Natural Selection and Common Ancestry

Why are advantageous traits more likely to be passed onto offspring?

• Because they are more likely to survive and reproduce.

• Because they come from dominant alleles.

• Because they come from recessive alleles.

• Because the trait is an acquired phenotype.

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Individuals that are better able to cope with the challenges of their environment tend to

• Increase in population over time.

• Decrease in population over time.

• Leave fewer offspring than those less suited to the environment.

• Both (a) and (c)

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The Asian shore crab invaded parts of the eastern coast of the United States about 15 years ago. The Asian shore crab preys on blue mussels. In the time since the Asian shore crab arrived, the average shell thickness of the blue mussel population has increased. Which of the following is the most likely reason that this increase in shell thickness has occurred?

• Blue mussels with thick shells attract more crabs that mussels without thick shells.

• Blue mussels with thick shells grow in larger colonies than mussels without thick shells.

• Blue mussels with thick shells catch more food per day than mussels without thick shells.

• Blue mussels with thick shells survive and reproduce more successfully than mussels without thick shells.

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The theory of evolution by natural selection means that what is changing over time?

• The inherited traits of a population.

• The acquired traits of a population.

• Hair color and eye color

• Attractive features.

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Since the 1800s humans have stopped burning coal, and the trees have returned to their original color. Which moth will be more successful in this environment?

• Dark moth

• Light moth

• Both will be equally successful

• Neither will be successful

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Why is the mouse population changing over time?

• The light mice can reproduce more successfully than the dark mice

• The hawks eat more dark mice than light mice because the dark mice taste better

• The hawks eat more light mice than dark mice because they can see the light mice more easily

• The hawks eat more dark mice than light mice because they can see the dark mice more easily

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How do fossils provide evidence that evolution has happened on Earth?

• Fossils show how the sizes of certain animals has changed drastically over millions of years

• Fossils show that some species have gone extinct

• Fossils show how life forms present today are different than those from the past

• Different sedimentary rock layers provide evidence for how the environment has changed over time

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What is a homologous structure?

• having a body part that has no known function

• similar structures in more than one organism because they evolved from a common ancestor

• a structure that evolved to help an organism survive in their environment

• similar structures that evolved independently in two living organisms to serve the same purpose

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Which of the following best describes the variation seen in peppered moths?

• individual peppered moths can vary their color to camouflage

• there are multiple species of peppered moths each with different colors

• there is one species of peppered moths with two color variations

• pepper moths come in at least 12 different colors

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In a meadow, there are two colors of cone flowers: Pink and yellow. The bees and other pollinators seem to be more attracted to the pink flower and visit the pink flowers more often than the yellow flowers. Over time there are more pink flowers in the meadow than yellow. What principle is at work here?

• speciation

• environmental pressure

• natural selection

• homologous structures

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