Evolution, Natural Selection, and Primate Evolution

The trees these moths used to live on were white, but have been covered in soot from coal factories. 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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An inherited characteristic that increases an organisms ability to survive and reproduce in its specific environment is called a(n)

• vestigial structure
• speciation
• analogous structure
• adaptation

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Mutations are important because they bring about

• death of the organism in which they develop
• genetic variation needed for a population to evolve
• benefits for the individual, not for the population
• Hardey-Weinberg equilibrium within a population

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The graphs below show the changes in crab color at one beach.

Which of the following is most likely to have caused the change in the distribution?

• A new predator arrived that preferred dark-tan crabs.

• A new predator arrived that preferred light-tan crabs.

• A change in beach color made medium-tan crabs the least visible to predators.

• A change in beach color made medium-tan crabs the most visible to predators.

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The graphs below show the changes in crab color at one beach.

Which of the following is most likely to have caused the change in the distribution?

• A new predator arrived that preferred dark-tan crabs.

• A new predator arrived that preferred light-tan crabs.

• A change in beach color made medium-tan crabs the least visible to predators.

• A change in beach color made medium-tan crabs the most visible to predators.

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Which of the following best illustrates natural selection?

• An organism with favorable genetic variations will tend to survive and breed successfully.

• A population monopolizes all of the resources in its habitat, forcing other species to migrate.

• A community whose members work together utilizing all existing resources and migratory routes.

• The largest organisms in a species receive the only breeding opportunities.

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Which set of Islands had a strong influence on Darwins ideas?

• Hawaii

• Galapagos

• Samoa

• Florida Keys

This is one of the mechanisms of evolution; it is a continuous process in which organisms with traits that make them better-adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce than organisms without such adaptations

• Directional selection

• Microevolution

• Gene flow / genetic drift

• Natural selection

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A  population of cockroaches was sprayed with an insecticide.  Some cockroaches survived and produced a population of cockroaches that was resistant to this spray.  What can BEST be inferred from this example?

• species will adapt no matter what the environment
• environment has no effect on the survival of an organism
• Individuals with favorable variations survive and reproduce
• Insecticides cause mutations that are passed on to the next generation

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Scientists have found evidence that about 2.4 million years ago a gene regulating jaw muscles mutated and may have led to the more graceful human jaw we see today. The diagram below shows the skulls of 3 hominid species. Which statement below most closely explains the link between jaw size and hominid evolution?

• The jaws of hominids evolved to be smaller and less protruding over time as did the skull.

• The jaws of hominids evolved to be larger and more protruding over time.

• There appears to be no change in the jaws of hominids over time.

• The jaws of hominids changed over time due to a change in brain size

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