Evolution Unit

After which event could you say that evolution has occurred?

• A new predator comes into an environment.

• An animal gets fat.

• A white-eyed fly is born into a population of brown-eyed flies.

• An allele frequency changes in a population.

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Which situation would most likely result in evolution?

• A single individual leaves a large population.

• A large population loses a few individuals.

• A predator prefers one phenotype to another.

• A bird has two alleles for a certain feather color.

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Which group of organisms can be considered a population?

• all buffalo in North America

• a group of skunks living in the same forest

• freshwater salmon

• different kinds of butterflies living in the same patch of rain forest

A population of white-tailed deer inhabits a certain patch of forest in Michigan. Which group of alleles can be considered the gene pool of those deer?

• he dominant alleles of the white-tailed deer in this population only

• the dominant alleles of all white-tailed deer

• all alleles of all white-tailed deer

• all alleles of the white-tailed deer in this population only

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Natural selection acts on populations of living things, usually through a specific trait. Which statement must be true about that trait?

• The trait is resistant to mutations.

• The trait is the same for all organisms.

• The trait is passed on genetically to the next generation.

• All forms of the trait have the same impact on survival.

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This graph shows the variation in birth weights in a specific population of humans. Use the graph data to answer the question.

Which statement describes the variation of birth weights in this population?

• There is no variation in birth weight.

• There is a moderate variation in birth weight.

• Variation changes over time.

A population of snails is experiencing disruptive selection in terms of their shell patterns. Which statement is most likely true about the population?

• The frequency of a new shell pattern is becoming higher than all other patterns.

• The frequency of the most common shell pattern is becoming higher than all other patterns.

• Two different patterns are combining into one very common pattern.

• Two different shell patterns are increasing in frequency, while the most common pattern is decreasing.

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These two graphs show data at the beginning and ending of a study on a certain population of parrots. Use the information in the two graphs to answer the question.

Which type of selection is illustrated by these two graphs?

• Disruptive

• Directional

• Stabilizing

• natural

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Based partially on his comparative studies of the fossils of woolly mammoths and the bones of modern-day elephants, Georges Cuvier proposed several new ideas about the history of life on earth. Which general statement can be made about this example?

• Scientists always discover new ideas when they study details about living things.

• Through specific studies, new ideas can be developed.

• Understanding the past is not important to studying the present.

• All scientific ideas are made by comparing past and present organisms.

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Why was Charles Darwin able to offer a large amount of evidence for his theory of evolution by natural selection?

• He conducted in-depth experiments with chemicals in England.

• He collected data for 5 years while traveling around the world.

• He compiled the fossil record.

• He worked with Gregor Mendel for many years collecting genetic proof for evolution.

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