Why are advantageous traits more likely to be passed on to the offspring?

Because parents with those traits can surive and reproduce better

Because parents with those traits can teach their offspring

Because parents with those traits care more about their offspring

As creatures became adapted to a particular environment, a type of natural selection called stabilizing selection can cause a decrease in genetic diversity throughout the population. The fossil record for an organism that has undergone stabilizing selection for millions of years will look like a / an

single phenotype through multiple layers of rock

Single phenotype in each layer of rock with each layer containing a different phenotype

wide range of phenotypes in each layer of rock

Single phenotype in a few layers of rock and then a change to a different phenotype in a few layers of rock

Which statement does not accurately describe natural selection?

Individual organisms' fur turns white during the winter to camouflage them in the snow

The genetic composition of a population changes from one generation to the next.

More advantageous traits become more common in populations

Beneficial and useful traits are inherited generation after generation.

Antibiotics have been used to treat bacterial infections since the 1940s. In recent years, many antibiotics have become less effective as resistance to these treatments rises. Which statement best describes how bacterial resistance to antibiotics demonstrates natural selection.

The bacteria cells that are able to survive the antibiotics reproduce while weaker bacteria die, causing the bacteria population to have more antibiotic resistant individuals over time.

The bacteria are able to mutate when they are exposed to antibiotics, allowing the next generation of bacteria cells to have immunity from the antibiotics.

The antibiotics are becoming weaker because it is harder to find sources for the chemicals that are used in their production.

The human immune system has become desensitized to the chemicals in antibiotics, which causes the antibiotics to be less effective.

Which of the following describes the cause of natural selection?

Some members of the population have greater reproductive success than others.

Individuals within the population acquire traits to adapt to the environment.

Disasters, like fires and floods, kill all members of a population in an area.

Members of a population compete for limited resources in their environment.

Natural selection relates to adaptations in all the followign ways except

natural selection grants a species any trait it might need for survival

adaptations that cause a disadvantage to the species are selected against and do not become common in the population

organisms with traits that best enable them to adapt to an environment are the ones most likely to survive

changes that make organisms better suited to their environment become common in the species

A population of trees has various heights. Shorter trees have leaves and flowers that are within reach for herbivores to eat. The adaptation that allows the trees to grow taller would be an example of natural selection if it helps them....

increase the chances of surviving to produce offspring

increase the number of mutations in their DNA

increase the lifespan of each individual tree

increase the odds of producing genes for short trees

Two contrasting theories of evolution explain changes in species found in fossil records. Gradualism was proposed by Charles Darwin, and punctuated equilibrium was more recently proposed by Niles Eldridge and Steven J. Gould. Which statement supports gradualism but does no support punctuated equilibrium?

Speciation is a slow process that happens in steady small changes.

Species show little evolutionary change over an extended period of geological time, and as a result, stasis is seen in the fossil record.

Speciation occurs during periods of rapid geological change.

Fossils of species found in the lower strata of the fossil record are geologically older than the species found in strata toward the top.

For a mutation to be evolutionarily significant, it must---

provide a survival advantage of the species

change the type of protein being produced

have a neutral effect on an organism

Why does the ability to produce up to 100 offspring increase the fitness of scorpions?

It increases the probability that some offspring will survive to reproduce and pass on their genes

It increases the chances that the offspring will be healthy enough to have a long lifespan

It increases the probability of gene flow within the population, which improves diversity

It increases the chances of mutation in the alleles, leading to genetic drift in the population

Which of the following best explains why a finite supply of environmental resources is important to differential reproductive success?

Limited resources create selection pressures for survival on the population.

Variations within a population allow for differential reproductive success.

Some members of a population survive competition but never reproduce.

Natural selection does not occur when the environment limits the supply of resources.

Which of the following is an example of a heritable characteristic possessed by an animal that will improve its reproductive potential and survivability in its environment?

Color and shape camouflage of a preying mantis

Position of geese flying in V formation

Use of tools by chimpanzees learned through experience

Male dominance in a pack of wolves

Monarch butterflies eat plants that have bitter or poisonous juices, which make them taste bad to predators. The organisms advertise their bad taste with their bright colored wings, something known as "Warning coloration". Based on this information, how has adaptation allowed monarch butterflies to be successful?

They are not attacked by predators and can reproduce successfully

They can fly fast enough to avoid predators and can spend more time sleeping

They have an easier time attracting good mates and can make more offspring

They can camouflage into their environment and live longer.

Over the last 50 years, the average weight of reindeer in the Arctic has decreased from 55kg to 48kg. Scientists attribute this change in weight to the scarcity of food that reindeer have access to in the winter months. Warmer winters have led to more rain than snow, which then freezes as ice and makes it hard for the reindeer to get their food. The summer months are also warmer, which enables healthy females to reproduce more regularly and has led to an expansion in the number of reindeers per herd. Which statement explains what is happening to the reindeer population?

The warmer summer and winter months have led to an increased population of reindeer that are smaller in size.

Reindeer are unable to adjust to the warming temperatures, so only those with thicker coats can survive.

Individual reindeer can quickly adapt to the warming temperatures and will adjust when they reproduce

Reindeer cannot survive the harsh, cold winters and are likely to undergo rapid extinction

Which of the following structure pairs provides the best evidence of a common ancestor based on the anatomical similarities?

Legs on a beetle and legs on a cat

Human eyebrows and ant antennas

How can evolutionary relationships among organisms be determined by comparing embryonic development?

Embryos of more closely related organisms show greater similarities in development.

Embryos retrace their ancestral stages during embryonic development

Embryos that develop inside eggs lack similarities to placental mammals

Both fish and humans have a two chambered heart in an early stage of development.

The occurrence of the same amino acid sequence in digestive proteins in two morphologically unrelated species provides evidence that these two species--

descended from a common ancestor

Looking throughout the fossil record, there are times when numerous fossils look to just appear all at the same time with similar characteristics. What is a good explanation for this?

A change in the environment caused different genetic traits to allow for a greater chance of survival.

A change in the environment occurred, and animals choose to express different traits.

New species are always occurring, and there is no reason for it.

Ancient man killed off all the animals, and they raised new animals, which are then found in the fossil record.

Evolution is the change in characteristics passed down from parent to offspring over time. How are mutations involved in the process of the evolution of a species?

If the mutation is beneficial, it will become more prevalent in the population's genes over time.

Some mutations are contagious and lethal, which can lead to the extinction of a species.

Any mutation that occurs will affect the population's gene pool that is already established.

Most mutations that occur will spread quickly throughout a population, creating new species.

Natural selection relates to adaptations in all the following ways except--

natural selection grants a species any trait it might need for survival

Adaptations that cause a disadvantage to the species are selected against and do not become common in the population

Organisms with traits that best enable them to adapt to an environment are the ones most likely to survive

changes that make organisms better suited to their environment become common in the species

Evolution and Natural Selection

Quiz

•

Biology

•

7th - 9th Grade

•

Practice Problem

•

Hard

•

NGSS

MS-LS4-4, MS-LS4-2, MS-LS4-1

Standards-aligned

Stacie Haile

Used 4+ times

FREE Resource

Student preview

32 questions

Show all answers

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION

1 min • 1 pt

____ is when members of a species that are best suited for their environment survive and reproduce at a higher rate than other members of the species

natural selection

artificial selection

speciation

adaptation

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION

30 sec • 1 pt

Which is necessary for speciation to occur?

adaptation

mass extinction

isolation

acquired traits

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS4-5

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION

1 min • 1 pt

Which of the following means "change over time"

natural selection

speciation

evolution

isolation

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION

1 min • 1 pt

The differences among a species, like different bird beaks, are called

theories

variations

adaptations

genes

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION

1 min • 1 pt

___ are mistakes in the DNA that cause variation within a species.

mutations

adaptations

speciations

isolations

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS3-1

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION

1 min • 1 pt

Any inherited trait that gives an organism an advantage in its environment is called ___.

a mutation

an adaptation

evolution

natural selection

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION

30 sec • 1 pt

The evolution of a new species from an existing species is ____.

natural selection

isolation

speciation

genetic variation

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

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Evolution and Natural Selection

32 questions

____ is when members of a species that are best suited for their environment survive and reproduce at a higher rate than other members of the species

Which is necessary for speciation to occur?

Which of the following means "change over time"

The differences among a species, like different bird beaks, are called

___ are mistakes in the DNA that cause variation within a species.

Any inherited trait that gives an organism an advantage in its environment is called ___.

The evolution of a new species from an existing species is ____.

Organisms with the most beneficial traits will survive. This is commonly known as ___.

Most organisms have more offspring than will survive

Why are advantageous traits more likely to be passed on to the offspring?

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