WorksheetsEvolution
Total questions: 50
Worksheet time: 33mins
Name
Class
Date
1.
What is the term for a feature that allows an organism to survive in its environment?
a)
adaptation
b)
variation
c)
homologous structure
d)
vestigial structure
2.
What is the process of which humans breed organisms for certain traits?
a)
artificial selection
b)
descent without modification
c)
inheritance of acquired characteristics
d)
natural selection
3.
Vertebrate embryos pass through similar stages of development is evidence for
a)
use and disuse
b)
homologous structures
c)
common ancestry
d)
acquired characteristics
4.
Individuals that are well adapted to their environment will survive and produce
a)
better traits
b)
stronger genes
c)
more offspring
d)
fewer mutations
5.
All the individuals of a species that live in a particular area are called a
a)
group
b)
population
c)
variation
d)
fossil
6.
The remnant of an organ that had a function in an early ancestor is known as a(n)
a)
vestigial structure
b)
analogous structure
c)
homologous structure
d)
fossil structure
7.
Which of the following is a factor in natural selection?
a)
Individuals of species compete with one another to survive.
b)
All species are genetically diverse.
c)
Individuals better able to adapt to changes leave more offspring.
d)
All are correct
8.
The fossil record provides evidence that
a)
Fossils cannot be dated.
b)
All species were formed during Earth’s formation and have changed little since then.
c)
The fossilized species have no connection to today’s species.
d)
Older species gave rise to more-recent species.
9.
Starting in 1954, commercial fishers in the northwest Pacific were paid by weight, rather than by the individual fish, for pink salmon. The fishers increased the use of a type of net that selectively catches larger fish. Which of the following effects did this change in fishing technique most likely have on the salmon population over the next 20 years?
a)
The average body size of the salmon population decreased significantly.
b)
The average body size of the salmon population increased significantly.
c)
The average body size of the males in the salmon population increased, and the females stayed the same.
10.
European rabbits were introduced to Australia in 1859. The rabbits reproduced rapidly in their new habitat, displaced other animals, and overgrazed vegetation. In an attempt to reduce the rabbit population, a virus was introduced in 1951. This virus is usually deadly to European rabbits. When the virus was first introduced, the rabbits died in large numbers, but the death rate decreased over time. Which of the following best explains the decrease in the rabbit death rate?
a)
Young rabbits learned to avoid being infected with the virus.
b)
The lifespan of the virus was too short to affect rabbits over a long period of time.
c)
Natural selection favored rabbits that were resistant to the virus.
d)
No correct choices.
11.
Which of the following statements gives the most likely explanation for the presence of two very similar species of squirrels living on opposite sides of the Grand Canyon?
a)
One squirrel traveled across the canyon and started a new population on the other side.
b)
One squirrel traveled across the canyon and interbred with a different population on the other side.
c)
Members of one single squirrel species were geographically separated by the formation of the canyon.
d)
Members of two different squirrel species migrated from two different places to opposite sides of the canyon.
12.
The Asian shore crab invaded parts of the eastern coast of the United States about 15 years ago. The Asian shore crab preys on blue mussels. In the time since the Asian shore crab arrived, the average shell thickness of the blue mussel population has increased. Which of the following is the most likely reason that this increase in shell thickness has occurred?
a)
Blue mussels with thick shells attract more crabs that mussels without thick shells.
b)
Blue mussels with thick shells grow in larger colonies than mussels without thick shells.
c)
Blue mussels with thick shells catch more food per day than mussels without thick shells.
d)
Blue mussels with thick shells survive and reproduce more successfully than mussels without thick shells.
13.
Structures that share a common ancestry or are similar because they are modified versions of structures from a common ancestor that contain the same basic bone structure are
a)
Not related.
b)
Not homologous.
c)
Homologous.
d)
Young in origin.
14.
Comparing human hemoglobin of chimpanzees, horses, kangaroos, and chickens, reveal that humans have the fewest amino acid differences with
a)
Kangaroos
b)
Horses
c)
chickens
d)
chimpanzees
15.
The formation of new species is a process known as ____________________, which is typically the product of divergence.
a)
gradualism
b)
speciation
c)
reproductive isolation
d)
subspecies
16.
A biological ____________ is a group of interbreeding populations that is reproductively isolated from other groups.
a)
species
b)
family
c)
phylogeny
d)
hybrid
17.
A __________ is a branching diagram that shows evolutionary relationships.
a)
cladogram
b)
table
c)
derived character
d)
relationship tree
18.
True or false, evolution happens when an individual organism starts changing itself to adapt to its environment. For example, an adult polar bear might start swimming more so it can handle the melting of the polar ice caps.
a)
false, if it had a cub that could swim better due to longer legs or more buoyant bone structure, this could become a more common trait.
b)
True, evolution happens due to changing individuals
c)
maybe, if it chose to.
d)
I wish I had a pet penguin
19.
Gigantopithecus were very large primates that lived 500,000 years ago. Since none of these mammals are still today, they are said to be....
a)
Extinct
b)
Threatened
c)
Endangered
d)
Declining
20.
What most likely caused the finches on the Galapagos Islands to have beaks that were different from the finches on the mainland?
a)
There were different types of predators on the island.
b)
There were different types of food available on the island.
c)
The finches had no water to drink.
d)
The finches on the mainland could not fly high enough.
21.
When looking at two birds of the same species, you notice that one has darker feathers than the other one. You also notice that one has a beak that is just a little longer. These slight differences within members of the same species are called.....
a)
Fossils
b)
Extinction
c)
Meiosis
d)
Variations
22.
What do we call a change in a species over time?
a)
Adaptation
b)
Evolution
c)
Extinction
d)
Environmental influences
23.
Mutations are important because they bring about
a)
death of the organism in which they develop
b)
genetic variation needed for a population to evolve
c)
benefits for the individual, not for the population
d)
Hardey-Weinberg equilibrium within a population
24.
This scientist came up with the idea of natural selection.
a)
Jean Baptiste Lamarck
b)
Gregor Mendel
c)
Charles Darwin
d)
Thomas Malthus
25.
According to the diagram, which organism is older?
a)
ammonite
b)
coral
c)
gastropod
d)
trilobite
26.
If species A and B have very similar genes and proteins, what is probably TRUE?
a)
species A and B share a relatively recent common ancestor
b)
species A evolved independently of species B for a long period
c)
species A is younger than species B
d)
species A is older than species B
27.
Farmers breed cows to produce high amounts of milk. This is an example of...
a)
Natural Selection
b)
Variations in a species
c)
Selective Breeding
d)
inbreeding
28.
This mechanism of evolution occurs when populations migrate.
a)
Extinction
b)
Gene flow
c)
Genetic drift
d)
Natural Selection
29.
What is another name for natural selection?
a)
survival of the smartest
b)
survival of the fastest
c)
survival of the biggest
d)
survival of the fittest
30.
Darwin said that the number of offspring an organism has ___________________
a)
stays the same
b)
is more than can survive
c)
is less than needed
31.
Darwin said that within a species there will be _________________________
a)
nothing different
b)
variation/differences
32.
Organisms with differences/variations that are helpful will ______________________
a)
live longer
b)
become extinct
c)
show no change
33.
What can happen to a species over time if some of the organisms have an advantage?
a)
The population will decrease
b)
The population will become extinct
c)
The population will slowly increase
34.
Define analogous structures.
a)
Structures that appear the same, but have different ancestral origins.
b)
Structures that appear the different, but have the same ancestral origins.
c)
Any two body parts from the same organism
d)
Parts that no longer appear to have a function
35.
Darwin's Finches became separate species due to
a)
Geographic isolation
b)
Temporal Isolation
c)
Behavioral Isolation
d)
Postzygotic Isolation
36.
The term for the formation of new and distinct species over the course of evolution is...
a)
speciation
b)
biological species concept
c)
reproductive barrier
d)
natural selection
37.
What is founder effect?
a)
Any change in the allelic frequencies in a population that is due to chance
b)
A small sample of a population settles in a location separated from the rest of the population
c)
The process in which humans select for or against particular features in organisms
d)
Members of one sex choose mates with particular features
38.
What is genetic drift?
a)
The movement of genes in/out of a population
b)
A small, random change in the DNA
c)
Any change in the allelic frequencies in a population that is due to chance
d)
The process in which humans select for or against particular features in organisms
39.
What type of selection is this?
a)
Directional Selection
b)
Stabilizing Selection
c)
Disruptive Selection
d)
Natural Selection
40.
When has speciation occurred?
a)
When populations no longer look the same
b)
When populations no longer have the same frequency of alleles
c)
When populations are living in different environments
d)
When populations can no longer interbreed
41.
Which is a mechanism for change in allele frequency?
a)
gene flow
b)
genetic drift
c)
natural selection
d)
all answers are correct
42.
A change in a gene pool due to chance.
a)
Genetic drift
b)
gene pool
c)
Founder effect
d)
Bottleneck effect
43.
The total collection of genes in a population at any one time.
a)
population genetics
b)
gene pool
c)
gene flow
d)
allele frequency
44.
What is founder effect?
a)
Any change in the allelic frequencies in a population that is due to chance
b)
A small sample of a population settles in a location separated from the rest of the population
c)
The process in which humans select for or against particular features in organisms
d)
Members of one sex choose mates with particular features
45.
What type of selection is this?
a)
Directional Selection
b)
Stabilizing Selection
c)
Disruptive Selection
d)
Natural Selection
46.
What type of selection is this?
a)
Directional Selection
b)
Stabilizing Selection
c)
Disruptive Selection
d)
Natural Selection
47.
Which of the following must occur for speciation to happen?
a)
geographic isolation
b)
reproductive isolation
c)
temporal isolation
d)
behavioral isolation
48.
If finches with large beaks and finches with small beaks increase in a population while finches with average sized beaks decreases, which pattern of natural selection has occurred?
a)
Directional selection
b)
Disruptive selection
c)
Stabilizing selection
49.
Random mating is defined as
a)
members of a population choose to mate with individuals of a particular phenotype
b)
members of a population choose to mate with unrelated individuals
c)
members of the population mate with each other without regard to their phenotypes or genotypes
d)
members of a population choose to mate with closely related individuals
50.
Which of the following are causes of evolution?
a)
Mutation
b)
Non-Random Mating (Sexual Selection)
c)
Genetic Drift
d)
Natural Selection
e)
All of these.
100 %
