Chapter test—Chapter 7 Evolution and natural
selection: Why is there such a variety of living
things on Earth?
This test is a mixture of multiple choice questions and short answer
questions. For the multiple choice questions, please circle the correct
answer. For the short answer questions, please write on the lines
provided. Each of the multiple choice questions is worth one mark. The
short answer questions have their marks allocated next to the question.
1
2
3
4
Which of the following is a statement or proposition that is made as a starting point which can be either
proved or disproved?
a
A hypothesis
b
A guess
c
An inference
d
An idea.
According to Lamarck’s theory of inheritance of acquired characteristics, what would happen if a cat lost an
eye in an accident as a kitten?
a
The cat would die.
b
The cat’s eye will grow back.
c
The cat would lose sight in the other eye.
d
The cat would have kittens with one eye.
Darwin’s job on the ship the Beagle, was:
a
the captain
b
the boson
c
the naturalist
d
the biologist.
Which tortoise shell is best suited to eating leaves off a tall bush?
a
A soft shell.
b
A shell with a high lip at the front.
c
A shell with a high lip at the back.
d
A flexible shell.
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5
6
7
8
9
A dog breeder noticed that dogs with long curly tails won more prizes at the dog shows than dogs with
short tails. He decided that he would mate the female and male dogs with the longest tails to get puppies
that might win more prizes. This is an example of:
a
selective breeding
b
natural selection
c
cross breeding
d
Darwinism.
What is meant by the struggle for existence?
a
There is a great variety of species living on earth.
b
All living things increase in a geometric ratio.
c
Some individuals in a species will die because they are not suited to the environment.
d
Some species keep splitting into new species.
Animals found on the continents of Asia and Australia can be divided according to an imaginary line that
was the collision zone between the Asian and Australian crustal plate. This line is called:
a
the Tropic of Capricorn
b
the International Date Line
c
the Equator
d
Wallace’s Line.
Which of the following is incorrect?
a
Natural selection does not increase or decrease the frequency of neutral mutations in a population.
b
Mutations may give an individual an advantage in a population.
c
Mutations always cause cancer.
d
Some mutations are lethal.
The process of natural selection favouring a particular phenotype is known as:
a
sexual selection
b
gene pool
c
sexual dimorphism
d
directional selection.
10 A group of interacting individuals of a species living in a particular area is called:
a
a population
b
a gene pool
c
a group of individuals
d
a family.
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11 Which of the following individuals are the most biologically fit?
a
A body builder.
b
An Olympian.
c
The father of a large family.
d
The fathers of a small family.
12 How do we know humans are mammals?
a
The presence of a backbone.
b
Eyes that are located at the front of the head.
c
The young are suckled.
d
The presence of five fingers.
13 Evolution by natural selection occurs as a result of:
a
mutation
b
competition between individuals with different traits
c
sexual dimorphism
d
gene flow
14 The presence of a colourful tail on a male peacock is an example of:
a
intersexual selection
b
intrasexual selction
c
sexual dimorphism
d
survival of the fittest.
15 The process that creates new alleles is called:
a
natural selection
b
directional selection
c
mutation
d
survival of the fittest.
16 Physical isolation occurs when individuals of a population:
a
reproduce at different times
b
behave differently to each other
c
are physically incompatible
d
are separated by a river.
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17 Australia has a vast collection of marsupials amongst its native animals. Scientists use the theory of
continental drift to explain the location of similar marsupials on:
a
Africa
b
Indonesia
c
Arctic
d
South America.
18 Fossils that show intermediate states between an ancestral form and that of its descendants are referred to
as:
a
transitional fossils
b
strata fossils
c
trace fossils
d
alternative fossils.
19 Comparative morphology is:
a
comparing the age of fossils
b
comparing the depth of the strata in which the fossil was found
c
comparing the structures of living animals which are no longer used
d
comparing the anatomies of different organisms.
20 Homologous structures are:
a
structures that appear to have similar structure but different functions
b
structures that appear to have similar structure and function
c
structures that have different structures and functions
d
structures that have different structures but complete similar functions.
21 Which of the following is not an example of a pentadactyl limb?
a
The arm that a monkey uses to climb
b
The leg of a horse that has an elongated third digit bearing a hoof
c
The flippers that a whale uses for steering whilst swimming
d
The rear legs on a snake.
22 When unrelated organisms show superficial resemblances, this is called:
a
convergent evolution
b
divergent evolution
c
survival of the fittest
d
allopatric speciation.
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23 Which of the organs below is not that of a vestigial organ?
a
An appendix
b
The rear legs on a snake
c
The flipper on a whale
d
The wings on a cassowary.
24 The animal that is most closely related to humans is:
a
kangaroo
b
kookaburra
c
snake
d
shark.
25 Australian wattle trees only germinate after being exposed to smoke. A possible explanation of this is:
a
continental drift
b
the dry Australian conditions
c
global warming
d
Aboriginal people carrying out controlled burning of large areas over many generations.
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26 What is the difference between a hypothesis and a theory?
27 Place numbers against the following statements to show the correct sequence of events.
Scientific ideas are developed through reasoning. ____________
Scientific claims are subject to peer review and replication. _____________
Scientific claims are based on testing explanations against observations of the natural world and rejecting
those that fail the test. ____________
28 Using Lamarck’s theory of inheritance of acquired characteristics, describe how giraffes’ necks became
elongated?
29 Who would be the most biologically fit: a gold-medal winning athlete (who is sterile), or a man who is
dependent on a wheelchair?
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30 Darwin’s book On the Origin of the Species by Means of Natural Selection suggested that:
•
All living things vary
•
All living things tend to increase in geometric ratio
•
The number of species in a population (or species) tend to remain constant in stable ecosystems
a
What two critical deductions can be made as a result of these observations?
b
What are the implications for the human population as a result of these observations?
31 What is meant by ‘survival of the fittest’?
32 What are the major steps involved in natural selection?
33 How did all variations in a population arise?
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34 Most modern elephants live in warm environments while their ancestor, the woolly mammoth, lived during
the ice age. Explain how this might have occurred.
35 A species of moths, Biston betularia, rest on the trunk of trees during the day. Before the industrial
revolution there was a greater incidence of light grey moths present in a particular area. Explain how the
frequency of this light colouring might have changed after a factory was built in the area in 1950.
36 What was the name of the supercontinent that contained the continents of India, Africa, South America,
Antarctica and Australia?
37 Give an example of a scenario in which a population of a species gets reproductively isolated from other
species.
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38 A native garden is covered in mulch to protect it from extreme conditions. Two weeds, one with a small dull
brown coloured leaf and the other with a large bright green leaf, try to grow on the mulch. The gardener is
busy and an only pulls out a single weed (the first one he notices) every few days. Over a period of two
months he finds brown weeds have taken over the garden. Explain how this might have occurred.
39 What is meant by the term ‘embryological similarity’?
40 Name two molecules that can be compared to determine if a recent common ancestor exists.
41 Archaeopteryx was shown to have a wishbone and flight feathers and bone-filled regions between the teeth
and long V-shaped lines in the tail. Why are these features significant?
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42 A similar molecule was compared between humans and a number of organisms. The results are shown in
the table below.
Organism
Number of differences in the
molecule
Human
0
Gorilla
12
Dog
25
Snake
42
a
Use the information given to determine the animal most closely related to Homo sapien.
b
Use the information give to determine the animal least related to Homo sapien?
43 Name three types of evidence that support Darwin’s theory of evolution.
44 Why do vestigial structures not disappear completely from a species?
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