Evolution Quiz

Who proposed that all living organisms have descended from shared ancestors?

• Jean-Baptiste Lamarck

• Alfred R. Wallace and Charles Darwin

• Gregor Mendel

• Louis Pasteur

What did Jean-Baptiste Lamarck suggest about organisms and their offspring?

• Offspring inherit only genetic traits

• Organisms pass on characteristics acquired during their lifetimes

• Offspring are identical to their parents

• Characteristics are not passed to offspring

What does macroevolution refer to?

• Small changes in individual organisms

• Large-scale changes in living organisms over time

• Changes in a single species

• Genetic mutations in a population

What does microevolution refer to?

• Large-scale changes in species over millions of years

• Small-scale changes within a population over a short period

• The extinction of species

• The formation of new species

How long ago was the Earth formed?

• 3.5 billion years ago

• 4.5 billion years ago

• 2.5 billion years ago

• 5.5 billion years ago

What percentage of organisms that have ever lived on Earth are extinct?

• 50%

• 70%

• 90%

• 30%

How many major extinction events have occurred in the history of life on Earth?

• 3

• 4

• 5

• 6

What is a mass extinction?

• A gradual decline in species over time

• A sharp spike in the rate of extinction of species

• A slow adaptation process of species

• A minor environmental change

Which extinction event occurred approximately 66 million years ago?

• Ordovician-Silurian Extinction

• Permian-Triassic Extinction

• Cretaceous-Paleogene Extinction

• Triassic-Jurassic Extinction

What often follows mass extinctions according to fossil records?

• Decrease in biodiversity

• Evolutionary radiation

• Complete extinction of all species

• No significant change