Darwin's Theory

Which was Charles Darwin's contribution to the study of biology?

• He was the first person to recognize that organisms change over time.

• He believed that organisms adapted through the inheritance of acquired traits.

• He explained how traits are passed from parents to offspring.

• He proposed that natural selection is the primary mechanism of evolution.

During a trip to the Galapagos Islands, which observation led Charles Darwin to suspect that organisms change over time?

• Island finches were able to breed with mainland species.

• Island finches resembled mainland finches, but were not the same species.

• Island finches resembled extinct species from other islands around the world.

• Island finches did not have beaks of the same size and shape.

Charles Darwin observed a unique beak size and shape in the finch population of each of the Galapagos Islands that he visited. Which is the most likely cause of the observed variation?

• differences in the climate among the islands

• competition among individuals for available food sources

• competition among individuals for desirable mates

• differences in egg size among the populations

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Veronica wrote Charles Darwin’s main points on the board, but she made a mistake in one point. Which point is incorrect?

• 1. Since more offspring are produced than an environment can support, organisms within a population must compete for resources to survive.

• 2. Due to variations within the population, some competitors will be better equipped for survival than others.

• 3. The best-equipped organisms will survive and will produce well-equipped offspring.

• 4. Variations that help with survival will be passed on to future generations and will rapidly change the whole population.

Natural selection is a process by which organisms that are better adapted to their environment tend to

• increase in size

• migrate

• evolve new traits

• survive

What is natural selection?

• a process that selects variations that help with survival and that spreads the variations to more offspring

• a process through which nature selects an individual within a population for extinction

• a process that causes all populations to gradually increase in size

• a process that causes random variations to appear in the offspring of every generation

In terms of natural selection, what is the best description of an organism that is fit?

• The organism is physically stronger than competing organisms.

• The organism is physically stronger than organisms of a different species.

• The organism is better able to survive and pass on traits to offspring than competing organisms.

• The organism is a member of a population in which every member survives without competing.

According to the concept of “survival of the fittest," if a population of birds eats worms that they find deep under ground by using their beaks, which members of the bird population would be more fit?

• birds that have flatter beaks

• birds that have longer beaks

• birds that have wider beaks

• birds that have brighter beaks

Which statement would least likely be used to describe variation?

• Variations are inherited differences between individuals of the same species.

• Variations that decrease reproductive success are more likely to be passed on.

• Variations may result in changes to an entire population after many generations.

• Variations provide some individuals with an advantage.

In the African savanna, more wildebeests are born than the environment can support. Which is most likely to happen over a period of years as a result?

• The chances for survival of the population are reduced.

• New food sources are discovered and become the regular diet.

• Individuals that are well suited to the environment reproduce, and those that are not well suited die before they reproduce.

• The environment adapts by providing more resources to the growing population, increasing the chances of survival for individuals within the habitat.