Natural Selection EOC Review

Natural Selection EOC Review

Pre-Assessment

Multiple Choice

An island is dominated by two main species of trees. One tree produces small round seeds, and the other produces large seeds with a thick shell. The birds that inhabit the island have evolved either small beaks which can easily manage the small seeds, or large beaks to crack and eat large seeds. If the temperature and amount of precipitation of the island increase, and favor the growth of more trees that produce large seeds, what effect will be seen on the island's bird populations?

• The population of birds with large beaks will increase because of the greater availability of food.

• The population of birds with small beaks will decrease because their bodies cannot handle the higher temperatures

• The population of birds with large beaks will decrease because of the increase competition for food

• The population of birds with small beaks will increase because they will learn how to use tools to crack the large seeds

Multiple Choice

The moths in the illustration are the same species, just different variations. They live on the bark of trees. What would be the most likely outcome if the environment where these moths live changed because air pollution caused the bark of the trees to be covered with soot?

• Predators would continue to prey on them as always

• The dark variation would survive to reproduce

• The light variation of moth would be more successful

• Both variations would interbreed to form a new hybrid

Multiple Choice

The Asian shore crab invaded parts of the eastern coast of the United States about 15 years ago. The Asian shore crab preys on blue mussels. In the time since the Asian shore crab arrived, the average shell thickness of the blue mussel population has increased.

Which of the following is the most likely reason that this increase in shell thickness has occurred?

• Blue mussels with thick shells attract more crabs that mussels without thick shells.

• Blue mussels with thick shells grow in larger colonies than mussels without thick shells.

• Blue mussels with thick shells catch more food per day than mussels without thick shells.

• Blue mussels with thick shells survive and reproduce more successfully than mussels without thick shells.

Multiple Choice

How is natural selection in the evolution of long necks in giraffes best explained?

• Shorter-necked giraffes were killed by longer-necked giraffes

• Giraffe necks grew longer because of the bone structure of the animal

• Giraffes with longer necks survived because they were better suited for the environment

• Long-neck giraffes mated only with other long-necked giraffes

Multiple Choice

Suppose a certain species of insect lives in the lush green canopy of the rain forest. Some of the insects are bright green in color, and some are bright yellow. Assume there is a natural predator of the insect in the area. What do you expect to happen to the populations of the green and the yellow insects over time?

• The green insect population will increase and the yellow insect population will decrease.

• The green insect population will decrease and the yellow insect population will increase.

• Both insect populations will remain constant over time.

• Both insect populations will increase over time.

Evolution is changes in a population over time

• NOT changes in an individual

• Happens over many generations, not within one lifetime

Multiple Choice

Evolution by natural selection says that change occurs in:

• Individuals

• Environments

• Populations

• Communities

Multiple Choice

Natural selection occurs during the lifetime of a single organism.

• True

• False

Darwin's Theory of Natural Selection

• Evolution occurs because organisms with traits best suited to their environment are more likely to survive AND reproduce than less suited organisms

• Best suited means best adapted, NOT biggest, strongest, or fastest

Multiple Choice

Natural selection is the process by which -

• organisms select natural foods in their environments

• organisms with traits best suited to their environment reproduce more frequently than less suited organisms

• acquired traits are passed onto the next generation

• fossils are used to estimate age

Multiple Choice

Which organisms are most likely to survive?

• the best adapted

• the fastest

• the strongest

• the most domesticated (tamed)

Adaptations are traits that make organisms more suited to their environment

• Must be genetic - NOT acquired during their lifetime

• Adaptations are passed from parent to offspring

Multiple Choice

An adaptation is...

• any trait an organism possesses

• how an organism evolves during its own lifetime

• a gene an organism has

• a trait that helps an organism survive in its environment

Multiple Choice

Differences amongst members of the same species are most likely to be passed on to the next generation if they are -

• due to a genetic variation and result in a favorable advantage

• not due to a genetic variation and do not result in a favorable advantage

• not due to a genetic variation and result in a favorable advantage

• due to a genetic variation and do not result in a favorable advantage

Organisms with better adaptations reproduce more frequently due to better survival

• More babies = more organisms with the adaptation

• Evolution = adaptation becomes more common in the population

Multiple Choice

Why are advantageous traits more likely to be passed onto offspring?

• Because they are more likely to survive and reproduce.

• Because they come from dominant alleles.

• Because they come from recessive alleles.

• Because the trait is an acquired phenotype.

Multiple Choice

Some organisms have genes that improve their ability to survive and reproduce. If the genes also help their offspring survive and reproduce, then which of the following will mostly likely increase?

• The frequency of the genes in one individual

• The frequency of the genes in the population

• The number of genes in one chromosome

• The number of genes in the species

Natural selection depends on the environment

• What counts as an adaptation in one environment may be useless or even harmful in another

• Example: long fur is useful in the arctic but not in the desert

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is the best example of an adaptation?

• Dark colored lizards living on light rocks

• A thick coat of fur on animals living in the hot desert

• Thin, delicate leaves on plants in a cold climate

• An extensive root system to reach water in desert plants

Post-Assessment

Multiple Choice

A population of finches that have 3 different beaks live on an island. Each beak type is adapted to one of 3 specific food sources. Two of the three food sources are eliminated during a hurricane. What will happen to the finch population?

• The food source will adapt to the remaining finches

• All 3 finches adapt to the remaining food source

• All 3 finches will die

• The finch that is adapted to the remaining food source will survive

Multiple Choice

During a storm, several butterfly-eating birds were blown to a distant island. The island, which previously had no birds, was filled with butterflies of all colors. One year later, all the butterflies are dark green and brown. Which of the following is the most likely explanation for the change in the butterfly population?

• Natural selection favored the dark green and brown butterflies

• Gradualism is selecting against red, yellow, and blue butterflies

• Primates like to eat all other butterflies

• A genetic mutation led to punctuated equilibrium

Multiple Choice

A biologist conducting a long-term field study noticed there were two types of mice in a valley; one type of mouse had webbed toes while the other type lacked webbed toes. A dam was build in the valley, turning the land into a wetland. As the years passed, all mice leaving the valley were found to have webbed toes, and no mice were found to have non-webbed toes. Which statement best explains the observed change in the mouse population?

• Webbed toes in mice are controlled by the environment

• The mice grew webbing to move more efficiently in the new environment

• Webbed-toed mice survived better and reproduced more than mice without webbed toes

• The increased water levels in the valley increased the mutation rate in the mouse population

Multiple Choice

A group of ponies lives in the Chincoteague National Wildlife Reserve in Virginia. The development of longer legs over time would be selected for if -

• it increased the survival rate of the long-legged ponies

• it decreased the rate of reproduction of the long-legged ponies

• it prohibited the long-legged ponies from using available food sources

• it made the long-legged ponies run more slowly

Multiple Choice

Juniper is a desert plant that produces toxins. Unlike most animals, a type of rodent called Stephen's woodrat is able to eat juniper plants. The woodrat has special liver enzymes to metabolize juniper toxins.

Which of these statemens best explains why the special liver enzyme became common in woodrats?

• The enzymes allow the woodrats to grow much larger

• The enzymes make the woodrats poisonous to their predators

• The enzymes reduce the genetic diversity and variety of traits of the woodrats

• The enzymes increase the ability of the woodrats to survive and pass on their genes