WorksheetsEvolution
Total questions: 67
Worksheet time: 34mins
The transitional fossil Archaeopteryx shows a combination of traits consistent with the hypothesis that is shared a common ancestor with
dinosaurs and birds
reptiles and birds
dinosaurs and bats
hippos and whales
Anatomical features that show an underlying structural similarity even though their superficial structure is different are termed
dependent
homoplasic
symplasic
homologous
Radioactive dating techniques have demonstrated that Earth was formed approximately how many years ago
10 billion
4.6 million
4.6 billion
46 million
Large evolutionary changes that result in the placement of related organisms into different genera or higher level taxa occur via the process of
macroevolution
evolutionary differentiation
independent evolution
microevolution
speciation
The concept of uniformitarianism, articulated by James Hutton in the late 1700s, states that ________
the genetic code is similar among all living and extinct species
mutations accumulate at a constant rate in most organisms
the rate of extinction has been constant throughout the time life has existed on Earth
current geological processes on Earth operate in the same manner as those that operated in the past
The coccyx, a tiny tailbone found in humans, is believed to be a ________ structure.
terminated
vestigial
rudimentary
redundant
In response to environmental conditions, the average beak size in a population of birds may change between successive generations. This process of change is referred to as ________.
speciation
microevolution
sequestration
macroevolution
coalescence
After several generations of selectively breeding mice in a laboratory, Ted Garland and his colleagues established populations of mice that voluntarily chose to run great distances on exercise wheels. The process of establishing these populations of mice is termed ________.
natural selection
population selection
random selection
experimental selection
artificial selection
A useless or rudimentary body part that is thought to have been important in ancestral populations but no longer has the same function is termed a(n) ________.
evolved structure
terminal structure
residual structure
vestigial structure
The amount of time it takes for a radioactive element to decay to 50% of its daughter isotope is called ________.
decay rate
partial decay
conversion rate
quarter-life
half-life
Evolution by natural selection was conceived and written about in the 1800s by ________.
Alfred Russel Wallace
Patrick Matthew
W.C. Wells
Charles Darwin
All of the above
Regarding the nature of natural selection, which of the following is NOT an accurate statement?
Natural selection operates as a systematic, nonprogressive mechanism.
Natural selection acts on the phenotypes of individuals, but evolution occurs with changes in allele frequencies in populations.
Natural selection can and does produce features that are less than perfect adaptations.
Populations evolve traits by natural selection that will be useful for future environmental changes.
Darwin developed his theory of natural selection despite having an incomplete and/or inaccurate knowledge base from which to work. Which of the following were problems for Darwin?
the source of variations in populations
an understanding of inheritance patterns from one generation to the next
The accepted age of the Earth was far too young to allow for the gradual changes Darwin envisioned.
All of the above.
When the Darwin/Wallace theory of natural selection is summarized, four central postulates emerge. Which of the following is NOT one of these four natural selection postulates?
Variations exist in any given generation of a species.
Those individuals whose variations confer an advantage are more likely to survive and reproduce.
Variations in traits are produced by mutations.
Variations are, at least in part, heritable.
Natural selection ________.
can work only on populations of genetically identical individuals
works regardless of the amount of genetic variability in populations
works on populations, but its long-term effect is rendered on individuals
works on individuals, but its long-term effect is rendered on populations
Evolution by natural selection ________.
can be tested experimentally
requires that multiple unverified assumptions are made before it can be considered a viable explanation
can be tested observationally
is only a theory and therefore not testable
Both C and D.
Which of the following statements best summarizes natural selection?
Individuals who are most fit will survive.
Organisms evolve in order to become better adapted to the environment.
Traits that promote survival and reproduction become more frequent in species from one generation to the next.
Organisms change in order to become adapted to new environments.
Varieties produced under domestication via artificial selection most generally have traits that ________.
would continue to be perpetuated in the wild as well as, or better than, those produced by natural selection
are based only on variations that already exist in populations
are not typically well adapted in a wild setting
are based only on new mutations that have arisen recently in domesticated varieties
A trait that confers a greater level of fitness, relative to those who lack it, is called a(n) ________.
allele
adaptation
variation
mutation
None of the above
Darwin studied and wrote extensively about the mechanism known as artificial selection. Artificial selection is similar to natural selection, except that ________.
natural selection works toward a specific goal
artificial selection relies on preexisting variations in populations; natural selection does not
artificial selection relies on preexisting variations in populations; natural selection does not
artificial selection relies on preexisting variations in populations; natural selection does not
In determining the evolutionary relationships of current species, one needs to ________.
read along the tree tips: Species shown at the tips are arranged in patterns reflecting which groups evolved from others
read "back" to nodes connecting species to determine common ancestry
read along the tree tips: Species closer to each other are always more closely related
read along the tree tips: Species closer to each other are always more closely related
A preexisting, ancestral character is also known as a(n) ________.
apomorphy
pleisiomorphy
synapomorphy
clade
The wings of bats and birds and the streamlined body form of sharks and whales represent examples of ________.
a clade
outgroups
convergence
reversal
A group consisting of a common ancestor and some, but not all, of its descendants is known as a ________ group.
paraphyletic
monophyletic
polyphyletic
polytomy
Phylogenetic trees can always be regarded as ________ about evolutionary relationships.
guesses
hypothesis
facts
none of the above
An ancestor and all of its descendants are known as a monophyletic group or a(n) ________.
clade
apodomorphy
plesiomorphy
synapomorphy
A novel, derived character is also referred to as a(n) ________.
apomorphy
plesimorphy
synapomorphy
clade
Every node in a phylogenetic tree represents a(n) ________.
common ancestor
transitional form
extinction event
sister species
Estimating the uncertainty of phylogenetic trees using computer-generated replicates from an original data set is known as ________.
bootstrapping
bayesian inference
a heuristic search
the likelihood scenario
In constructing phylogenetic trees, it is useful to think of monophyletic groups as being defined by ________.
clades
synapomorphies
apomorphies
plesiomorphoes
Which of the following can produce linkage disequilibrium?
selection on genotypes of more than one locus
genetic drift
mixing two disparate populations, each of which is in linkage equilibrium
All of these choices can create linkage disequilibrium.
Which of the following choices is NOT a potential disadvantage to sexual reproduction?
Copulation may not produce offspring.
Sexual reproduction reduces linkage disequilibrium.
Finding a mate is energetically expensive.
Finding a mate may increase the risk of predation.
None of the above
According to the accompanying figure, we can conclude that ________.
the rate of decline in disequilibrium occurs more slowly with a lower rate of recombination
the rate of decline in linkage disequilibrium is inversely proportional to the rate of recombination between them
the rate of decline in disequilibrium occurs more quickly with a lower rate of recombination
None of these is an accurate statement.
When genotypes at one locus of a chromosome are nonrandomly associated with the genotypes at another locus of the same chromosome, the two loci are ________.
in linkage disequilibrium
in linkage equilibrium
nonrandomly associated
None of the above.
Which of the following reduces linkage disequilibrium by disrupting overrepresented haplotypes and by generating new ones?
crossing over
sexual reproduction
genetic recombination
All of the above.
When genotypes at one locus of a chromosome are independent of genotypes at another locus of the same chromosome, the two loci are ________.
nonrandomly associated
in linkage disequilibrium
in linkage equilibrium
None of the above.
The creation of new combinations of alleles, as a consequence of sexual reproduction with meiosis, is called ________.
outcrossing
linkage disequilibrium
genetic drift
genetic recombination
An advantage to studying linkage disequilibrium is that ________.
it provides another tool enabling the reconstruction of the history of genes and populations
it provides clear evidence of speciation events
it can be used to identify alleles that have been recently selected by natural selection
Both A and C.
Traits that are conditioned by one locus are most appropriately termed ________.
continuously variable traits
quantitative traits
environmentally conditioned traits
qualitative traits
To learn the location of and determine the role that QTLs have on phenotypes, researchers look for associations between a marker locus genotype and phenotype. Examples of research focusing on such methods have been conducted on ________.
human diseases such as Crohn's disease
the speed of thoroughbred race horses
human personality traits
All of the above.
Determining the slope of the best-fit line for a data set of midparent versus midoffspring values by utilizing least-squares linear regression generates an estimate of heritability known as the ________.
phenotypic variation
broad-sense heritability
environmental variation
narrow-sense heritability
Heritability measures ________.
the degree of influence that the sum of the environmental and genetic factors have on a trait
the difference between the environmental and genetic influences on a heritable trait of an individual
the portion of the total variation in a trait that is due to variation in genes
the distribution of the phenotypes of the individuals in a normally distributed population
The total variation in a trait is known as the ________.
phenotypic variation
genetic variation
environmental variation
broad-sense heritability
narrow-sense heritability
Variation among individuals that is due to factors other than genetic factors is called ________.
phenotypic variation
environmental variation
broad-sense heritability
narrow-sense heritability
In cases where selection consistently favors a higher (or lower) value of a trait or phenotype, the result over time is a change in the average value of a trait in the population. This mode of selection is known as ________.
disruptive selection
directional selection
selection gradient
stabilizing selection
Traits that are conditioned by multiple loci and form continuously variable phenotypes that are conditioned by both the genotypes and environmental influences are most appropriately termed ________.
discrete categorical traits
qualitative traits
Mendelian traits
quantitative traits
When Clausen and colleagues grew genetically identical individuals of the yarrow plant at different elevations, the results are shown in the accompanying figure. This observation verifies that ________.
yarrow plants mutate quickly when grown in different environments
yarrow plants grow taller at lower elevations and shorter at higher elevations regardless of their genotype
the genotypes of yarrow plants has nothing to do with how tall these plants grow
the genotypes of yarrow plants interacts with environmental influences to produce the phenotype
Variation among individuals that is due to variation in factors other than environmental influences is called ________.
phenotypic variation
genetic variation
broad-sense heritability
narrow-sense heritability
Darwin called differential reproductive success due to variation among individuals in success at getting mates ________.
dimorphic selection
reproductive selection
sexual selection
sexual success ratio
Small, nonterritorial male marine iguanas typically have their mating interrupted by larger males prior to ejaculation. What alternative mating strategy have these small males developed to compensate for this?
Small males have developed sperm that are more efficient at fertilization than the sperm of larger males.
Small males induce ejaculation prior to copulation, and store the ejaculate in their cloacal pouches.
Small males form coalitions and distract larger males to allow enough time for copulation.
Small males have developed the ability to induce ejaculation much more quickly than large males.
Selection for the ability to successfully compete with members of their own sex to mate with opposite sex is termed ________.
intersexual selection
mating selection
competitive selection
intrasexual selection
The differences between males and females of a species are called ________.
sexual dimorphism
sexual morphism
male/female dimorphism
sexual differentiation
In general, when sexual selection is strong for one sex and weak for the other, we can predict that members of the sex subject to strong sexual selection will be ________, and members of the sex subject to weak sexual selection will be ________.
competitive; choosy
choosy; competitive
competitive; showy
aggressive; passive
A mating system in which at least some females mate with more than one male is termed ________.
polygyny
polygamy
polyandry
vivapary
John Hoogland (1998) studied Gunnison's prairie dogs ( Cynomys gunnisoni) and observed that an increase in litter size was observed when females ________.
established a large territory for mating
mated with more than one male
extended the time of copulation with individual males
chose males that were the largest in the colony
Experiments by Steve Tanner and colleagues (2000) with gray tree frogs demonstrated that female frogs preferentially mated with male frogs exhibiting ________.
trilling calls over constant calls
longer calls rather than shorter calls
many short, repetitive calls over single long calls
louder calls over softer calls
In studies on the pipefish Nerophis ophidion, females are larger than males and appear to be under greater sexual selection pressure than males. The females have two traits that male pipefish of the species lack. What are these two traits?
dark blue stripes and skin folds on their bellies
lateral spines and skin folds on their bellies
dark blue stripes and lateral spines
bright orange stripes and skin folds on their bellies
"Robust australopithecines," now classified in the genus Paranthropus, are distinctive as compared to other hominins because of their ________.
huge teeth, faces, jaws, and jaw muscles
knuckle-walking ability
unusually large brains
great height
Which of the following organisms is NOT considered a great ape?
baboon
gorilla
human
orangutang
bonobo
Judging by the nature of modern humans, chimpanzees, and bonobos, which of these traits did the last common ancestor of all three probably NOT show?
tool use to get and process food
some form of culture
a broad diet including plenty of fruit
some degree of hunting
strictly heterosexual mating patterns
Modern humans have lost the system of air sacs that other great apes have. Whatever the reason for this loss, one resulting effect on human behavior was ________.
restriction of modern humans to low altitudes
increase in the sizes of Broca's and Wernecke's areas
the ability to pronounce sounds more clearly
loss of the ability to make loud calls
improved ability to swallow
Although attempts to date the divergence between humans and chimpanzees using molecular sequence data do not perfectly agree, a rough consensus from multiple analyses would place the divergence date at ________.
6,000 years ago
175,000 years ago
65 million years ago
5 to 7 million years ago
The fossil Sahelanthropus tchadensis from the Djurab Desert of Chad, dated at 6 to 7 million years ago, may be a hominin (i.e., share more recent common ancestry with humans than with any other ape because of ________.
the shape of its thighbones
fossil footprints showing bipedal locomotion
its sophisticated use of stone tools
its relatively flat face
Which genus or genera of hominin is/are most consistently associated with stone tools?
Sahelanthropus
Australopithecus
Homo
Paranthropus
All non-African humans today show evidence of a limited amount of past interbreeding with ________.
Denisovans
Homo ergaster
Australopithecus sediba
Neandertals
All of the following traits are shared by all great apes, except ________.
increased flexibility of hips and ankles
spoken language
increased flexibility of the wrist and thumb
relatively large brains
absence of a tail
The accompanying figure shows the percentage of pairwise genetic comparisons within sample populations of living hominids, graphed against the percentage of sequence divergence for each pair. We can conclude from the figure that ________.
hominid species do not differ significantly in levels of genetic diversity
humans share a more recent common ancestor with bonobos than gorillas
any randomly selected pair of humans in the world should differ in their mitochondrial DNA sequences by less than 6%
humans are more genetically diverse than Western chimpanzees
