WorksheetsUnit 8 Test Review - Biological Evolution 2025
Total questions: 21
Worksheet time: 32mins
Zen, Leen, and Lucas are studying about Darwin's theories of evolution for their biology project. They found that Darwin developed four theories of evolution. Can you help them identify which of the following theories are ones Darwin developed?
Living organisms evolve over time
Natural selection is the main cause of evolutionary change
Evolutionary change occurs quickly, and is caused by large mutations
The splitting of lineages into two or more species has occurred
Daniel, Matthew, and Elysia observed a population of birds in their neighborhood over many generations. Which of the following examples best illustrates the process of evolution by natural selection that they might have observed?
The bird population becomes immune to a deadly disease over many generations
The birds share common DNA sequences with other species
A bird with asthma has trouble breathing and passes this onto their offspring.
A pair of birds have 10 chicks over the course of their lifetime.
The illustration shows the wing structure of an insect. Line-drawing of an insect wing, showing the outline of the wing and pattern of veins. The wing is narrow where it attaches to the body, gets wider, then gets narrow again, and has a rounded tip. Which of the following animals will most likely have a wing structure that is very similar to this insect’s wing structure?
A.an animal from the same family
B.an animal from the same genius
C.an animal from the same class
D.an animal from the same order
Fossil evidence shows that ancient aquatic reptiles called ichthyosaurs looked very similar to modern dolphins. However, ichthyosaurs and dolphins are not closely related animals. Which of the following statements best explains the similar appearance of ichthyosaurs and dolphins?
Dolphins and ichthyosaurs adapted to live in similar evornments.
Dolphins are eukaryotic organisms, and so were ichthyosaurs.
Dolphins have the same number of chromosomes that ichthyosaurs had.
Dolphins reproduce using gametes, and so did ichthyosaurs.
Millions of years ago, seawater flooded part of the Mississippi River Valley. Scientists have concluded that red-bellied salamanders were affected by the flooding. The flooded areas formed geographic barriers between red-bellied salamander populations for millions of years. Which of the following most likely occurred as a result of the seawater flooding?
Salamander populations were protected from all the predators in their areas.
The salamander eggs were fertilized by sperm of marine species.
The salamander lost the water living stage of their life cycle.
Isolated populations of salamanders became separate species.
Kam, Gabriella, and Amiah are young scientists studying lizards in their local park. They have noticed several different lizard populations and are trying to determine if they all belong to the same species. Which of the following questions would they most likely ask to make this determination?
A. Do these lizards often eat the same types of food?
B. Do these lizards have similar average life spans?
C. Do these lizards have a wide range of average body sizes?
D. Do these lizards often mate and produce fertile offspring together?
In a population of finches, birds with longer wings can fly further than birds with shorter wings. Over the last 100 years, large portions of forests have been turned into neighborhoods, forcing many songbirds to travel to other forests to find mates. Which of the following evolutionary changes has most likely occurred in these bird populations as a result?
A.Bird wings are longer than they previously were.
B.Bird wings are shorter than they previously were.
C.Young birds learn to use their wings later than they previously did.
D.Young birds learn to use their wings earlier than they previously did.
Imagine a large deer population in the Yellowstone National Park, which Bri, Audrey, and Noa are studying for their biology project. This population has high genetic diversity. How will this population most likely be affected if there is a sudden, significant environmental change, such as a severe winter?
A.All of the deer will reproduce at a higher rate, leading to a decrease in genetic diversity.
B.New traits will arise as a result of new selective pressures in the environment, leading to an increase in genetic diversity.
C.Only those deer best adapted to the severe winter will survive and reproduce, leading to a decrease in genetic diversity.
D.Only some deer will develop traits to help them survive in the severe winter, leading to an increase in genetic diversity.
Marsupials are a type of mammal found mostly on the continent of Australia. Marsupials are hypothesized to have descended from an ancestral marsupial species. Which condition most likely caused the modern-day marsupial species to diversify into the many modern-day marsupial species found in Australia?
A.the consistency of the environment throughout Australia
B.cold climate conditions
C.a variety of environmental niches
D.plentiful resources
The brown bat and the barred owl are two different species. The two species have many similar characteristics, including the ability to fly and hunt at night, but they are not closely related species. Which of the following statements explains why the brown bat and the barred owl both have the ability to fly and hunt at night?
Both evolved at the same time in geologic history.
Both interbred and blended their gene pools in the past.
Both learned to fly by imitating the same kinds of bird species.
Both adapted to similar niches in which flying increased their chances of survival.
A researcher studied two groups of corn plants to determine how they are related. Both groups of plants have similar shapes, but one group has larger corn kernels. When the scientist cross-pollinated plants from one group with plants from the other group, the seeds produced did not sprout or grow. Which of the following conclusions is best supported by this information?
The two groups are different species because the seeds produced cannot sprout or grow.
The two groups are different species because they have different sized kernels.
The two groups are the same species because the plants have similar shapes.
The two groups are the same species because the plants were cross-pollinated and produced seeds.
Faith, Josie, and Olivia are studying genetics and they come across the term 'mutations'. They understand that mutations are:
changes in the genetic makeup of a population due to migration patterns
changes in the sequence of DNA, which can lead to new alleles and, therefore, new traits
when individuals choose mates based on certain characteristics
the movement of alleles into and out of a population due to random events, such as natural disasters, diseases, or pure luck
natural selection or artificial selection
Jose, Mirabella, and Boaz are studying biology and they come across the term 'gene flow'. They understand gene flow as:
changes in the genetic makeup of a population due to migration patterns
changes in the sequence of DNA, which can lead to new alleles and, therefore, new traits
when individuals choose mates based on certain characteristics
the movement of alleles into and out of a population due to random events, such as natural disasters, diseases, or pure luck
natural selection or artificial selection
Meghan, Ediann, and Aubrey are studying biology and they come across the term 'genetic drift'. They understand it as:
changes in the genetic makeup of a population in their town due to migration patterns
changes in the sequence of DNA in their biology textbook, which can lead to new alleles and, therefore, new traits
when individuals in their school choose mates based on certain characteristics
the movement of alleles into and out of a population in their city due to random events, such as natural disasters, diseases, or pure luck
natural selection or artificial selection they learned in their biology class
Noah, Olivia, and Aria are studying biology. They are discussing the concept of selection. According to their textbook, selection is:
changes in the genetic makeup of a population due to migration patterns, like when birds migrate to different regions
changes in the sequence of DNA, which can lead to new alleles and, therefore, new traits, like when a mutation causes a butterfly to have a different wing color
when individuals choose mates based on certain characteristics, like when peacocks choose mates based on the size and color of their feathers
the movement of alleles into and out of a population due to random events, such as natural disasters, diseases, or pure luck, like when a flood causes certain animals to be separated from their population
natural selection or artificial selection, like when farmers selectively breed cows for certain traits
Kalia, Suleiman, and Nancy are observing a group of peacocks. They notice that the peahens seem to prefer peacocks with larger, more colorful tails. This is an example of:
changes in the genetic makeup of a peacock population due to migration patterns
changes in the sequence of peacock DNA, which can lead to new alleles and, therefore, new traits
when peahens choose mates based on certain characteristics, such as tail size and color
the movement of alleles into and out of a peacock population due to random events, such as natural disasters, diseases, or pure luck
natural selection or artificial selection among peacocks
Which of the following best explains how antibiotic resistance spreads through some populations of E.coli in hospitals?
A.All E.coli cells exposed to antibiotics respond by developing mutations.
B.Some E.coli cells exposed to antibiotics survive and pass their genes on to their offspring.
C.Exposure to antibiotics causes E.coli cells to learn simple behaviors that help the cells survive.
D.Exposure to antibiotics causes an increase in the respiration rate of E.coli cells living on the skin.
Genetic variation can be defined as changes in the genetic makeup of individuals in a population. Several factors contribute to genetic diversity. Select the factors that DO NOT contribute to getneti diversity.
mutations
genetic recombinations
organisms want to survive
sexual reproduction
mitosis
To treat malaria, doctors must know which species of Plasmodium is causing the disease. Which of the following statements best explains why doctors must identify the Plasmodium species involved before treating the disease?
Each Plasmodium species has its highest rate of infection at a different time of the year.
Each Plasmodium species has evolved different levels of resistance to different medications.
Some Plasmodium species produce large numbers of gametes, and some Plasmodium species produce small numbers of gametes.
Some Plasmodium species have a prokaryotic cell structure, and some Plasmodium species have a eukaryotic cell structure.
Marine iguanas, Amblyrhynchus cristatus, live on the Galápagos Islands. Scientists think these marine iguanas evolved from iguanas that dispersed to the islands from the South American mainland, about 900 km away. Select which of the following factors related to geographic isolation on the Galápagos Islands favored the evolution of a new iguana species.
There were different niches on the different islands
Some iguanas saw the need to adapt to their new environment so they learned to swim
The islands have different food sources so different traits were selected on the different islands
The islands have similar foods since they were close together and so the iguanas all developed similar traits.
Marine iguanas are herbivores. The marine iguanas dive into the cold ocean to find algae to eat. When the iguanas are not feeding, they rest on the lava rocks near the island shores to warm their bodies. Compared to land iguanas, marine iguanas have darker body coloring, flatter tails, shorter snouts, and longer, curved claws. Which of the following could explain one of these trait differences? (select all that apply)
On one island there are very steep rock sides, iguanas with longer, curved claws are better able to climb out of the water and crawl to avoid predators
On one island the soil is darker so iguanas with lighter skin can better hide from predators.
Both islands have changing environments so diversity in traits is adventagous.
On one island there is a strong current and iguanas with flatter tails can swim faster and catch more food.
