Name
Period
Date
Chapter 15 Worksheet- Evolution
VOCABULARY Define the following terms.
1. Adaptations
2. Natural Selection
3. Descent with Modification
MULTIPLE CHOICE Write the correct letter in the blank.
4. Fossils are formed
a. from animals but not plants.
b. Primarily from the soft tissue an organism
c. most often in sedimentary rock.
d. in ways that reveal the structure but not the
behavior of an organism.
5. When hard minerals fill an imprint of an organism, they eventually form a model of the organism
called a
a. cast
b. mold
c. tissue
d. stratum
6. According to the law of superposition, the lowest layer in a cross section of rock
a. is the most recent.
b. is the oldest.
c. has the fewest fossils.
d. contains only the fossils of burrowing
animals.
7. The fossil record indicates that the first organisms to appear on Earth were
a. marine invertebrates.
b. land plants.
c. reptiles.
d. prokaryotes.
8. A comparison of recently formed fossil types with types of living organisms shows that
a. new organisms arise in areas where similar forms already live.
b. modern organisms are very different from extinct forms that inhabit the same area.
c. organisms that become extinct do not resemble modern organisms.
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d. a new organism cannot arise in an area until a similar form has already become extinct.
9. If Lamarck’s hypothesis of species modification were true, the children of a person who developed
large muscles by lifting weights would be born with
a.
b.
c.
d.
smaller-than-average muscles.
normal-sized muscles.
normal-sized muscles that would become larger only if the children also lifted weights
larger-than-average muscles.
10. When Darwin saw fossil shells of marine organisms in the mountains, he reasoned that
a.
b.
c.
d.
powerful storms scooped the animals out of the ocean and left them in the mountains.
ancient rock beds that were beneath the sea were elevated to form mountain ranges.
the ancient oceans were so deep that they covered the mountains.
the organisms that left the fossils migrated from the ocean to the mountains.
11. Darwin’s theory of descent with modifications states that
a.
b.
c.
d.
newer forms appearing in the fossil record are the modified descendants of older species.
organisms that descend from high elevations are modified as they acquire new traits.
all living things descend from a recent common ancestor on the Galápagos Islands.
individuals modify their behavior to survive and then pass those modifications on to
their descendants.
12. According to Darwin’s theory of modification by natural selection,
a.
b.
c.
d.
individuals are modified by adverse environmental conditions.
the environment affects all organisms in a population in the same way.
populations of all organisms grow unchecked under natural conditions.
organisms that have more favorable traits tend to leave more offspring.
13. Natural selection is sometimes described as “survival of the fittest.” Which of the following best
measures an organism’s fitness?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
how many fertile offspring it produces
its mutation rate
how strong it is when pitted against others of its species
its ability to withstand environmental extremes
how much food it is able to make or obtain
14. The wing of a bat and the foreleg of an alligator are
a. analogous features
b. homologous features
c. vestigial features
d. artificially selected features
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15. Features that were useful to an ancestral organism but are not useful to a modern organism
that has them are said to be
a. analogous
b. homologous
c. vestigial
d. artificially selected
16. Embryological comparisons reveal that
a.
b.
c.
d.
all vertebrate embryos look similar at early stages of development.
embryos of different vertebrates look more similar as development proceeds.
rabbit embryos look like adult fish.
gorillas begin life as fish and then develop into gorillas during an embryonic stage.
You are a naturalist who traveled to the Galápagos Islands. Below are excerpts from field notes. Next to
each set of notes, write a heading. Use these choices: Overproduction of Offspring, Natural Selection,
Struggle for Existence, Variation.
17.
18.
Field Notes
Field Notes
These finches compete for a particular
species of insects that inhabits the small
holes found in tree bark.
Female finches found on the Galápagos
Islands lay enormous numbers of eggs
19.
20.
Field Notes
Field Notes
Some finches beaks are long, some are
short. The finches with the long beaks
are better adapted to remove insects from
the bark.
The finches with the long beaks survive and
produce greater numbers of offspring with
long beaks.
Complete the chart by checking the kind of evidence described.
Type of Evidence
Evidence
Homologous
Vestigial
Genetic
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Structure
Structure
Comparisons
21. A modified structure seen
among different groups of
descendants
22. Exemplified by forelimbs
of bats, penguins, lizards,
and monkeys
23. DNA & RNA comparisons
may lead to evolutionary
trees
24. A body structure reduced in
function but may have been
used in an ancestor
Evolution by natural selection can be summarized in four statements.
Variation exists within populations.
Some variations are more advantageous for survival and reproduction than others.
Organisms produce more offspring than can survive.
Over time, offspring of survivors will make up a larger portion of the population.
Write the statement from the box that best matches each of the situations shown.
Snowshoe rabbits produce many offspring.
25.
The back feet of some snowshoe rabbits are
Larger than the back feet of other snowshoe
rabbits.
26.
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Snowshoe rabbits with large back feet can
run across snow faster than those with
small back feet and escape predators, such
as wolves, more often.
27.
More snowshoe rabbits with larger feet survive
in the population and reproduce.
28.
SHORT ANSWER Answer the questions in the space provided.
29. Why are acquired traits unimportant in the process of evolution?
30. What is the relationship between evolution and natural selection?
31. Provide a detailed definition of evolution?
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32. The population of deer mice across the Midwest of the United States range from dark coats to pale coats.
6,000 years ago much of the Midwest consisted of dark soil, however, over the past several thousand years
the soil in the Midwest has changed from a dark soil to a light colored sand due to erosion from agriculture.
a. Explain how the population of deer mice would evolve over the 6,000 years.
b. What characteristic in the population is natural selection selecting for that allows the deer mice to
survive and reproduce?
c. In terms of natural selection, explain why the deer mice population evolved.
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