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Darwin, Natural Selection, and Evolution

Total questions: 24

Worksheet time: 12mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

The idea of evolution by natural selection was developed by

a)

Charles Darwin

b)

Charles Lyell

c)

Jean Baptiste Lamarck

d)

Albert Einstein

2.

Darwin discovered 13 species of finch on the Galapagos. He noticed that they had different shaped beaks, and hypothesized that the different beaks developed due to

a)

predators

b)

their diet

c)

the tortoise population

d)

randomly developed

3.

One of the requirements for natural selection to occur in a population is

a)

all animals are the same

b)

acquired traits

c)

common ancestors

d)

variation

4.

Evolution is

a)

a trait that helps an organism reproduce

b)

the ability to survive and reproduce

c)

changes in organisms over time

d)

organisms that have better suited traits survive

5.

What is an acquired trait?

a)

a trait influenced by the environment

b)

a trait you are born with

c)

a trait that is in the DNA of an organism

d)

a trait that is passed from parent to offspring

6.

What scientist believed that acquired traits led to evolution?

a)

Darwin

b)

Lyell

c)

Lamarck

d)

Hutton

7.

The ability to survive and reproduce is called

a)

evolution

b)

adaption

c)

trait

d)

fitness

8.

The white fur color in polar bears is an example of

a)

an inherited trait

b)

an acquired trait

c)

a trait influenced by the environment

d)

a trait polar bears are not born with

9.

What happens to organisms when there is a big change in their environment, like a forest fire?

a)

organisms become extinct

b)

organisms die

c)

organisms with the best adaptations survive

d)

nothing, they just go on with life

10.

Natural selection is

a)

a process where organisms better suited for their environment survive and reproduce

b)

an inherited characteristic that benefits organisms

c)

a process of change over time to a species

d)

surviving and reproducing in an environment

11.

Which of the following is a vestigial structure?

a)

eyes

b)

hip bones in whales

c)

foot bones

d)

lungs

12.

Organisms are thought to come from species before them, these species are called

a)

fossils

b)

common ancestors

c)

humanoids

d)

siblings

13.

Members of the same species competing for food, mates, and resources

a)

struggle for existence

b)

struggle for extinction

c)

struggle for cardio fitness

d)

struggle for extermination

14.

Fossils provide evidence of evolution because

a)

fossils do not provide evidence of common ancestors

b)

fossils show how organisms lived

c)

fossils show how current species are similar to ancestors

d)

fossils come from rocks

15.

A natural variation that benefits an organisms is called a(n)

a)

fitness

b)

evolution

c)

adaptation

d)

acquired trait

16.

In order for natural selection to occur in a population, ______ is required.

a)

uniformity

b)

time

c)

standardization

d)

conformity

17.

When a dairy farmer chooses to breed the cows that give the most milk, the farmers are demonstrating

a)

artificial selection

b)

natural selection

c)

evolution

d)

fitness

18.

Darwin observed that many organisms seemed well suited to

a)

being preserved as fossils.

b)

providing humans with food.

c)

swimming from South America to the Galápagos Islands.

d)

surviving in the environments in which they lived.

19.

Which of the following is NOT evidence of evolution?

a)

embryology

b)

biochemistry (DNA)

c)

acquired traits

d)

anatomy

20.

When a farmer breeds two corn plants to produce the largest, sweetest corn on the cob, the farmer is using

a)

artificial selection

b)

natural selection

c)

acquired traits

d)

adaptations

21.

Homologous structures

a)

are structures that are similar in related organisms that have a common ancestor

b)

do not exist in animals

c)

are structures that are similar in different organisms

d)

are structures that are exactly the same in organisms

22.

A structure in a organisms that no longer functions

a)

chromologous structure

b)

analogous structure

c)

homologous structure

d)

vestigial structure

23.

Analogous structures are

a)

anatomically similar with similar functions

b)

anatomically different with similar functions

c)

anatomically similar with different functions

d)

do not exist in animals

24.

True or False: Two organisms that have DNA sequences (ATCG's) in common share a common ancestor.

a)

True

b)

False