Chapter 5 Test

The idea that organisms can gain new traits and pass on those traits to their offspring is called ___.

Because a whale's flipper and a bat's wing have similar bone structure, evolutionists refer to the body parts as ___.

Because organisms stop taking in carbon when they die, what is a type of absolute dating that dates fossils that are presumed to be "young"?

The idea that one species can never evolve into another species or the ability of a species to remain unchanged is called ___.

The places where evolutionary family tree branches connect represent a(n) ___ that similar organisms evolved from.

Why are transitional forms a problem for evolutionists?

Give an example of an original material fossil.

Why do evolutionists and creationists view the history of change in living things differently?

• Creationists believe in changes only in the presents, not changes in the past.
• Evolutionists believe in changes only in the past, not changes in the present.
• Living things have not changed in the present or in the past.
• Evolutionists and creationists start with different worldviews.

Darwin's explanation for the theory of natural selection includes all of the following EXCEPT ___.

• that individuals in a species compete for the things needed to survive
• that mutations cause new traits to be formed in a population
• that some individuals have traits that make them better able to compete
• that with each new generation, the traits that better allow survival become more common

A fossil is found above an igneous rock layer that is dated at 50 million years. Scientists would then conclude that the fossil is ___.

• younger than 50 million years
• older than 50 million years
• 50 million years old
• not able to be dated