Biology Evolution Test Review
1. When Darwin returned from the voyage of the Beagle, he A. immediately published his ideas about
evolution. B. realized his ideas about evolution were wrong. C. wrote about his ideas but waited
many years to publish them. D. copied the evolutionary theory of Wallace.
2. On the Galápagos Islands, Charles Darwin observed A. completely unrelated species on each of the
islands. B. species exactly like those found in South America. C. somewhat similar species with
traits that suited their particular environment. D. species completely unrelated to those found in
South America.
3. When lions prey on a herd of antelope, some antelope are killed and some escape. Which part of
Darwin’s concept of natural selection might be used to describe this situation?
4. When a farmer breeds only his or her best milk-producing cows, in evolution, what is that called?
A. artificial selection B. biodiversity C. natural selection D. overproduction of offspring
E. none of these choices
5. Darwin called the ability of an organism to survive and reproduce in its environment
B. adaptation. C. fitness. D. evolution.
A. diversity.
6. According to Darwin’s theory of natural selection, the animals that tend to survive are those that
have_____________________________________________________________
7. Darwin concluded that in _____________________________ environments around the world,
natural selection could produce similar structures in unrelated species.
8. What did Darwin learn from studying the finches and the land tortoises of the different Galápagos
Islands?
9. The shape and arrangement of many bones of fossil animals that are now extinct are similar to those
in animals living today. How would most biologists probably explain this fact?
10. Modern whales have a vestigial hip and leg bones. What does this evidence suggest about ancestors
of modern whales?
11. What are the requirements of natural selection?
12. The fact that both flies and birds have wings is an example of what process of evolution? A.
Speciation B. Isolation C. Gradualism D. Convergent Evolution E. Divergent Evolution
F. Punctuated Equilibrium
13. What are 2 examples each of convergent, divergent, and coevolution?
14. Name three kinds of Prezygotic reproductive isolating mechanisms.
15. Name three kinds of Postzygotic reproductive isolating mechanisms.
16. What are some adaptations that animals had to develop to survive on land?
17. What are three ways to tell how old a fossil is?
18. Hood Island has not a lot of plants, and they are hard to reach. If a disease wiped out the current
Hood Island tortoises, considering the body structures of the tortoises shown in the figure, which
tortoises—a population from Pinta Island or a population from Isabela Island—might survive more
successfully on Hood Island? Why?
19. Suppose that selective breeding has produced a population of chickens, all of which are almost
exactly alike. Would that population be likely to survive if it were released into the wild? Explain
20. How is the idea of common ancestry between different species supported by examples of
homologous structures?
21. Which statement is in agreement with Darwin’s theory of evolution? A. More offspring are
produced than can possibly survive. B. The organisms that are the fittest are always the largest and
strongest. C. The number of offspring is not related to fitness. D. Acquired characteristics that are
inherited are the cause of evolution.
22. What dating methods could you use to tell if a sample was about 30,000 years old? What about
150,000 years old? What about over a billion years old?
23. The half-life of Carbon 14 is roughly 5700 years. If a sample started with 100 g of C14, how much
of that would be left after 5,700 years? A. 50g B. 150g C. 12.5g D. 300g E. none of these
choices
24. The half-life of Carbon 14 is roughly 5700 years. If a sample started with 100 g of C14, how much
of that would be left after 17,100 years? A. 50g B. 150g C. 12.5g D. 300g E. none of these
choices
25. The half-life of Carbon 14 is roughly 5700 years. If a sample started with 100 g of C14, but now
there’s only 12.5 g left, how old is the sample? A. 5,700 years B. 11,400 years C. 17,100 years
D. 22,800 years E. 5,712.5 years
26. The rabbits in a particular area that is very warm have very short hair to prevent over-heating.
Describe what most likely would occur if over a period of thousands of years, the climate became
much colder and why
27. On an island in the Pacific Ocean, a species of birds have very short and strong beaks that they use
for cracking open the tough nuts that are the main source of food. Looking at the fossil record,
however, shows that they evolved from a species of birds from a different island that had longer,
weaker beaks. Explain how this change in the beak shape could have occurred over twenty thousand
years.
28. How is directional and stabilizing selection different?
29. According to Graph A in Figure 16-1, what kind of selection has occurred?
30. According to Graph B in Figure 16-1, what kind of selection has occurred?
31. According to Graph C in Figure 16-1, what kind of selection has occurred?
32. Be able to describe possible environmental causes of the selection happening in each graph
33. In a population of wolves, there is a range of different wolves in terms of how fast they can run (some
slow, some medium, some fast). If they had to chase and catch speedy rabbits to get enough food to
survive, what would happen to the wolf population over time, and what kind of selection does this
represent?
34. Genetic drift tends to happen in populations that A. are very large.
from new species. D. have unchanging allele frequencies
B. are small.
C. are formed
35. Sharks, dolphins, and penguins all have streamlined bodies and fins or tails that enable them to move
through water. These similarities are the result of A. coevolution. B. convergent evolution. C.
asexual reproduction. D. adaptive radiation.
36. Explain how or why geographic isolation is important in the development of new species.
37. Scientists have found that humans and yeasts A. have similar genes for the assembly of certain
proteins. B. share all aspects of cellular structure. C. have nothing in common. D. cannot be
evaluated for degree of relatedness.
38. Explain how the environment and natural selection could cause the lizard population to change as
shown in the table.
39. Looking at a series of fossils, you see little change within a species over a period of 500,000 years,
followed by a sudden change over 30,000 years that creates a brand new species. What process best
describes this pattern of speciation?
40. Name two examples of evolution that scientists have actually observed occurring
41. Compare and contrast prezygotic and postzygotic reproductive isolating mechanisms and give two
examples of each
42. What kind of reproductive isolating mechanism is most likely keeping the Bullfrogs and Leopard
frogs separate, based on the information in Figure 16-1?
43. Which two frog species most likely use other reproductive isolating mechanisms to keep from
interbreeding? Name three examples of those sorts of other reproductive isolating mechanisms.