Natural Selection and Evolution

What is a common ancestor?

• An animal with lots of offspring
• An animal from which two or more different species evolved
• An animal that is related to many other species
• An animal that is good at escaping predators

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Which of the following is an example of environmental pressure?

• The air pressure in the atmosphere
• Genetic variation between two individuals
• A changing climate
• An argument 

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In the phrase "survival of the fittest," the term "fittest" refers to: 

• The best adapted organisms
• The biggest organisms
• The smartest organisms
• The fastest organisms

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Which variation would most likely benefit any organism, **regardless** of environment?

• The ability to swim deeper
• Marking to help it blend in with trees
• Bigger claws or teeth
• Ability to produce energy more efficiently

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When nature "selects" a variation, that means that the trait

• Gets passed along from generation to generation
• Causes the population to shrink
• Has brought about a new species
• Helps prey escape predators

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NGSS.MS-LS4-4

Dogs are an example of 

• a common ancestor
• selective breeding
• the natural place of evolution
• extinction rates rising 

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On Darwin's tree of life, organisms at the base of a branch

• Go extinct from environmental pressures
• Evolve into the closest species on the tree's trunk
• Give rise to species father down the branch
• Are less fit than secies in the middle of a branch

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A fire that randomly wipes out part of a population is an example of

• Natural selection
• Survival of the fittest
• Genetic drift
• Selective Breeding

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When a beneficial mutation (such as walking upright) spreads through an entire population, that population 

• is benecicial
• has evolved
• goes extinct
• keeps mutating

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The "tree of life" that shows different species is full of branches that "drop off".  This represents

• A species that has gone extinct
• A species that is still evolving
• A species that is not real
• A species that benefited other

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