Evolution DMS 7th

Which of the birds is best adapted for hunting small rodents like mice and why?

• Bird A, because it has a long, narrow beak.

• Bird A, because it has small fast wings.

• Bird B, because it has a sharp, curved beak.

• Bird B, because it has white feathers on its head.

The walking catfish is a species of fish that can walk on land for short distances using its pectoral fins. During drought conditions, when there is little water in its habitat, the walking catfish can use its pectoral fins to reach new areas with water.

Which of these will most likely happen to a population of walking catfish over time if nearby aquatic environments dry up permanently?

• Walking catfish with small pectoral fins are more likely to reach a new water habitat. The population will likely evolve to have small pectoral fins.

• Walking catfish with large pectoral fins are more likely to reach a new water habitat. The population will likely evolve to have larger pectoral fins.

• Walking catfish with large pectoral fins and those with small fins are more likely to reach a new water habitat. Both types will survive, so evolution is unlikely to occur.

• Neither type will of catfish will be adapted to reaching new water habitats. Both types will likely become extinct.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

Which of the following best describes the relationship between variations and adaptations?

• All variations are adaptations, but not all adaptations come from variations.

• All adaptations are variations and all variations help organisms survive.

• Variations result from adaptations organisms make to the environment.

• Adaptations result from variations only if they help an organism survive.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

Fire ants in the southeastern United States were accidentally introduced over seventy years ago. Stings from fire ants can be deadly to the native fence lizard. Fence lizards that have lived in areas with fire ants for many generations have longer legs than fence lizards that only recently encountered the fire ants.

Which statement BEST describes how the legs of the fence lizard changed over time?

• The lizards living in areas where fire ants were first introduced used the venom from fire ants to grow longer legs. The trait for longer legs was then passed onto offspring.

• Over time, fence lizards stretched their legs to increase leg length and passed this trait on to their offspring.

• Every generation, lizards are born with shorter legs. They then grow the longer legs to avoid stepping on the fire ants.

• Over time, fence lizards with longer legs were less likely to be stung. The trait for longer legs was passed on to their offspring.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

Moles are mammals that dig tunnels. They eat worms that live deep underground, which they find using their sense of smell. A random mutation causes some moles to be born with a much stronger sense of smell. The chart below shows the numbers of normal and mutated moles in a habitat over a three-year period.

Which environmental change below would explain the data in the chart?

• Warmer temperatures make the soil softer.

• Colder temperatures make the soil harder.

• More rainfall makes the worms come closer to the surface.

• Less rainfall makes the worms burrow deeper underground.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

NGSS.MS-LS3-1

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

What question would allow you to determine if a population of organisms was more likely a result of natural or artificial selection?

• Were the organisms produced by sexual or asexual reproduction?

• Do the organisms have traits that are valuable to humans but are poorly suited to the wild?

• How many different traits are there in the population of organisms?

• How similar are the organisms to their parents?

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

A species of frog lives in a forest. A snake species moves to the ecosystem where the frogs live and begins to hunt the frogs. Based on your understanding of natural selection, what is the most likely explanation of what will happen to the frog population when the snakes move into the ecosystem?

• Some of the frogs would try to develop new traits to avoid the predator and pass those traits onto offspring, and the other frogs would die.

• All of the frogs would try to develop new traits to be able to avoid the predator, and they will all survive and pass on their new traits to offspring.

• The frogs born with traits that allow them to avoid the snake would be more likely to survive and reproduce, while the frogs without those traits would likely die.

• Since all of the frogs have identical traits, they would all be equally good or bad at avoiding the snake, so they would all survive and reproduce or they would all die.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

The graph represents the populations of two different species in an ecosystem over a period of several years.

Which statement is the best possible explanation for the changes shown?

• There was a change in the environment that favored Species X over Species Y.

• There was a change in the environment that favored Species Y over Species X.

• Both Species X and Species Y are equally adapted to their environment.

• Species X was introduced into the environment, leading to the extinction of Species Y.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

NGSS.MS-LS2-2

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

What is true about the deepest layers of fossils found preserved in rock?

• They are younger than the fossils found in the top layer because the top layers have had less environmental exposure.

• They show organisms that are similar to modern ones, because most organisms do not change over time.

• They are a mix of ancient and modern organisms, because organisms can go extinct at any time.

• They are older than the fossils found in the top layer because the bottom layers of rock formed before the top layers.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

Which of the following BEST describes the effect that natural selection might have on a species over time?

• The fur color of a species will always change over time, because of natural selection.

• Predator species will always increase due to natural selection, while prey species will always die out.

• Members of a species with traits that allow them to survive and reproduce in an environment will increase in population, while those without those traits will die.

• Bigger members of a species always have an advantage over smaller members. Therefore, over time, a species will eventually include larger organisms only.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

NGSS.MS-LS4-4