Evolution and Taxonomy Test Review

Certain antibacterial soaps kill 99% of the bacteria present on hands. Constant use of these soaps could be harmful over time because

• microbes prevent viral diseases
• large populations of pathogens are beneficial to the hands
• more pathogens may be resistant to the soap
•  the soap stimulates skin cell division

The fossil record of ancient life forms provides scientific evidence of

• gene manipulation
• selective breeding
• evolutionary changes
• direct harvesting

If the same antibiotic is used too many times, it can become less effective against a certain type of bacteria. This observation is best explained by the

• production of antibiotics by white blood cells
• replication of viruses that attack bacteria
• presence of pathogens in antibiotics
• survival and reproduction of resistant (unaffected) bacteria

Which group would most likely have the greatest survival success during a long period of environmental changes?

• an endangered population of polar bears living near an iceberg
• a small population of rabbits living in a field of grass
• a large population of red ants living in a forest
• one species of bird that nests only in sugar maple trees

A population of animals is permanently split by a natural barrier into two separate populations in different environments. What will likely result after a long period of time?

• The two populations will evolve into separate species.
• The production of variations will stop in the two populations.
• Autotrophic nutrition will replace heterotrophic nutrition in the two populations.
• The evolution of the two populations will be identical.

Throughout the history of life on Earth, many processes have resulted in new traits in organisms. Which list shows some of these processes in order from the oldest to the most recently used?

• selective breeding, gene manipulation,natural selection
• gene manipulation, natural selection,selective breeding
• natural selection, gene manipulation,selective breeding
• natural selection, selective breeding,gene manipulation

Selective breeding is a technique that is used to

• give all organisms a chance to reproduce
• produce offspring with certain desirable traits
• keep farm crops free of all mutations
• produce organisms from extinct species

Average beak sizes of the seed-eating medium ground finch on one of the GalapagosIslands are shown in the diagram below. During wet years, all types of seeds are abundant. The medium ground finch prefers to eat small seeds that are easy to crush. However, during droughts (dry years), when small seeds are not as abundant, they eat the larger seeds on the island.
How might an extended period of drought influence the ground finch population?

• Drought increases seed availability, and all ground finches would be more numerous.
• The birds with smaller beaks would be more numerous.
• Drought decreases seed availability, but has no influence on the ground finch.
• The birds with larger beaks would be more numerous.

Average beak sizes of the seed-eating medium ground finch on one of the GalapagosIslands are shown in the diagram below. During wet years, all types of seeds are abundant. The medium ground finch prefers to eat small seeds that are easy to crush. However, during droughts (dry years), when small seeds are not as abundant, they eat the larger seeds on the island.
How would the introduction of another species of seed-eating ground finch to the island most likely influence the medium ground finch?

• The finches would not compete, since they both eat seeds.
• The medium ground finch would faceincreased competition for seeds.
• The medium ground finch would become a parasite of the introduced species.
• The finches would interbreed and produce a new species of finch.

Average beak sizes of the seed-eating medium ground finch on one of the GalapagosIslands are shown in the diagram below. During wet years, all types of seeds are abundant. The medium ground finch prefers to eat small seeds that are easy to crush. However, during droughts (dry years), when small seeds are not as abundant, they eat the larger seeds on the island.
The most likely explanation for this variation in the beak size of the medium ground finch is that

• the environment caused the birds to exercise their beaks and the beaks became longer and stronger
• the birds with smaller beaks mutated due to the drought so they produced more offspring
• different adaptations gave some birds a better chance for survival
• the birds acquired larger beaks so they could take advantage of the supply of small seeds