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Mechanisms of Evolution (including selective breeding)

Total questions: 17

Worksheet time: 10mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

A forest fire ignites in the Sam Houston State Forest and kills many members of a population of pigmy rattlesnakes.

a)

Gene Flow

b)

Genetic Drift

2.
A few deer wander out of their native woods into a completely new park where no deer had ever been before. They go on to create an entirely new population.
a)
Genetic Drift
b)
Natural Selection
c)
Non-random mating
d)
Mutation
3.
Yellow toucan birds seek out one another to make babies together and tend to avoid the green toucan birds.
a)
Genetic Drift
b)
Non-random mating
c)
Gene flow
d)
Mutation
4.

During gestation (pregnancy), a developing male pig had a change in his genetic code. The result was that he to produce less nitrogenous solid waste.

a)

Genetic Drift

b)

Non-random mating

c)

Mutation

d)

Natural Selection

5.
Five hundred years after the deer had established a flourishing population in the park, a few of them venture back to their original woods and have babies with the deer there.
a)
Genetic Drift
b)
Mutations
c)
Non-random mating
d)
Gene flow
6.
Wolves from the Arizona mesa were transferred to the Colorado Rockies after a forest fire destroyed their habitat. They quickly became part of the local pack and had offspring.
a)
Mutation
b)
Natural Selection
c)
Genetic Drift
d)
Gene Flow
7.
Which of the following is NOT an example of natural selection? 
a)
People selectively breeding hamsters.
b)
Insect populations developing resistance to certain pesticides.
c)
Bacteria becoming resistant to antibiotics.
d)
Male birds of certain species developing colorful feathers to attract female mates.
8.

Bats are common in Texas, especially in rocky regions. Bats with longer hang claws have demonstrated higher fitness because of their ability to cling to rock while resting. This adaptation is becoming more frequent in the population. What mechanism of evolution is this?

a)

Natural Selection

b)

Non-random mating

c)

Gene Flow

d)

Genetic Drift

9.

During a hurricane, a population of beetles almost gets completely wiped out. The only beetles that survived were lucky that they were in their nest at the time of the hurricane and had enough food to survive.

a)

Natural selection

b)

Genetic Drift

c)

Gene Flow

d)

Non-Random Mating

10.

The country of Sweden is known for having people with blonde hair and blue eyes. One day a family moves from Sweden to India where dark hair and dark eyes are very common. A female from Sweden marries a male from India and their offspring now have blonde hair and blue eyed traits.

a)

Natural Selection

b)

Mutation

c)

Non-Random Mating

d)

Gene Flow

11.

In a habitat there are red bugs and green bugs. The birds prefer the taste of the red bugs, so soon there are many green bugs and few red bugs. The green bugs reproduce and make more green bugs and eventually there are no more red bugs

a)

Genetic Drift

b)

Natural Selection

c)

Gene Flow

d)

Mutation

12.

Females a certain bird species are attracted to the mating calls of male species more than others

a)

Genetic Drift

b)

Mutation

c)

Non-Random

d)

Natural Selection

13.

About 9,000-6,000 years ago, ancient people began to develop parviglumis teosinte into a crop that more closely resembles what we know today as corn. Its kernels started to grow without the tough shell, and humans domesticated this plant for its grain, changing the size and textures of the kernels. They accomplished this by selectively breeding parviglumis teosinte plants together that had larger and softer kernels so that this trait became more common in the next generation of plants. This is an example of...

a)

gene flow

b)

natural selection

c)

genetic drift

d)

artificial selection

14.

What is natural selection?

a)

a living individual that can carry out life processes

b)

Process by which an organism that better adapts to their environment survive and reproduce

c)

Process by which a community better adapts to their environment to give traits to one another within their generation.

d)

the time between when an organism is born and when they reproduce

15.

Evidence shows that the wolf is the ancestor to all of the breeds of dogs shown below. How did this variation arise in a relatively short period of time?

a)

Genetic manipulation

b)

Natural Selection

c)

Random Chance

d)

Selective Breeding

16.

Natural Selection is defined as-

a)

the process by which humans select the most desirable organisms in a population.

b)

the changes that occur in an organism over its lifespan.

c)

the changes that occur in a population that do not affect survival.

d)

the changes in the characteristics within a population that lead to survival

17.

Charles Darwin studied the finches of the Galapagos Islands and found that their beaks vary in shape. Darwin found that the finches that ate mostly insects had long, narrow beaks. Finches that ate mostly seeds had shorter, broad beaks that they used to crush seeds. Which statement below best describes how natural selection resulted in the four types of finches shown above?

a)

The narrow-beaked finches came first, and evolved into the broad-beaked finches through a series of natural mutations.

b)

The residents of the Galapagos Islands selectively bred finches that had the traits that the residents wanted them to have.

c)

The broad-beaked finches wore down their beaks digging for insects and passed these narrower beaks on to their offspring.

d)

Over time, the finches that were born with beaks better suited to the available food supply in their habitats survived and reproduced.