Unit 8: Evolution

The difference in the physical traits of an individual from those of other individuals in a group is called a(n)

• change
• adaption
• species
• variation

What did Charles Darwin observe in finch populations of the Galapagos Islands off the coast of South America?

• different species on different islands
• all species on one of the islands
• identical species on all the islands
• the same species as North America

Which of the following is a fossil?

• a plant that has recently died
• a group of organisms that can reproduce
• a structure or organ that no longer functions
• a trace of an organisms that existed in the past

In natural selection, the selecting agent is the

• humans
• mutations
• breeders
• environment

A bird  in a population that can easily outcompete other birds for food and that can produce many offspring has a high

• life expectancy
• mutation rate
• fitness
• adaptability

Which of the folllowing is an exammple of a vestigial structure?

• the wings of a red-tailed hawk
• the hind limbs of a house cat
• the fins of sharks
• the wings of an ostrich

What is suggested by the similarity of early embryos of different species of vertebrates? (i.e. humans, turtles, fish, chickens, salamanders, rabbits, etc.)

• no evolutionary relationships between the groups
• convergent evolution
• similar structures with different functions
• evolution from a distant common ancestor

Some organisms that share a common ancestor have features that have different functions, but similar structures.  These are known as

• vestigial structures
• analogous structures
• homologous structures
• fossil structures

Two organisms that are closely related would have

• very similar DNA sequence
• exactly the same DNA sequences
• no proteins in common
• completely different RNA sequence

The measure of how common a particular allele occurs in a population is known as a(n)

• gene pool
• allele frequency
• mutation rate
• phenotype