WorksheetsAdaptations and Reproduction
Total questions: 22
Worksheet time: 19mins
The sweet potato is a common crop plant found in most warm areas of the world. The plant rarely flowers and more rarely makes seeds. However, the roots and potato vines spread rapidly, and new plants are easily grown from the roots and vines of old plants. Some scientists would like to grow new types of sweet potatoes that parasites will not attack. Which of these processes is most difficult in developing new types of sweet potatoes?
planting root stocks
cutting vines
removing parasites
selective breeding
Which of these is NOT an example of selective breeding?
Farmers breeding cows that produce the most milk.
Humans breeding the tamest wolves to produce dogs.
Farmers breeding plants to develop crops that produce the largest fruits and vegetables.
Rabbits that blend in with their environment survive and reproduce, creating more rabbits that look just like them.
A few years ago the population of male blue moon butterflies on the island of Samoa declined. One hypothesis for the decline of male butterflies is that a parasite infected the cells of female butterflies. The parasite was passed to offspring through the females' eggs and killed the male butterfly embryos. At one point during the decline, nearly all the butterflies in the population were female, but after five years the number of the males in the population increased significantly.
Which explanation most likely accounts for the increase in the number of male butterflies in the five years after the initial parasite problem?
Male butterflies in the population that survived were able to prey on the parasites living in the females' egg cells.
Female butterflies in the population that survived has a genetic adaptation that allowed them to transform in to male butterflies.
Male butterflies in the population that survived had a gene that made them resistant to the parasite, and they passed the gene on to their offspring.
Female butterflies in the population that survived were able to protect male eggs from the parasite and provide extra care for the male offspring.
Lake Victoria in East Africa is home to many species of fish called cichids. IN 1954 the predatory Nile perch was introduced to Lake Victoria. The Nile perch became the dominate fish species in the lake by the mid-1980's. The number of cichlid species in the lake decreased as the Nile perch population increased. The perch preyed heavily on the cichlid species that fed on algae and debris on the bottom lake. Algae in the lake increased, and oxygen levels decreased. The surface area of the gills of some cichlid species has increased in just over 20 years.
Which statement explains the increase in gill surface area seen in some of Lake Victoria's cichlids?
Increased gill surface area has allowed the cichlids to change their diet and avoid competing with the Nile perch.
Increased gill surface area has allowed the cichlids to be camouflaged and avoid being eaten by the Nile perch.
Increased gill surface area has allowed the cichlids to leave Lake Victoria and establish populations in nearby bodies of water.
Increased gill surface area has allowed to cichlids to better absorb the limited oxygen in the water.
When Charles Darwin visited the Galapagos Islands in the 1800s, he observed many types of organisms that were similar by lived on different islands. The four species of mockingbirds found on the Galapagos Islands are shown below. Each species lives on a different island.
These species are very similar but the Hood mocking bird has a longer beak than the other three species. Which of the following best explains this difference?
The Hood mockingbird need a longer beak for defense against predators.
The Hood mockingbird originated from a different type of bird that the other species.
The Hood mockingbird's longer beak is an adaptation to the food available in the bird's habitat.
The Hood mockingbird's beak stretched to reach its food, and the longer beak was passed down to its offspring.
The hydra is a very small, simple animal that lives in water. Hydras reproduce asexually by budding, a process in which a bud breaks off an adult hydra and floats away.
Which of the following best describes a hydra bud?
A hydra bud contains genetic material from its two parents.
A hydra bud is genetically identical to the parent hydra.
A hydra bud has different mutations than the parent hydra.
A hydra bud has half as much genetic material as the parent hydra.
The sweet potato is a common crop plant found in most warm areas of the world. The plant rarely flowers and more rarely makes seeds. However, the roots and potato vines spread rapidly, and new plants are easily grown from the roots and vines of old plants. Some scientists would like to grow new types of sweet potatoes that parasites will not attack. Which of these processes is most difficult in developing new types of sweet potatoes?
planting root stocks
cutting vines
removing parasites
selective breeding
