Evolution & Natural Selection

Which of the following is a fossil?

• a plant that has recently died
• a group of organisms that can reproduce
• a structure or organ that no longer functions
• a trace of an organisms that existed in the past

In natural selection, the selective agent is the

• humans
• mutations
• breeders
• environment

what did Charles Darwin observe in finch populations of the Galapagos Islands off the coast of South America?

• different species on different islands
• all species on one of the islands
• identical species on all the islands
• the same species as North America

Mutations are important because they bring about

• death of the organism in which they develop
• genetic variation needed for a population to evolve
• benefits for the individual, not for the population
• Hardey-Weinberg equilibrium within a population

What is the term for a feature that allows an organism to survive better in its environemtn?

• variation

• adaptation

• homologous structure

• vestigial structure

What is the process in which humans breed organisms for certain traits?

• natural selection
• inheritance
• artificial selection
• descent withOUT modification

Natural selection results in change over time by acting on traits that are

• heritable
• new
• mutated 
• better than the best

Some organisms that share a common ancestor have features that have different functions, but similar structures.  These are known as

• vestigial structures
• analogous structures
• homologous structures
• fossil structures

The gradual change in species over time is...

• Evolution
• Nucleotide 
• Adaptation
• Natural Selection

What is the study of organisms at the early stages of development?

• DNA studies
• embryology 
• extinction
• fossil record