WorksheetsEvolution Common Asessment
Total questions: 28
Worksheet time: 14mins
Name
Class
Date
1.
A population of mosquitoes is sprayed with a new insecticide. Most of the mosquitoes are killed but a few survive. In the next generation, the spraying continues, but still more mosquitoes hatch that are unaffected by the insecticide. Which of the following BEST explains these results?
a)
The insecticide caused a mutation in the genes of the immune mosquitoes
b)
The mosquitoes learned how to fight the insecticide
c)
A few mosquitoes in the first population were immune and passed this trait to their offspring
d)
The insecticide caused the mosquitoes to develop an immune response that was inherited
2.
Change in the hereditary features of a type of organism over time is ______________.
a)
Growth
b)
Biogenesis
c)
Spontaneous generation
d)
Evolution
3.
Polar bears and brown bears are related. Over time, polar bears and brown bears have developed different appearances. Which of these MOST LIKELY caused the difference in fur color between the two species?
a)
Polar bears ate less and lost fur color
b)
Brown bears ate food that caused their fur to be brown
c)
Brown bears benefited by growing thicker fur to keep them warm
d)
Polar bears benefited from lighter colored fur and passed it onto their offspring
4.
Charles Darwin observed giant tortoises in the Galapagos Islands. He recognized that they had different types of shells depending upon the island they lived on. Based on these observations, he concluded that:
a)
Different types of tortoises selected different islands
b)
Weather conditions wore down the shells differently on each island
c)
People removed tortoises that they considered to be unattractive
d)
Shells that made it easiest for the tortoises to eat became more common over time
5.
According to Darwin’s theory of natural selection, why do species evolve over time?
a)
Only the fittest organisms survive to reproduce
b)
Members of species work together to survive
c)
Organisms cause changes to their environments
d)
Organisms produce only organisms that can survive
6.
Anole lizards live throughout the Bahamas. They are small, fast running lizards with long legs. Visitors to the islands introduced a predator of the anoles. The predator is a large lizard that can also run very fast. Over the years, the anoles that survived were short-legged tree climbers. Today, throughout the Bahamas, the anoles are short-legged and live in trees.
Scientists explain this evolutionary shift in the anole lizard population as an example of?
Scientists explain this evolutionary shift in the anole lizard population as an example of?
a)
Genetic mutation
b)
Natural selection
c)
Selective breeding
d)
Artifical selection
7.
The peppered moth was originally light colored with some dark spots. It was well camouflaged from birds and bats on light colored trees. Over time, the light colored trees were covered in a layer of black soot due to industrial pollution. What happened to the peppered moth population?
a)
The moths were not affected by the change to the trees
b)
The number of white moths increased
c)
The number of black moths increased
d)
The moths migrated to areas with less pollution
8.
A species of rabbit that is found in hot desert environments has longer ears than other rabbits. How are long ears an advantage to desert rabbits?
a)
Long ears help the rabbit to hear rattlesnakes better
b)
Blood flowing in long, thin ears is a cooling mechanism
c)
The rabbit uses its long ears to signal other rabbits of danger
d)
Long ears help rabbits locate mates in the remote desert
9.
A giraffe’s long neck helps it to survive because giraffes can:
a)
Eat leaves in the high branches of trees
b)
Eat grass in the fields
c)
Run away from lions
d)
Hide from tigers and other predators
10.
Which adaptation allows giraffes to feed on a diet of leaves from treetops?
a)
Type of skin covering
b)
Body structure
c)
Body markings
d)
Visual ability
11.
The way a plant or animal species adjusts to the environment is known as_____________.
a)
Variation
b)
Existence
c)
Behavior
d)
Adaptation
12.
In his observations of the finches in the Galapagos Islands, Darwin stated that we could never "watch" natural selection in action. Why did Darwin believe this?
a)
Natural selection happens so quickly, it is difficult to see
b)
Natural selection is an internal process that cannot be outwardly observed
c)
Natural selection occurs over so many generations it is impossible to see changes occur
d)
Natural selection is a process that occurs randomly, and it is unlikely that a human would be present when it occurs
13.
Two species of butterfly look almost identical, even though they are not related. One of the species is poisonous to birds, causing them to become ill, while the other species is not poisonous. What is the MOST LIKELY reason that the two species of butterfly look so similar?
a)
The two butterfly species have adapted to look like each other so that they could breed
b)
Over time the two butterfly species have adapted to look like each other because they eat the same food
c)
Over time the non-poisonous butterfly has adapted to look like the poisonous butterfly to help protect it from predators
d)
The poisonous butterfly has adapted to look like the non-poisonous butterfly so that it can live in the same environment
14.
Scientists have spent many years studying the peppered moth, which is a species that has adapted its color from light to dark in reaction to environmental pollution. Which of the following line graphs represents the data from the table? (The solid lines on the graph represent dark moths and the dashed lines represent light moths).
a)
Figure A
b)
Figure B
c)
Figure C
d)
Figure D None of the Graphs
15.
Fossils of animals the size of goats were dated at 5 million years old. Similarly, fossils of larger animals were dated at 3 million years old. Both animals were similar in body structure to today’s horses. Using this data, what conclusion can scientists come too?
a)
The animals were probably ancestors of today’s horses
b)
The animals had no relationship to one another
c)
Today’s horses and these animals probably lived together at some time in the past
d)
Today’s horses are faster than these animals were
16.
In undisturbed areas, older rock layers lie_______ younger rock layers.
a)
Below
b)
Above
c)
In between
d)
On top of
17.
Some fossils are shaped like the clams that are alive today. This tells us that____________.
a)
Clams turn into fossils very quickly
b)
Other living things can look like clams
c)
Clams became extinct, and then new ones grew
d)
Clams have been on Earth for a very long time
18.
What does the fossil record reveal?
a)
Only dinosaurs formed fossils
b)
Species evolve over time
c)
Few organisms are extinct
d)
Mammals have dominated Earth for most of its history
19.
Note the information and diagrams of the changes that occurred to the toes and the teeth of horses over time. They discovered during their research that the earliest known horses date back to 60 million years ago. The Eohippus horse that was about 38 centimeters (cm) tall lived in a climate that was similar to a rainforest with soft muddy soils. About 35 million years ago the climate changed. The forests of North America were replaced by grasslands with hard soils. Fossil records verify a long-standing theory that horses evolved through__________________.
a)
Behavioral traits
b)
Selective breeding
c)
Natural Selection
d)
Artificial selection
20.
According to Darwin, what caused species to change over time?
a)
use and disuse
b)
inheritance of acquired traits.
c)
Lamarckian inheritance
d)
natural selection
21.
The fossil record:
a)
Provides ample evidence against natural selection
b)
Provides ample evidence for regeneration.
c)
Does not provide evidence against evolution by natural selection
d)
Does not provide evidence for inheritance of acquired traits
22.
How does natural selection create diversity?
a)
it adapts in the environment.
b)
natural selection does not create diversity.
c)
through the process of only the fittest will survive.
d)
through favorable traits transmitted through generations.
23.
Why do scientists find different fossils in different rock layers?
a)
Each layer represents time on Earth.
b)
The kinds of fossils found in rocks of different ages differ because life on Earth has changed through time.
c)
They died at different times.
d)
All of the above.
24.
Darwin believed that evolution took place:
a)
In short bursts.
b)
Gradually, in small steps
c)
Through the appearance of radically new types.
d)
Only in the distant past.
25.
The differences among a species, like different bird beaks, are called...
a)
genes.
b)
traits.
c)
variations.
d)
theories.
26.
Darwin's scientific theory of evolution explains and predicts which of the following?
a)
Species change over time
b)
competition for mates and food does not cause changes to a population
c)
variations in populations have no effect on natural selection
d)
extinct species are not related to living species
27.
The oldest layers of of the ocean or soil are always at the bottom?
a)
True
b)
False
28.
Fossils that are found in layers of rock each species from each layer are a result of evolution of the species (forming as a result of change in the species).
a)
True
b)
False
100 %
