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WorksheetsChanges in allele frequencies and biodiversity
Total questions: 20
Worksheet time: 12mins
Palaeontology is the
study of living organisms, how and where they die, and how quickly they decay.
study of ancient civilisations and their culture.
study of extinct organisms, including their structure, environment, evolution and distribution, as revealed by their fossil remains.
theory of natural selection to explain evolution.
Which of the following is not a fossil?
a piece of sandstone
a footprint
a leaf imprint in mud
an imprint of feathers in a rock
Which one of the following is least likely to result in an organism being fossilised?
rapid burial after death
preservation from decay
being a water-dwelling organism
lack of hard body parts, like a shell or bones
Members of the same species are
genetically identical
always similar in appearance
able to reproduce
able to produce vigorous, fertile offspring
An example of genetic drift is:
the interbreeding of two populations
the loss of an allele from a population by chance
the sum of all variation in a population
the phenotypic ratios in a population
A gene pool is:
the interbreeding of two populations
the loss of an allele from a population by chance
the sum of all genetic make-up in a population
the phenotypic ratios in a population
Gene flow is:
the interbreeding of two populations
the loss an allele from a population by chance
the sum of all variation in a population
the phenotypic ratios in a population
An example of gene flow is:
the arrival of a mainland species of bird to an offshore island
the interbreeding of two species
the loss of a particular feature from a population
two distinct populations producing members with composite features
Organisms that are best suited to a particular environment
are able to change to suit their enviroment
live longer than other members of that species
contribute more offspring to the population
are those that survive in the face of change
Allopatric speciation could be due to
a temporary physical barrier such as a flooded river plain, separating the populaiton
different behaviour patterns within a species, such as nocturnal or diurnal behaviour.
different mating calls within a population
physical separation of a population, such as by a mountain range
Which one of the following statements correctly explains why 50,000 years is the limit of the radiocarbon dating method for determining the age of fossils?
Fossils older than 50,000 years have too much carbon contamination from atmospheric carbon dioxide for accurate measurements
The half-life of carbon-14 is short and so, by 50000 years, there is too little carbon left to measure.
The proportion of radioactive carbon in the atmosphere is not known beyond 50,000 years ago.
After 50000 years, there is no carbon left in fossils
Over the past million years, Australia’s climate has become much drier, leading to reduced areas of forest and woodland. Studies of mitochondrial DNA in different spider species from various woodlands show they share a recent common ancestor dating back to just before the climate began to become drier.
The different species are likely to have evolved through the process known as
gene flow.
genetic drift
allopatric speciation.
bottleneck effect
Potassium-40 has a half-life of 1.25 billion years. In igneous rocks closely associated with a fossil layer, the ratio of potassium-40 to its radioactive breakdown product, argon-40, is approximately 1:1.
The age of the fossils in the fossil layer will be close to
125 million years.
310 million years.
1.25 billion years.
2.5 billion years.
Northern elephant seals, Mirounga angustirostris, were nearly hunted to extinction in the 1890s, with only about 20 individuals left at the end of the century. The population has now grown to more than 120000. In the 1890s, southern elephant seals, Mirounga leonina, were not as severely hunted and currently there are estimated to be 600000 southern elephant seals.
Based on this information, it is true to say that
northern elephant seals have evolved as a result of the ‘founder effect’.
northern elephant seals would show less genetic variation than southern elephant seals.
southern elephant seals would have experienced greater genetic drift than northern elephant seals.
the mutation rate in northern elephant seals would have been greater than in southern elephant seals.
In the 18th century, farmer Robert Bakewell separated large, fine-boned sheep with long, shiny wool from his native stock to interbreed for future sheep flocks.
This is an example of
genetic fitness.
natural selection.
selective breeding.
allopatric speciation.
Which of the following constitutes a frame shift mutation?
substitution of one base by another base
translocation of a part of a chromosome onto another chromosome
addition or deletion of DNA nucleotides, which changes the way a DNA sequence is read
when the mRNA cannot read the code
Which of the following is not an example of block mutation?
trisomy
chromosomal insertion
inversion
translocation
Which of the following statements most correctly relates evolution and natural selection?
Evolution leads to natural selection.
Natural selection stops evolution.
Natural selection is the mechanism for evolution.
None of the above statements is correct.
Variation within a population makes that population more likely to survive in a changing environment. One important source of variation is migration of new individuals into the population from other regions.
This is also known as
gene flow.
gene frequency.
genetic death.
extinction.
Genetic drift is most likely to be observed
in small populations of mammals after a bushfire.
in a population of winged insects on an offshore island.
in a large, freely breeding population of snakes.
in populations of frogs that migrate to neighbouring regions during the wet season.
