Evolution Practice Questions (Bio)

The term "evolution" is best described as:

• a process of change in a population over time

• a process by which organisms become extinct

• the reproductive isolation of members of certain species

• the replacement of one community by another

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Which statement best supports the inference that the ancestors of modern day elephants had no trunks or tusks and were the size of pigs?

• Population size tends to remain stable from generation to generation

• Evolutionary change is always rapid and continuous

• Existing life forms have evolved from earlier life forms

• Geographic isolation rarely favors speciation in small populations

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The theory that birds and reptiles share common ancestry is supported by the evidence that they both

• occupy similar niches

• have similar environmental requirements

• show structural similarities during their development

• have evolved as separate groups at about the same time

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Studies that reveal the similarities in the development that occurs in reptile eggs and bird eggs are often used to trace possible pathways of evolution. These studies are part of the research in comparative

• anatomy

• embryology

• biochemistry

• ecology

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Which concept do biologists frequently use to explain the similarities between different species in early embryonic development?

• genetic recombination

• overproduction

• common ancestry

• selective breeding

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Fossils are considered evidence for evolution.

• True

• False

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Rocks and fossils in the highest layers are younger than rocks and fossils in the bottom layers.

• True

• False

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This image is an example of:

• biochemical similarities

• comparative embryology

• vestigial structures

• homologous structures

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The formation of new and different species is called:

• survival of the fittest

• natural selection

• speciation

• overproduction

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Gregor Mendel is the person who thought that species had evolved (changed over time) and came up with the concept of natural selection.

• True

• False

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