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Evolution Practice

Total questions: 15

Worksheet time: 8mins

Name
Class
Date
1.
Why are advantageous traits more likely to be passed onto offspring?
a)
Because they are more likely to survive and reproduce.
b)
Because they come from dominant alleles.
c)
Because they come from recessive alleles.
d)
Because the trait is an acquired phenotype.
2.

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

3.

Sometimes bones in the front limbs of animals are very similar in structure. What do we call similar bone structures that indicate a link to a common ancestor?

a)

Adaptations

b)

Gradualism

c)

Homologous Structures

d)

Extinction

4.

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

5.

What is the study of organisms at the early stages of development?

a)

DNA studies

b)

Comparative Embryology

c)

Extinction

d)

Fossil Record

6.
In the graph shown, how many species of lizards seem to have beneficial adaptations?
a)
1
b)
2
c)
3
d)
4
7.

Birds are eating all the green beetles. Because the brown beetles are surviving they reproduce more and make more brown beetles. This is called ___________

a)

Artificial Selection

b)

The Theory on the Origin of Species

c)

Natural Selection

d)

Mutation

8.

If scientists find fossils of a type of mosquito on the bottom layer and find fossils of beetles towards the top layer, what can scientists infer?

a)

Mosquitos ate the beetles

b)

Mosquitos are older fossils than beetles

c)

Beetles are older fossils than mosquitos

d)

Both mosquitos and Beetles must have lived at the same time.

9.

When we examine this whale fossil, we can see that the whale has a pelvic bone that doesn't seem to be used by the whale. What do scientists infer?

a)

The whale had an ancestor with legs

b)

The whale must use the pelvis for an unknown reason

c)

The whale was born with an extra bone and has a disorder

d)

The whale had an ancestor with wings

10.

This diagram of the fossil record represents changes in mollusks over millions of years.


How can the pattern of changes in the fossil record best be explained?

a)

the mollusks were well adapted to their stable environment. A large sudden change occurred in their environment. After the changes, the mollusk with the bigger shells was better adapted to the new environment.

b)

the mollusks were well adapted to their stable environment. the mollusks hybridized with a smaller species of mollusk. A new species of mollusk with a bigger shell resulted.

c)

the mollusks were not well adapted to their environment. the length of the mollusk's shells changed gradually over time. The mollusks in the original population that has small shells died over a period of many years.

d)

the mollusks were well adapted to their environment. humans introduced a new species of mollusk that was not adapted to this environment. the introduced mollusk outcompeted the native mollusk species.

11.

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY: Which of the following must be true in order for organisms to be considered the same species?

a)

They must be able to mate

b)

They must be able to produce viable offspring

c)

They must have structural similaries

d)

They must have the same bone structure

12.
If an environment changes, populations with ______________ have a better chance of survival.
a)
No genetic variations
b)
Genetic variations
c)
A small number
d)
A large number
13.
The opossum and kangaroo both incubate their young in a pouch. This provides evidence that they---
a)
are descended from a common ancestor
b)
Have very similar skeletal structures
c)
belong to the same species
d)
must range great distances to eat
14.

The fossil record help scientists

a)

better understand the kinds of organisms that lived in the past

b)

better understand how the environment has changed over time

c)

better understand how organisms have evolved over time

d)

all of the above

15.

_______________, or selective breeding, is one way that humans impact evolution. One example is how the Belgian Blue cow has been bred to have greater muscle mass.

a)

Artificial selection

b)

Homologous

c)

Natural selection

d)

Meiosis