Chapter 9
Evolution
Name:
Class:
Date:
Instructions to students: Please write answers in spaces provided.
Multiple-choice questions
1
Marks
Some plants live successfully on sand dunes near the sea. Which of the following is not
an abiotic factor influencing their survival?
2
A the sea spray
B very low temperatures at night in the winter
C the sharp sand particles which can damage their leaves in a storm
D small microbes in the soil that can infect the roots of the plants
Answer: ______
2
A species of frog lives in a swamp containing many reeds and rushes. Which of the
following is not a biotic factor influencing the survival of the frogs?
2
A snakes that eat the frogs
B insects that the frogs eat
C minerals in the water that the frogs drink
D humans who occasionally visit the swamp to catch fish
Answer: ______
3
The phenotype of an organism is best described as:
2
A the physical appearance of the organism
B all of the genes in the gene pool
C all of the variations in a population
D the type of genes in an individual organism.
Answer: ______
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ScienceWorld 10 Australian Curriculum edition
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Chapter 9: Evolution
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Which of the following is the best example of natural selection at work?
2
A the breeding of a very good racehorse
B the development in hospitals of bacteria that are resistant to medicines
C the light brown-coloured fur of a wallaby that lives on open plains
D the death of sections of coral on the Great Barrier Reef
Answer: ______
5
Genetic variation in a species is not caused by:
2
A mutations.
B random fertilisation of eggs by sperm.
C the food that is available.
D the re-arrangement of genes along chromosomes.
Answer: ______
6
Evidence for evolution would not include:
2
A two brown-eyed parents having a blue-eyed child.
B similar fossils being found on different continents.
C a chicken embryo looking very similar to a rabbit embryo.
D chimpanzees and humans having 98.5% of their DNA in common.
Answer: ______
7
When sex cells are formed, sections of matching chromosomes may break and rejoin,
thereby creating new combinations of genes in the offspring. This process is called:
2
A mutation
B recombination
C independent assortment
D fertilisation
Answer: ______
8
When sex cells are formed, the pairs of chromosomes are pulled apart and become part
of the new cells. This process is called:
2
A mutation
B recombination
C independent assortment
D fertilisation
Answer: ______
© Macmillan Education Australia 2012
ScienceWorld 10 Australian Curriculum edition
2
Chapter 9: Evolution
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Before sex cells are formed, there may be changes to the base sequence in the DNA in
the chromosomes and this may cause changes to the phenotype. These changes to the
DNA are called:
2
A mutations
B recombination
C independent assortment
D fertilisation
Answer: ______
Short-answer questions
10
Use the table to decide whether the
following statements are TRUE or
FALSE.
Marks
20
(a) Flowering plants have been
on Earth longer than ferns.
______
(b) Humans could have hunted
dinosaurs. ______
(c) Mammals could have evolved
from dinosaurs. ______
(d) Amphibians could have
evolved from reptiles. ______
(e) Flowering plants could be
important in the appearance of
winged insects. ______
11
In the first step of a three-step model of how natural selection works, biological and
physical factors change the environmental conditions of a population of organisms.
3
Which of the following statements represents the next step (the middle step) in this
model? Indicate your answer by writing a letter from A to E in the space provided.
A The strongest organisms survive.
B The organisms select favourable characteristics and pass them to their offspring.
© Macmillan Education Australia 2012
ScienceWorld 10 Australian Curriculum edition
3
Chapter 9: Evolution
C The organisms with favourable characteristics survive.
D The organisms die and become a food source for other organisms which survive.
E The organisms select a more favourable environment.
Answer: ______
12
Which of the following statements represents the third and last step in the three-step
model of natural selection in the previous question? Indicate your answer by writing a
letter from A to E in the space provided.
3
A The weakest organisms die.
B The organisms change into a different type of organism.
C The organisms with unfavourable characteristics don’t breed.
D The organisms breed and pass favourable characteristics to their offspring.
E The organisms breed and all their offspring are born with favourable
characteristics.
Answer: ______
Long- answer questions
13
Marks
Fossil records show that about a million years ago there was a large population of frogs
living in swamps where the Nullarbor Plain is now, between Western Australia and South
Australia. Today two separate but similar populations of frogs live on the Nullarbor Plain,
one near the eastern edge and one near the western edge.
4
(a) Would you consider that these are now separate species? Explain.
(b) Describe the sequence of events that you think occurred to produce this situation.
14
From time to time, native animals (e.g. kangaroos) in National Parks multiply in numbers to
the point where food is scarce and some of them could starve to death.
4
(a) Suggest why this occurs.
© Macmillan Education Australia 2012
ScienceWorld 10 Australian Curriculum edition
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Chapter 9: Evolution
(b) Suggest what should be done about this problem, giving your reasons.
15
Some scientists are trying to put selected human genes into pigs so that their organs will be
more suitable for human transplants.
4
(a) State one argument to support this project.
(b) State one argument against this project.
16
Modern breeds of dogs show a great variety of shapes, sizes and characteristics. They are
all thought to have descended from wolves.
3
German Shepherd dogs are large, highly intelligent and can be trained to do many
difficult and useful tasks, e.g. act as guard dogs or sniffer dogs. Suggest how these
particular dogs have been bred.
© Macmillan Education Australia 2012
ScienceWorld 10 Australian Curriculum edition
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Chapter 9: Evolution
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The ‘Tasmanian Tiger’ (Thylacine), a large pouched carnivore, was once the main predator
in Australia. It became extinct on the mainland about 3000 years ago but did not become
extinct in Tasmania until the 1930s.
4
The oldest dingo fossils found in Australia are about 3500 years old. The dingo is likely
to have been brought over from Asia not long before that. But the dingo, which is also a
carnivore, never reached Tasmania.
(a) Suggest one reason for the extinction of the Tasmanian Tiger on the mainland.
(b) Suggest reasons why the Tasmanian Tiger lasted several thousand years longer in
Tasmania but eventually became extinct there also.
18
Suppose that you are a scientist and wish to develop a blue rose. You know that there is a
suitable gene in the cells of petunias which can have blue flowers. Use diagrams to help
you describe, as carefully as you can, the steps you would follow to develop a blue rose.
You must mention and underline these terms: restriction enzyme, sticky ends, ligases,
transgenic organism.
7
19
Use diagrams to explain how the processes of crossing over and recombination during
meiosis help to produce genetic variation in the offspring.
6
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ScienceWorld 10 Australian Curriculum edition
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Chapter 9: Evolution
20
Use diagrams to help you explain how the process of independent assortment during
meiosis helps to produce genetic variation in the offspring.
Practical question
21
Use the frog cards and dice from Investigation 16 to create a model of a frog population in
a red mud habitat. Create your own rules to model random breeding and selective
predation.
6
Marks
20
Present a report of your investigation including your aim, method, data and a
discussion which should include the strengths and weaknesses of this model in
understanding natural selection in this habitat.
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ScienceWorld 10 Australian Curriculum edition
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