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What is Natural Selection?

Total questions: 13

Worksheet time: 3hrs 1mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

What may be partly responsible for some differences found in offspring?

a)

Different environments

b)

Random genetic mutation

c)

Different genetic molecules

2.

It is thought that all life on Earth today descended from one single common ancestor.

a)

true

b)

false

3.

Which of the following provide evidence of common descent? Choose all that apply.

a)

Fossils

b)

Genetics

c)

Comparative anatomy

d)

Mathematics

e)

Species distribution

4.

Common ancestry and the evolution of organisms was initially rejected because...

a)

nature is complex and orderly

b)

you can NOT get order and complexity from random chaos alone

c)

there is random variation

5.

How did Darwin explain the similarities he observed between tortoises on the Galapagos Islands and other tortoises across the world?

a)

Common descent

b)

Selective breeding

c)

He thought it was coincidence.

6.

Over thousands of years, random changes caused by Descent with Modification transformed the island creatures and the mainland creatures so much that they could no longer be considered the same...

a)

name

b)

characteristic

c)

species

7.

The tortoise on the right and the tortoise on the left have different adaptations to their front legs and shells.


Which of the following statements explains why nature has shaped these two tortoises differently? CHOOSE ONE ANSWER!

a)

the shape of the shell is simply the result of random chance, and the environment did little to affect the tortoise shells

b)

the food sources are different on each island, so the tortoises who were able to access the food on their island the best were able to survive, reproduce, and pass their genes to their offspring better than tortoises who were not as well adapted on that island's food source.

c)

the tortoises' shell shapes were favored by potential mates

8.

The selection of the best plants (or livestock) to use to produce the generation of plants by humans is called...

a)

selective breeding (artificial selection)

b)

natural selection

c)

random selection

9.

How did farmers from around the world change a common weed (a wild mustard plant) into cauliflower, kale, cabbage, brussel sprouts and broccoli?

a)

Selecting different traits.

b)

Magic

c)

Going to the grocery store.

10.

Which bugs are going to be better at surviving in this environment?

a)

The dark green bugs

b)

The light green bugs

11.

Which traits does nature select for?

a)

the traits that make an organism able to survive and reproduce in its environment

b)

random traits

c)

the newest adaptation

12.

True or False? Natural selection is an observable fact.

a)

true

b)

false

13.

Which of the following statements best describes the process of natural selection?

a)

Natural selection is a completely random process

b)

Natural selection is a process that happens very quickly

c)

Natural selection is the process by which nature selects the traits that allow an organism to survive and reproduce in an environment. Those traits become more common in a population over time as they are passed down to offspring.