimes consist of one chromatid. C) They normally possess a single centromere. D) They consist only of protein E)
During metaphase they are visible with the light microscope.
10. In meiosis, A) meiosis II reduces the chromosome number from diploid to haploid. B) DNA replicates between
meiosis I and meiosis II. C) the chromatids that make up a chromosome in meiosis II are identical. D) Each
chromosome in prophase I consists of 4 chromatids. E) Homologous chromosomes separate from one another in anaphase
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11. Which statement about complementary base pairing is not true? A) Base pairing plays a role in DNA replication.
B) In DNA, T pairs with A. C) Purines pair with purines and pyrimidines pair with pyrimidines.
D) In DNA, C pairs with G. E) The base pairs are of equal length.
12. The "scientific creationism" view includes all of the following beliefs except (A) biblical account of the origin of the
earth is literally true. (B) the earth is much younger than most scientists believe. (C) all species of organisms were
individually created. (D) the organisms did not change from their original appearance. (E) extinct species are replaced
with new ones.
13. A friend is trying to understand the concept of convergent evolution. Which one of the following statements best
describes this concept? (A) Convergent evolution occurs when two species living in the same area become reproductively
isolated. (B) Convergent evolution occurs when two species living in different areas become reestablished and are able to
reproduce. (C) Convergent evolution occurs when two species living in the same area are competing for the same resource
thus causing one to evolve away from the other. (D) Convergent evolution occurs when two species living in different
areas evolve similarities through natural selection acting on those characteristics. E) Convergent evolution leads to
homologies.
14. Which statement about a man who is homozygous for an allele is NOT true? A) Each of his cells has two copies of
that allele. B) Each of his gametes contains one copy of that allele. C) He is true breeding with respect to that allele. D)
His parents were necessarily homozygous for that allele. E) He can pass that allele on to his offspring.
15. A rock contains 20 mg of the radioactive isotope carbon-14. The half-life of carbon-14 is 5,600 years. How many halflives and years will it take before the carbon-14 decays to less than 6 mg? (A) 1 half-life; 5,600 years (B) 2 half-lives;
11,200 years (C) 3 half-lives; 16,800 years (D) 4 half-lives; 22,400 years (E) 9 half-lives; 50,400 years
16. Which one of the following statements about the evolutionary divergence of horses in North America is
false? (A) Most changes are seen as adaptations for life in grassland habitats. (B) The general trends during horse
evolution are increase in body size, lengthening of limbs, reduction of digits on both sets of limbs, and tooth development
for a grazing life style. (C) Global climate change during the Miocene and early Oligocene epochs caused many of the
changes in the evolution of horses. (D) Horse evolution is unusual in that rates of change were uniform and constant
throughout most lineages. (E) Living lineages of horses show much less diversity than existed in the past.
17. Which one of the following is NOT important to the concept of homology? (A) Homologous features must be found in
a common ancestor. (B) It can include anatomical, physiological, or molecular features. (C) Features must share a
common developmental pattern. (D) Species with homologous features must be related. (E) None of the features being
compared can be vestigial.
18. In the process of transcription (A) the base sequence of DNA is copied into RNA (B) a polypeptide is formed as
specified by the genes in chromosomes (C) rRNA is specified by exons in DNA (D) a strand of mRNA is formed with
base sequences complementary to those of DNA (E) mRNA is formed as coded by introns
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19. Let P = purple flowers and p = white, and T = tall plants and t = dwarf. What combinations of gametes could be
produced by a heterozygote for both the traits? (A) PpTt only. (B) Pp, Tt. (C) P, p, T, t. (D) PT, Pt, pT, pt. (E) infertile,
no gametes produced.
20. Let P = purple flowers and p = white, and T = tall plants and t = dwarf. Of the 16 possible gamete combinations in the
dihybrid cross, how many would be the phenotype light purple, middle sized? (A) none (B) 1 (C) 3 (D) 9 (E) 16.
21. When Mendel crossed two purple-flowered pea plants with each other, he obtained a phenotypic ratio of 3:1 (purpleflowered pea plants to white-flowered pea plants). His results are consistent with which of the following sets of
parents? (A) homozygous dominant purple pea plant and homozygous recessive white pea plant
(B) homozygous dominant purple pea plant and heterozygous white pea plant (C) heterozygous purple pea plant and
homozygous recessive white pea plant (D) heterozygous purple pea plant and homozygous dominant purple pea plant
(E) heterozygous purple pea plant and heterozygous purple pea plant.
22. According to Fleeming Jenkin, the offspring of two parents, parent A with fast speed and parent B with normal speed,
will have what trait? A) fast speed like parent A. B) normal speed like parent B C) a speed in between the two parents
D) faster speed than parent A E) half the offspring would be fast and half would be normal.
23. Linked genes A) must be immediately adjacent to one another on a chromosome. B) have alleles that sort
independently of one another. C) never show crossing over. D) are on the same chromosome. E) always have multiple
alleles.
24. In humans, spotted teeth are caused by a dominant sex-linked gene. A man with spotted teeth whose father had normal
teeth marries a woman with normal teeth. Therefore, A) all of their daughters will have normal teeth. B) all of their
daughters will have spotted teeth. C) all of their children will have spotted teeth. D) half of their sons will have spotted
teeth. E) all of their sons will have spotted teeth.
25. How many different types of gametes can be formed by plants with a genotype of PpYYrrtt?
(A) one (B) 2 (C) 4 (D) 8 (E)16
26. In white tigers, the absence of fur pigmentation is caused by a recessive allele. This allele also causes the tigers to be
cross-eyed. If two tigers heterozygous for this allele mate and produce offspring, what percentage can be expected to be
white and/or cross-eyed? (A) 25% will be white and the same 25% will be cross-eyed. (B) 25% will be white and 25%
will be cross-eyed, but not necessarily the same 25% due to independent assortment. (C) 50% will be both white and
cross-eyed. (D) Because it is a recessive allele, none of the offspring in the F1 generation will be white or cross-eyed.
27. Let Y = yellow and y = green, and R = round and r = wrinkled. You cross YYRR peas with yyrr peas. All of the F1
individuals are yellow and round with a genotype of YyRr. You then perform a F2 cross and get the expected 9:3:3:1
phenotypic ratio. Which of the following is the correct genotypic ratio for yellow, round F2 individuals? (A) 1/16 YYRr,
2/16 YYRR, 2/16 YyRR, 4/16 YyRr
(B) 1/16 YyRr, 2/16 YYRr, 2/16 YyRR, 4/16 YYRR (C) 1/16 YYRR, 1/16 YYRr, 1/16 YyRR
(D) 1/16 YYRR, 2/16 YYRr, 2/16 YyRR, 4/16 YyRr
28 In cats, black fur color is caused by an X-linked allele; the other allele at this locus causes orange color. The
heterozygote is tortoiseshell. What kinds of offspring would you expect from the cross of a black female and an orange
male? A) tortoiseshell female; tortoiseshell male B) black female; orange male C) orange female; orange male D)
tortoiseshell female; black male E) orange female; black male.
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29. You are a herpetologist studying snapping turtles. You house the turtles in an incubator set at 22ºC. After a period of
time you find that some new baby turtles have hatched. Interestingly, all of the baby turtles are male. Based on this
observation (A) you conclude that sex-determination is temperature dependent. (B) you hypothesize that only male turtles
survive at room temperature. (C) you hypothesize that sex-determination in turtles in influenced by temperature, but
you need more data to be sure. (D) you realize that it was a coincidence that only males were born since gender is
always determined by sex chromosomes.
30. Which of the following is the best example of inductive reasoning? A) Snakes are reptiles and reptiles are coldblooded; therefore, snakes are cold-blooded. B) Every time you eat peanuts, your throat swells up and you can’t
breathe. So you are allergic to peanuts. C) All cats have a keen sense of smell. Fluffy is a cat, so Fluffy has a keen sense
of smell. D) Magnolia are dicots and dicots have embryonic leaves; therefore, magnolias have tow embryonic leaves.
31. Which of the following animals has a three chambered heart? (A) starfish (B) embryonic bird (C) a frog (D) snake
(E) shark
32. What was the most compelling argument that Darwin made about Natural Selection being the causative agent for
evolution? A) He argued mutation could not do it alone. B) He used the analogy of artificial selection. C) He used the
fossil record as evidence. D) He used pesticide resistance in insects as evidence of natural selection E) He argued that
Thomas Malthus said that over-population could cause evolution
33. Which of these characteristics is lacking in viruses but present in prokaryotes? (A) protein in the membranes
surrounding the “organism.” (B) DNA as the genetic material (C) ribosomes (D) enzymes (E) lipids
34. Hypothesis is to _________ as theory is to_________.
A) speculative; certain B) elaborate; simple C) consilience; parsimony D) prediction; fact E) complexity;
parsimony
35. Why is that the Galapagos Islands had such a profound impact on Darwin’s views? (A) Darwin could see evolution
changing the species during his visit. (B) He found giant armadillos there (C) He could see that Lamarck’s views could
not be correct. (D) He noted that the closely related species lived on the islands and were similar to ones on the
mainland (E) While visiting he read Charles Lyell’s books on geology stating that the earth changed slowly and so did
the species.
36. The leaf cell of a coffee plant has 22 chromosomes, how many chromosomes would its pollen have?
A) 11
chromosomes B) 22 chromosomes C) 44 chromosomes D) 66 chromosomes E) variable number depending upon whether
it is fertilized or not.
37. In a scientific experiment, variables that are to manipulated by the investigator are called A) independent variables
B) dependent variables C) polymorphic variable D) standards E) control group.
38. Which of the following is a unique feature of viruses that separates them from bacteria?
(A) They are generally smaller. (B) They are often highly toxic. (C) They lack proteins. (D) They have different
nucleotides in their hereditary material. (E) They cannot exist outside of a host cell.
39. If we had the opportunity to analyze the DNA of Archaeopteryx, which of the following animals’ DNA would likely
be most similar? (A) bat (B) penguin (C) frog (D) flying fish (E) snake.
40. A key difference between mitosis and meiosis is that(A) mitosis leads to the transfer of genetic information from
generation to generation and meiosis does not (B) there is a duplication of genetic material prior to cell division in one and
not the other. (C) Diploid cells are the result of the process in mitosis and haploid cells in meiosis (D) There are two
cell divisions in mitosis and one in meiosis (E) cross-over is common in mitosis but not meiosis
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41. Suppose you were to find an organism with cells having ribosomes, endoplasmic reticulum, cell wall, DNA, and it had
chlorophyll, which taxonomic group would you most likely be holding? (A) Archea (B) Bacteria (C) Animalia (D) Fungi
(E) Plantae
42. Which group is the most ancient vertebrate taxonomic group? (A) birds (B) mammals (C) fish (D) bacteria
(E) dinosaurs
43. What is the best example of the phrase “ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny”? (A) the parallel evolution of the wing
pattern of two closely related butterfly species (B) the presence of goose bumps when we get cold (C) the development of
the blowhole of whales (D) the progressive size increase seen during horse evolution (E) the formation of petrified wood
during the process of permineralization.
44.. Evolutionary theory predicts that species are related, not independent. Four of the following examples provide support
for this prediction, but one is irrelevant. Which of the examples below does not support the claim that species are related?
(A) Many dinosaurs and other organisms went extinct following a huge asteroid impact at the end of the
Cretaceous. (B) All vertebrate embryos develop gill pouches early in their development. (C) All prokaryotes and
eukaryotes use DNA to carry their genetic information. (D) Ground squirrels species found on the North and South sides of
the Grand Canyon are very similar to each other. (E) Before synthetic insulin was available, diabetics used injections of pig
insulin to manage their disease.
45. Which of the following would you NOT expect to find in single celled eukaryotic algae? (A) mitochondria (B)
ribosomes (C) peptidoglycan (D) chloroplasts (E) I would expect to find all of the above.
46. Height and eye colors are two examples of continuous variation in humans. Whereas in pea plants the tall allele is
dominant over the short allele, there are no intermediate heights in peas. Which of the following is the best explanation for
the differences described above? (A) The intermediate size pea plant seeds are aborted within the seedpod and thus will
never develop. (B) The intermediate size pea plant seeds have deleterious alleles that prevent them from germinating.
(C) These variations in humans are affected by lack of dominance in the alleles that control these traits. (D) Humans are
more advanced than pea plants; thus, the genetics of peas is much simpler than humans. (E) Many genes, rather than
one gene for a characteristic, control some variations in species
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47. In comparing the two diagrams below, which organism is the most closely related to hippopotamids? (A) pigs in
diagram A and whales in diagram B. (B) ruminants in diagrams A and B. (C) Artiodactylas in diagram A and
Perissodactls in diagram B. (D) None of the above. (E) You cannot determine degree of relatedness from these diagrams.
48. According to diagram B, which animal is an outgroup? A) hippopotamid B) Artiodactyla C) cetacean D) mesonychian
E) perissodactyl
49. According to diagram A, which animal is the closest relative to a camel? A) perissodactyl B) pig C) mesonychian
D) cetacean E) ruminant
50. This is an experiment being run by one of the lecture TA’s. We are not interested in your personal data, but the total
combined class data. You will not be penalized for your answers to this question. You will get the results as soon as we
have the data compiled and graphed.
In the last 5 weeks, how often have you used your cell phone during class for BIO 200? Don’t consider other classes.
All answers will be counted as correct. A) Never B) Once or twice a month C) Once or twice a week D) Once or
twice a class E) More than twice a class
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