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BSC 2010 Module 15 Quiz

front 1

Over long periods of time, many cave-dwelling organisms have lost their eyes. Tapeworms have lost their digestive systems. Whales have lost their hind limbs. How can natural selection account for these losses?

Answers:

  1. Natural selection cannot account for losses, but accounts only for new structures and functions.
  2. Natural selection accounts for these losses by the principle of use and disuse.
  3. Under particular circumstances that persisted for long periods, each of these structures presented greater costs than benefits.
  4. The ancestors of these organisms experienced harmful mutations that forced them to lose these structures.

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front 2

During a study session about evolution, one of your fellow students remarks, "The giraffe stretched its neck while reaching for higher leaves; its offspring inherited longer necks as a result." Which statement is most likely to be helpful in correcting this student's misconception?

Answers:

  1. Characteristics acquired during an organism's life are generally not passed on through genes.
  2. Spontaneous mutations can result in the appearance of new traits.
  3. Only favorable adaptations have survival value.
  4. Disuse of an organ may lead to its eventual disappearance.

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front 3

Darwin and Wallace's theory of evolution by natural selection was revolutionary because it _____.

Answers:

  1. was the first theory to refute the ideas of special creation
  2. proved that individuals acclimated to their environment over time
  3. dismissed the idea that species are constant and emphasized the importance of variation and change in populations
  4. was the first time a biologist had proposed that species changed through time

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front 4

Darwin and Wallace were the first to propose _____.

Answers:

  1. that evolution occurs
  2. a mechanism for how evolution occurs
  3. that Earth is older than a few thousand years
  4. natural selection as the mechanism of evolution

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front 5

Which of these conditions are always true of populations evolving due to natural selection?
Condition 1: The population must vary in traits that are heritable.
Condition 2: Some heritable traits must increase reproductive success.
Condition 3: Individuals pass on most traits that they acquire during their lifetime.

Answers:

  1. Condition 1 only
  2. Condition 2 only
  3. Conditions 1 and 2
  4. Conditions 2 and 3

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front 6

Which of the following evidence most strongly supports the common origin of all life on Earth? All organisms _____.

Answers:

  1. require energy
  2. use essentially the same genetic code
  3. reproduce
  4. show heritable variation

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front 7

Of the following anatomical structures, which is homologous to the bones in the wing of a bird?

Answers:

  1. bones in the hind limb of a kangaroo
  2. chitinous struts in the wing of a butterfly
  3. bony rays in the tail fin of a flying fish
  4. bones in the flipper of a whale

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front 8

Given what we know about evolutionary biology, we expect to find the largest number of endemic species in which of the following geological features, which have existed for at least a few million years?

Answers:

  1. an isolated ocean island in the tropic
  2. san extensive mountain range
  3. a grassland in the center of a large continent, with extreme climatic conditions
  4. a shallow estuary on a warm-water coast

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front 9

Structures as different as human arms, bat wings, and dolphin flippers contain many of the same bones, which develop from similar embryonic tissues. These structural similarities are an example of _____.

Answers:

  1. homology
  2. convergent evolution
  3. the evolution of common structure as a result of common function
  4. the evolution of similar appearance as a result of common function

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front 10

DDT was once considered a "silver bullet" that would permanently eradicate insect pests. Instead, DDT is largely useless against many insects. Which of these would have prevented this evolution of DDT resistance in insect pests?

Answers:

  1. All habitats should have received applications of DDT at about the same time.
  2. The frequency of DDT application should have been higher.
  3. None of the insect pests would have genetic variations that resulted in DDT resistance.
  4. DDT application should have been continual.

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front 11

Prior to the work of Lyell and Darwin, the prevailing belief was that Earth is _____.

Answers:

  1. a few thousand years old, and populations are unchanging
  2. a few thousand years old, and populations gradually change
  3. millions of years old, and populations rapidly change
  4. millions of years old, and populations are unchanging

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front 12

If Darwin had been aware of genes and their typical mode of transmission to subsequent generations, with which statement would he most likely have been in agreement?

Answers:

  1. If natural selection can change gene frequency in a population over generations, given enough time and genetic diversity, then natural selection can cause sufficient genetic change to produce new species from old ones.
  2. If an organism's somatic cell genes change during its lifetime, making it more fit, then it will be able to pass these genes on to its offspring.
  3. If an organism acquires new genes by engulfing, or being infected by, another organism, then a new genetic species will result.
  4. A single mutation in a single gene in a single gamete, if inherited by future generations, will produce a new species.

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front 13

What must be true of any organ described as vestigial?

Answers:

  1. It must be analogous to some feature in an ancestor.
  2. It must be homologous to some feature in an ancestor
  3. .It must be both homologous and analogous to some feature in an ancestor.
  4. It need be neither homologous nor analogous to some feature in an ancestor.

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front 14

Which of the following scientists argued that variation among individuals allows evolution to occur?

Answers:

  1. Aristotle
  2. Lamarck
  3. Linnaeus
  4. Wallace

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front 15

Scientific theories _____.

Answers:

  1. are nearly the same things as hypotheses
  2. are supported by, and make sense of, many observations
  3. cannot be tested because the described events occurred only once
  4. are predictions of future events

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front 16

The role that humans play in artificial selection is to _____.

Answers:

  1. determine who lives and who dies
  2. create genetic diversity
  3. choose which organisms reproduce
  4. perform artificial insemination

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front 17

Catastrophism was Cuvier's attempt to explain the existence of _____.

Answers:

  1. evolution
  2. the fossil record
  3. uniformitarianism
  4. the origin of new species

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front 18

A population of organisms will not evolve if _____.

Answers:

  1. all individual variation is due only to environmental factors
  2. the environment is changing at a relatively slow rate
  3. the population size is large
  4. the population lives in a habitat without competing species present

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front 19

Which of the following must exist in a population before natural selection can act upon that population?

Answers:

  1. genetic variation among individuals
  2. variation among individuals caused by environmental factors
  3. sexual reproduction
  4. the population has predators

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