Evolution/Fossils Summative

What variation of an individual owl in an owl population would make the individual most likely to survive in an environment where the owl's prey is scarce?

• having better eyesight to spot prey more easily

• having shorter wings to increase flight speed

• having bigger nests to support more offspring

• having fewer feathers to increase agility

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Why did Darwin's finches have different beaks?

• Environmental changes altered the available food sources, allowing the finches with suitable beaks to survive and reproduce.

• The finches were artificially selected to acquire different genetic traits.

• The finches mated with other species of birds, producing offspring over generations with the most desirable traits from each species

• The finches' beaks changed shape as they grew from adolescents into adults.

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What is a genetic change that has occurred in the horse over time?

• The horse has developed four legs.

• The horse has lost its tail.

• The horse has increased in size.

• The horse has become less muscled.

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Which term is used to describe an inherited trait that gives an organism an advantage in its particular environment?

• speciation

• unicellular organism

• adaptation

• vestigial organ

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Charles Darwin's studies of finches on the Galápagos Islands suggest that the finches' differences in beak structure were caused by which of the following?

• the mating behaviors of the different finch species

• the adaptations of the finches to different environments

• the acquired characteristics of the parent finches

• the sizes of the islands on which the finches lived

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The graph below shows the populations of dark and light-colored moths over a 10-year period. Which statement below best describes how natural selection is demonstrated in this data?

• An environmental change occurred, which began to favor dark-colored moths.

• B. An environmental change occurred, which began to favor light-colored moths.

• An environmental change did not occur. Dark colored moths were always favored.

• An environmental change did not occur. Light colored

  moths were always favored.

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Whales have a remarkably complete history recorded in the fossil record, dating back to approximately 60 million years go. What does the fossil record most likely tell us about whales?

• Whales have changed over long periods of time.

• Whales have not adapted to changes in their environments.

• Whales live longer today than they did in the prehistoric eras.

• Whales live similarly to their prehistoric ancestors.

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What are fossils?

• Are the remains or evidence of once-living organisms

• Is the change over time in populations of related organisms

• A chart that divides Earth’s history into different time units

• Occurs when the last individual organism of a species dies

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Naturalist

• A person who studies plants and animals by observing them.

• Natural selection is the process where organisms that are best suited to their environment survive and pass on their genetic traits.

• Is an adaptation that enables a species to blend in with its environment.

• The breeding of organisms for desired characteristics.

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Variation

• A person who studies plants and animals by observing them.

• The resemblance of one species to another species.

• Is a slight difference in an inherited trait of individual members of a species.

• The breeding of organisms for desired characteristics.

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