Evidence of Evolution

According to Darwin's theory of evolution, if two different organisms are closely related, they will most likely ______.

• share a recent common ancestor

• have similar habitats

• not have similar DNA sequences

• not have the same genes in common

Amphistium has been declared a transitional fossil. That means that scientists believe it to have _________.

• features found in the fossils of a recent common ancestor but never in newly evolved organisms

• features found in the fossils of a recent common ancestor and features that are newly evolved

• features found in the fossils of multiple recently evolved organisms and never in older fossils

• features similar to those found in modern-day organisms and organisms on the Galápagos Islands

When studying the armadillo of America and the pangolin of Africa, the following facts were discovered:

They have similar characteristics.

They are not related.

Their environments are similar.

What can be deduced from these facts

• They must have the same recent common ancestor.

• Organisms can adapt to similar environments and in similar ways.

• Organisms do not change over time

• The American armadillo migrated from Africa

Which of the following is an advantage of the fossil record?

• It provides physical evidence of how organisms change over time.

• Some fossils have been found.

• Only some ancient organisms were fossilized

• Fossilization rarely takes place.

Scientists say that fossils provide some of the strongest evidence of evolution. What are fossils?

• They are organisms that have been alive for more than 300 years

• They are sections of DNA that are preserved in ice

• They are hundreds of years old rocks and salts

• They are the remains or traces of organisms that lived long ago

Which of the following is NOT correct about biogeography?

• Biogeography can explain why islands have more plant diversity than animal diversity

• Biogeography can explain why certain species live in certain locations

• Biogeography is the study of the distribution of plants and animals around the world

• Biogeography is the study of derived traits shared among species

Which of the following statements BEST explains why remote islands exhibit high vegetation populations but low mammal populations?

• Terrestrial animals are very particular about the environments they settle in

• Remote islands do not usually have enough resources to support the survival of mammals

• Plant spores or seeds are dispersed across barriers by means of wind, water, and birds

• Humans find it easier to plant vegetation than raise animals on remote islands

Transitional fossils exhibit two types of traits. What are these traits?

• derived and homologous

• ancestral and derived

• ancestral and vestigial

• homologous and vestigial