Evolution & Classification

Ostrich wings are examples of

• homologous structures
• vestigial structures
• adaptations
• traits

Dolphins have the same arm structure as wolfs, what type of evidence for evolution does this represent?

• DNA
• vestigial structures
• homologous structures
• embryology

This makes an organism more suited to its enviornment

• species
• lifespan
• adaptation
• mutation

The tree of life is a metaphor for what idea?

• we came from a common ancestor
• we need water and sunlight to survive
• we have multiple species
• we are old

According to fossil records, the horses that lived 50 million years ago were much smaller, weaker and slower than modern horses. Which process is most likely responsible for the changes that have led to the increased size, strength, and speed in horses?

• commensalism
• inbreeding
• migration
• evolution by natural selection

Scientists have found evidence that about 2.4 million years ago a gene regulating jaw muscles mutated and may have led to the more graceful human jaw we see today. The diagram below shows the skulls of 3 hominid species.Which statement below most closely explains the link between jaw size and hominid evolution? 

• The jaws of hominids evolved to be smaller and less protruding over time. 
• The jaws of hominids evolved to be smaller and less protruding over time. 
• There appears to be no change in the jaws of hominids over time.
• The jaws of hominids changed over time due to a change in brain size. 
  

Scientists are studying the evolutionary history of a group of plants in the United States, and they developed an evolutionary tree, as shown below.Which statement can be inferred from the evolutionary tree?

• Species 1 is most closely related to Species 8.
• Species 2 is most closely related to Species 3.
• Species 3 is most closely related to Species 7.
• Species 5 is most closely related to Species 6.

Which occurrence represents an example of evolution?

•  Exposure to radiation reduces the rate of mutation in leaf cells.
• A mutation in a liver cell causes a person to produce an enzyme that is less efficient.
•  Cells in a zygote eventually change into bone cells or skin cells
• Some antibiotics are almost useless, because pathogens have developed a resistance to these antibiotics.

Brown mice survive and reproduce in their desert environment better than white mice because owls can see and eat the white mice more easily. In this situation, what part of the environment is doing the selecting?

• predator

• soil composition

• mouse fur color

• sexual preferences

Over generations of time apart on different islands with different food sources, the separated populations of Galapagos finches accumulated genetic differences until each group had different beaks. This is an example of _____.

• natural selection

• genetic drift

• adaptation

• speciation