Week 4 Homework

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

• adaptation
• variation
• homologous structure
• vestigial structure

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

• artificial selection
• descent without modification
• inheritance of acquired characteristics
• natural selection

Individuals that are well adapted to their environment will survive and produce

• better traits
• stronger genes
• more offspring
• fewer mutations

All the individuals of a species that live in a particular area are called a 

• group
• population
• variation
• fossil

The remnant of an organ that had a function in an early ancestor is known as a(n)

• vestigial structure
• analogous structure
• homologous structure
• fossil structure

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

Extinction can occur because of which of the following?

• All can be causes of extinction.
• Increased competition with other species
• New predators within the environment
• Loss of habitat and/or catastrophes

Survival of the fittest or when favorable adaptations reproduce faster is called what?

• Evolution
• Adaptation
• Natural selection
• Fossilization

Which of the following is an example of a vestigial structure?

• the wings of a red-tailed hawk
• the hind limbs of a house cat
• the fins of sharks
• the tailbone of a human

If species A and B have very similar genes and proteins, what is probably TRUE?

• species A and B share a relatively recent common ancestor
• species A evolved independently of species B for a long period
• species A is younger than species B
• species A is older than species B