Evolution Review
Chapters 14 -- 15
Multiple Choice
1. On the Galápagos Islands, Charles Darwin observed
a. completely unrelated species on each of the islands.
b. species exactly like those found in mainland South America.
c. somewhat similar species to those on the mainland, with traits that suited their particular environments.
d. species completely unrelated to those found in mainland South America.
2. The species of finches that Charles Darwin found on the Galápagos Islands displayed different structural adaptations.
One of the adaptations that Darwin noted was the
a. similarities of the birds’ embryos.
c. length of the birds’ necks.
b. birds’ different-shaped beaks.
d. number of eggs in each bird’s nest.
3. The number and location of bones of many fossil vertebrates are similar to those in living vertebrates. Most biologists
would probably explain this fact on the basis of
a. the needs of the organisms.
c. the struggle for existence.
b. a common ancestor.
d. the inheritance of acquired traits.
4. The combined alleles of all the individuals that make up a population is the population’s
a. relative frequency.
c. genotype.
b. phenotype.
d. gene pool.
5. Biological fitness is the ability of the individual to
a. live to reproductive age.
b. reproduce and contribute to the gene pool of the next
generation.
c. adapt to environmental conditions.
d. acquire new characteristics.
6. In humans, the pelvis and femur, or thigh bone, are involved in walking. In
whales, the pelvis and femur shown in this picture are
a. examples of fossils.
b. vestigial structures.
c. acquired traits.
d. examples of natural variation.
7. The economist Thomas Malthus suggested that
a. in the human population, people die faster than babies are born.
b. populations can grow faster than the rate at which food and resources can be
produced.
c. evolution occurs when organisms adapt to their environment.
d. the majority of a species’ offspring die.
8. A change in the gene pool of a population due to chance is called
a. gene flow.
c. genetic drift.
b. natural selection.
d. the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.
9. Darwin’s theory of evolution is based on the idea(s) of
a. variation and natural selection.
b. use and disuse.
c. a tendency toward perfect, unchanging species.
d. the transmission of acquired characteristics.
10. When farmers select animals or plants to use for breeding, they look for
a. species that are perfect and unchanging.
c. traits that are produced artificially.
b. homologous structures.
d. inherited traits that are of value to humans.
11. The separation of populations by barriers such as rivers, mountains, or bodies of water is called
a. timing isolation.
c. behavioral isolation.
b. geographic isolation.
d. genetic equilibrium.
12. Examples of fossils include preserved
a. eggs.
b. footprints.
c. body parts.
d. all of the above
13. Most fossils form in
a. rusty water.
b. ice.
c. sedimentary rock.
d. the sap of ancient trees.
14. The length of time required for half of the radioactive isotope in a sample to decay is its
a. half-life.
c. radioactive date.
b. relative date.
d. geologic time scale.
15. A pattern in which species experience long, stable periods interrupted by brief periods of rapid evolutionary change is
called
a. convergent evolution.
c. adaptive radiation.
b. coevolution.
d. punctuated equilibrium.
16. What did Charles Darwin publish in 1859?
a. Garden pea genome
b. The Origin of Species
c. Essays on God
d. A map of S. America
17. Where was the HMS Beagle going and what was the main mission of the trip?
a. To Africa to trade slaves
b. To Mexico for gold
c. Around the world to make maps
18. Where were the oldest fossils found?
a. On the bottom of the rock layers
b. On the top of the rock layers
19. What does it mean to be extinct?
a. To become a new species
b. To change as a species
c. Mixed in with all the rock layers
c. To cross breed with another species
d. To have no living members of a species left
20. What is a scientist who studies fossils called?
a. Fossilologist
b. Archaeologist
c. Anthropologist
d. Paleontologist
21. What is unusual about the whale fossil Basilosaurus?
a. It is made of cartilage
b. It has hip bones
c. It has no skull
d. It lived on land
22. Where is the molecular history for evolution found?
a. DNA
b. Fossils
c. Dinosaurs
d. It can not be found
23. What are pesticides?
a. Chemicals that kill weeds
c. Chemicals that kill bacteria
b. Chemicals that kill insects
24. Who figured out the inheritance part of the evolution puzzle?
a. Darwin
b. Mendel
c. Malthus
d. Buffon
25. What is sickle cell disease named for?
a. Jean Sickle who discovered the disease
b. Sickle, South America, where the disease was found
c. The shape of the red blood cells
d. All of these
26. What do individuals with just one copy of the sickle cell disease gene have resistance to?
a. Cutting grass
b. Tuberculosis
c. Malaria
d. Ebola
27. What are the Galapagos Islands named for?
a. Birds
b. Tortoises
c. Fish
d. To discover America
d. South America
28. Where is one of the world’s greatest showcases of evolution?
a. Indiana
b. Taiwan
c. South America
d. Hawaii
d. All of these
29. What does it mean to become petrified?
a. To be dissolved
b. To be extinct
c. To be turned to stone
30. Which isotope is used for fossils older than 50,000 years?
a. Carbon-14
b. Gold-55
c. Uranium-238
d. Plutonium-285
31. What does Pangaea mean?
a. All land
b. ancient place
d. terrible lizard
c. Extinct area
32. Which of these is the correctly written scientific name of the leopard?
a. Panthera pardus
b. Panthera pardus
c. Panthera Pardus
d. All of the above
d. panthera pardus
33. What is one of the best clues to see how closely organisms are related?
a. Analogous Structures
b. Homologous structures
c. Vestigial structures
d. Cladistic structures
34. Wings on birds and wings on insects are examples of ____ structures.
a. Analogous Structures
b. Homologous structures
c. Vestigial structures
d. Cladistic structures
35.
a.
b.
c.
d.
What is a domain?
taxonomic category above the kingdom level
taxonomic category below the kingdom level
taxonomic category that is now called the kingdom level
taxonomic category that took the place of the old fashioned kingdom level
True/False
Indicate whether the sentence or statement is true or false based on the underlined word.
36. The term “fitness” refers to an organism’s ability to survive and reproduce in a specific environment, contributing genes to the next
generation’s gene pool.
37. Selective breeding as practiced by farmers is also called natural selection.
38. Mutation plays a key role in evolution as the original source of the genetic variation that is the raw material for natural selection.
39. When pesticide resistance occurs in insects, natural selection favors resistant individuals, which then transmit the gene for
pesticide resistance to their offspring.
40. Microevolution refers to changes in allele frequency within a population from generation to generation.
Completion -- Complete each sentence or statement by matching the correct term to the blank in each question.
A
B
C
D
E
extinct
Fossil record
embyrology
structures
binomial
Convergent evolution
microevolution
ancestor
Punctuated equilibrium
Mass extinction
41. If two species have genes and proteins with sequences that match closely, biologists conclude that the two species share a
common __________.
42. The __________ is the chronological collection of life’s remains found in layers of rock.
43. A generation-to-generation change in the frequencies of alleles in a population is called __________.
44. Fossils of species that became __________ and thus no longer exist help scientists reconstruct the past.
45. As the Cretaceous period closed, a(an) __________, which is the dying out of many types of living things at one time, occurred.
46. The study of the processes of multicellular organisms as they develop from fertilized eggs to adults is called _______________.
47. One evolutionary model called _______________ suggests that species diverge in spurts of rapid change after long periods of
little change.
48. The flippers of penguins are an example of how natural selection can modify existing _______________ for new functions.
49. The Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus developed a classification system that includes a two-part name called a
_______________ for every kind of organism.
50. The similar body structure but different ancestry of sharks and dolphins indicates that these groups have undergone
_______________, a process in which unrelated species from similar environments have adaptations that seem very similar.