Evolution and Natural Selection, Variation, Adaptation

Which of the following best describes natural selection?

• organisms compete for food and shelter

• organisms produce more offspring than can survive

• organisms vary in their physical traits and some traits are inherited

• organisms best suited to their environment are most likely to survive and reproduce

Some rattlesnakes in a population have markings that help the snakes hide. The snakes with theses markings catch more prey, live longer and have more offspring than other snakes. What does the theory of natural selection predict about this population?

• it will not change

• it will become extinct

• over time, more members will have the useful markings

• over time fewer members will have the useful markings

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Which of these is a behavioral adaptation?

• swallows building a nest out of mud

• cactus plants having long spines

• insects looking like leaves to blend in with real leaves

• butterflies producing a foul tasting chemical

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Before the Industrial Revolution, biologists in England observed that most peppered moths were light in color. After the Industrial Revolution began, most of the peppered moths were dark in color. Which best explains the change in moths coloring during the Revolution?

• light were more fit because they were less camouflaged against the soot covered trees

• dark moths were more fit because they were less camouflaged against the soot covered trees

• light colored moths were more fit because they were more camouflaged against the soot covered trees

• dark colored moths were more fit because they were more camouflaged against the soot covered trees

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A cactus is found in desert biomes. Spines are found on many cacti. Which best explains how this adaptation helps it to survive?

• provides a place for birds to perch while eating the cactus flowers

• prevents some animals from eating the cactus

• mimics stick insects and gives them a place to hide and not be eaten

• traps water so cactus does not need water from the soil

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Which of the following is most likely to cause the extinction of a species if they cannot adapt?

• mutation

• adaptation

• genetic variation

• changing environment

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Fossil records often show modern organisms and the ancestors of the modern organism. What are the fossils between them called?

• middle fossils

• step by step fossils

• transitional fossils

• transmitted fossils

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The process by which populations slowly change over time is called__________

• selective breeding
• adaptation
• sepeciation
• evolution

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What does Darwin's theory of evolution suggest?

• species change over time
• extinct species are not related to living species
• different species can interbreed
• animals that look alike are most closely related

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What role does genetic variation play in the evolution of species?

• reduces the chance that a species will possess characteristics well-suited for a changing environment

• it increases the chance that species will possess characteristics well suited for a changing environment

• it allows multicellular organisms like plants to change their traits during their lifetime

• it allows unicellular organisms like bacteria to change their DNA after they die

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