This exam is worth 50 points
in the whole course
Evolutionary Biology
Exam I
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of the exam with you
A. Multiple Choice Questions. Choose the best possible answer. Use the bubble sheet. (1 pt.
each)
1. Which of the following are prokaryotic? (A) animals (B) plants (C) bacteria (D) fungi
(E) viruses.
2. Mitochondria... (A) have their own DNA (B) produce ATP (C) probably evolved from
endosymbiotic bacteria (D) all of the above (E) none of the above.
3. In DNA, thymine always pairs with... (A) adenine (B) cytosine (C) nucleotide (D) uracil
(E) another thymine.
4. If two alleles are identical for a trait, the individual is said to be ______ for that gene.
(A) monohybrid (B) recessive (C) true-breeding (D) homozygous (E) none of the above.
5. Mutations that occur in cells other than the gametes are termed... (A) non-genetic mutations
(B) agametic mutations (C) somatic mutations (D) point mutations (E) germ cell mutations.
6. Replacement of a single base pair results in a mutation termed a(n)... (A) pyrimidine dimer
(B) base substitution (C) silent mutation (D) base analog (E) chromosomal mutation.
7. What was a major difficulty in accepting and understanding Darwin’s ideas on evolution?
(A) cross-over had not been observed (B) DNA had not been identified (C) vestigial organs
had not been studies (D) the basis for variation was not understood (E) ontogeny had not yet
been studied in detail.
8. The concept of the inheritance of acquired characteristics is usually attributed to...(A) Plato
(B) Linnaeus (C) Buffon (D) Lamark (E) Darwin.
9. Who first suggested that natural populations have enormous reproductive capabilities and
that most individuals do not survive? (A) Darwin (B) Lamark (C) Malthus (D) Plato
(E) Wallace.
10. From fossil evidence, Darwin concluded that... (A) living South American species were not
related (B) the biblical account of the flood was true (C) extinct species were
indistinguishable from living species (D) species had not changed since the beginning of
time (E) none of the above.
11. Prokaryotes are different from eukaryotes in that they lack... (A) plasma membranes (B) an
organized cell nucleus (C) a cytoplasm (D) cell walls (E) DNA.
12. A nucleotide consists of... (A) an acid, a base, and a six-carbon sugar (B) a single gene (C) a
base, a sugar, and a phosphate (D) an acid, a six-carbon sugar, and two phosphates (E) a
purine and a pyrimidine.
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13. What is an allele? (A) one of two or more alternative forms of a gene (B) a cross in which
two different genes are considered (C) a gene which masks the effects of similar genes on
different chromosomes (D) a chromosome with the gene for pea color and pod shape (E) an
individual’s visible traits.
14. According to Mendel’s first law, the gametes of a heterozygous individual will be... (A) all
dominant alleles (B) all recessive alleles (C) half dominant alleles, half recessive alleles
(D) 25% dominant alleles, 75% recessive alleles (E) all heterozygous alleles.
15. If a heterozygous individual of genotype Bb is testcrossed to a recessive parent (bb), what
will the genotypic ratio of the progeny be? (A) all bb (B) 3BB:1Bb (C) all BB (D) 1BB:1bb
(E) 1Bb:1bb.
16. In dimetrodons (one of the sail-backed reptiles of early Permian times), smiley face (S) was
dominant over sour-puss (s), tall sail (T) was dominant over short (t), and white teeth (W)
were dominant over yellow (w). Assuming that these genes assort independently, in a cross
between a female dimetrodon homozygous dominant for all three traits and a male
homozygous recessive for these same traits, what proportion of the progeny would be
heterozygous for all three traits? (A) 0.00 (B) 0.25 (C) 0.50 (D) 0.75 (E) 1.00.
17. Which of the following phrases defines the genetic term “locus?” (A) a gene (B) a specific
place on a chromosome where a particular gene resides (C) a character expressed by a gene
or chromosome (D) a gene with three or more alleles (E) a gene with only two alleles.
18. The law of independent assortment only applies to genes that are... (A) dominant
(B) expressed in mammalian cells (C) linked (D) on different chromosomes (E) recessive.
19. The D allele codes for high density peas, while the d allele codes for low density peas.
Which of the following genotypes is an example of heterozygosity? (A) DD (B) Dd (C) dd
(D) DD and dd (E) DD and Dd.
20. Achondroplasia (A) is a form of dwarfism inherited as a simple monogenic trait. Two
achondroplastic dwarfs marry and have a dwarf child; later, they have a second child who is
normal. What are the genotypes of the two parents in this mating? (A) AA & AA (B) AA &
aa (C) aa & aa (D) Aa & Aa (E) either A or C above.
21. If a scientist collects data and then formulates a general hypothesis that explains all of the
observations, then the scientist has engaged in (A) inductive reasoning (B) deductive
reasoning (C) natural selection (D) artificial selection (E) applied research.
22. When a scientist talks about a scientific theory, he is talking about something that (A) has
been tested frequently and has a lot of evidence supporting it (B) has been proven to be true
(C) is wild speculation (D) is likely to never change (E) a reasonable guess.
23.According to Darwin’s theory of evolution (A) all individuals have an equal chance of
surviving and reproducing (B) species are immutable (C) tortoises are the modern
descendants of glyptodonts (D) all of the above (E) none of the above.
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24.Which of the following did not help Darwin formulate his theory of evolution?
(A) fossil evidence that species change over time (B) closely related species on oceanic
islands (C) evidence that the earth was about four thousand years old (D) demonstration of
artificial selection in domestic animals (E) all of the above did help Darwin.
25.Structures that have the same evolutionary origin even though they may now have different
structure or functions are said to be (A) endemic (B) analogous (C) homologous
(D) immutable (E) geometric.
26. What is the age of the solar system according to radiometric dating? (A) 6,000 yrs
(B) 10,000 years (C) 3.5 million years (D) 4.5 billion years (E) 13.6 billion years.
27. Which of the following fossils is transitional between dinosaurs and birds? (A) Biston
betularia (B) Geospiza fortis (C) Archaeopteryx (D) Hyracotherium (E) Drosophila
melanogaster.
28. During artificial selection, selection pressure is exerted by (A) the environment (B) predators
(C) humans (D) domestic species (E) other members of the same species.
29. As adults, humans have a vestige of a tail. It is called the (A) lanugo (B) vermiform
(C) placenta (D) coccyx (E) cladogram.
30. During their early stages of development, the embryos of fish, reptiles, birds and mammals
look very similar. This suggests that fish, reptiles, birds and mammals (A) live in the same
type of environment (B) have a common ancestor (C) have undergone convergent evolution
(D) are no longer undergoing evolution (E) have gotten rid of all their vestigial structures.
31. Which situation would most likely result in the preservation of a fossil? (A) footprints along
a riverbed (B) elephant bones on the Serengeti Plains (C) trees covered by volcanic ash
(D) an earthworm that died in its burrow (E) an insect frozen to death in a Buffalo winter.
32. The more closely related two species are (A) the more likely it is they will undergo
convergent evolution (B) the more likely it is they will undergo divergent evolution (C) the
easier it is for artificial selection to have an impact (D) the more likely it is that their fossil
record is complete (E) the more similar their DNA is.
33. Which organism is a representative of the kingdom with the oldest fossil record? (A) Bluegreen alga (B) Moss (C) Mushroom (D) H1N1 virus (E) Amoeba.
34. Areas where ribosomes are assembled in the nucleus are called (A) nuclei (B) cisternae
(C) nucleoli (D) Golgi complexes (E) centrioles.
35. An individual who has two of the same allele is said to be (A) homozygous
(B) heteromologous (C) homologous (D) heterozygous (E) dipolozygous.
36. The appearance resulting from a given gene combination is referred to as (A) genotype
(B) phenotype (C) phototype (D) allelotype (E) stereotype.
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37. If two alternatives for a trait are red and white and red is dominant, the genotype of a
homozygous dominant individual would be expressed as (A) RR (B) rr (C) Wr (D) ww
(E) red.
38. When two alternatives for a trait are tall and short and tall is dominant, the genotype of a
heterozygous individual would be expressed as (A) sS (B) ss (C) SS (D) Ss (E) tall.
39. Which of the following isotopes is used to date human artifacts? (A)
(D) 87RB (E) 206Pb.
238
U (B) 40K (C) 14C
40. 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.
41. The function of mRNA is to (A) provide a site 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.
42. In transcription, the nucleotide sequence CAT in DNA would specify _____ in mRNA.
(A) TAC (B) GUA (C) CAT (D) GTU (E) STOP.
43. The genetic code consists of groups of three nucleotides called (A) codons (B) introns
(C) anticodons (D) reading frames (E) triplets.
44. 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.
45. The evolutionary history of a species is referred to as its (A) phylogeny (B) ontogeny
(C) hierarchical organization (D) diversity (E) selection.
46. Which of the structures are homologous? (A) wings of a penguin and the wings of a fruit fly
(B) fingernails of Michelle Obama and the heart of her dog (C) spines of a cactus and the
spines of a porcupine (D) flagellum of a bacterium and the flagellum of a human sperm
(E) petals of a rose and the petals of an apple blossom.
47. Darwin proposed that the mechanism behind evolutionary change was (A) heterozygosity
(B) genetic drift (C) inheritance of acquired characteristics (D) polymorphism (E) natural
selection.
48. Which is the false statement? (A) Prokaryotes have cell walls but eukaryotes don’t.
(B) Eukaryotes have ribosomes and so do eukaryotes. (C) Eukaryotes have chloroplasts and
prokaryotes don’t. (D) Prokaryotes have a circular chromosome and eukaryotes don’t.
(E) Both prokaryotes and eukaryotes have flagella.
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49. Which is the false statement? (A) Animal cells have mitochondria and plants don’t.
(B) Plant cells can have large vacuoles and animals don’t. (C) Both plant and animals have
endoplasmic reticula. (D) Internal membranes exist in chloroplasts and mitochondria.
(E) Both plants and animals have multiple linear chromosomes.
50. Which is the true statement? (A) Meiosis leads to gametes in animals but not in plants.
(B) Mitosis leads to haploid daughter cells. (C) The first step in mitosis and meiosis is the
production of chromosomes with chromatids. (D) Cross-over occurs in Meiosis II.
(E) Meiosis can lead to polyploidy but Mitosis doesn’t.
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