wayground logo

Free Printable Worksheets

NEW

Font size

S
M
L
XL
Worksheets

Natural Selection and Adaptation Concepts

Total questions: 45

Worksheet time: 1hrs 10mins

Name
Class
Date
1.
Where the better adapted organisms survive to pass traits along to offspring.
a)
Evolution
b)
Natural Selection
c)
Extinction
d)
Artifical Selection
2.
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.
3.
Mutations are a change in what?
a)
DNA
b)
tRNA
c)
genotype
d)
phenotype
4.

What word describes a trait that helps an organism survive in its environment?

a)

natural selection

b)

mutation

c)

camouflage

d)

adaptation

5.
The trees these moths used to live on were white, but have been covered in soot from coal factories. Which moth will be more successful in this environment?
a)
Dark moth
b)
Light moth
c)
Both will be equally successful
d)
Neither will be successful
6.
Why is the mouse population changing over time?
a)
The light mice can reproduce more successfully than the dark mice
b)
The hawks eat more dark mice than light mice because the dark mice taste better
c)
The hawks eat more light mice than dark mice because they can see the light mice more easily
d)
The hawks eat more dark mice than light mice because they can see the dark mice more easily
7.
These moths are all the same species. The differences between their wings is an example of ________________
a)
Natural Selection
b)
Variation
c)
Homeostasis
d)
Extinction
8.
The theory of evolution by natural selection means that what is changing over time?
a)
The inherited traits of a population.
b)
The acquired traits of a population.
c)
Hair color and eye color
d)
Attractive features.
9.
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
10.
Darwin said that within a species there will be _________________________
a)
nothing different
b)
variation/differences
11.
In recent years "SuperBugs" (bacteria that aren't effected by antibiotics) are becoming more and more common. How could natural selection explain this?
a)
Superbugs survive antibiotics and reproduce
b)
Antibiotics cause bacteria to become superbugs
c)
We have always had the same amount of superbugs; modern media just discusses them more.
d)
There is no reliable data on the origin of super bugs.
12.
Which of the following explains adaptation.
a)
An individual organism changes to meet its needs in the environment. These changes pass down to their offspring.
b)
The species as a whole changes their characteristics.
c)
Beneficial traits allow organism to survive and pass on those traits
d)
New characteristics arise in a species as needed.  If these traits are helpful, they are passed down.
13.
A large herd of goats lives in a field full of poison ivy.  Some goats are able to eat the poison ivy while others have become sick when they eat it. Over time the herd as a whole will tend to
a)
Become more likely to eat poison ivy.
b)
Become less likely to eat poison ivy.
c)
Not change in the proportion of goats that can and can not eat poison ivy.
d)
Eat all the poison ivy and leave only plants all the goats can eat.
14.
A group of orangutan have become very similar after a series of drastic changes in their environment.  This similarity is likely the result of
a)
selective breeding
b)
random mutaion
c)
inbreeding
d)
natural selection
15.
Organisms with the most beneficial traits will survive.  This is commonly known as
a)
theory of evolution.
b)
variations.
c)
survival of the fittest.
d)
ecosystems.
16.
A characteristic or feature that increases an organism's ability to survive within a changing environment.
a)
adaptation
b)
hibernation
c)
migration
d)
Natural Selection
17.

Darwin observed many finch species on the Galapagos Islands. To explain these observations, he

proposed that each species evolved from the same common ancestor, which was a finch species

that migrated to the islands from the mainland. What additional evidence did Darwin use to support

his explanation?

a)

The finch populations were very numerous, and different species often bred with one another.

b)

The finch species lived in different habitats on different islands, which isolated them from one another.

c)

The finch species were distributed evenly among all of the islands, but did not interbreed.

d)

The beaks of the finches were identical, allowing them to eat the same foods on any of the islands.

18.

A population of rabbits grows rapidly from one year to the next. Then one year, a disease strikes approximately one fourth of the adult rabbits. The disease remains with the population in the years that follow.

As explained by Darwin’s theory, which of these conditions allows the rabbit population to evolve by natural selection?

a)

The disease affects adult and juvenile rabbits equally.

b)

The disease reduces the ability of the rabbits to reproduce.

c)

Some rabbits are resistant to the disease, and they pass the resistance to their offspring.

d)

No rabbits are resistant to the disease, and all die when the disease strikes them.

19.

Which of the following is a situation that could cause evolutionary change that is NOT due to natural selection?

a)

A volcano erupts and kills many individuals in a population.

b)

A mutation produces sea stars that are less visible to predators.

c)

An insecticide is sprayed in a community to combat mosquitoes.

d)

Cattle are treated with antibiotics to prevent the spread of infections.

20.

The graphs below show the changes in crab color at one beach.

Which of the following is most likely to have caused the change in the distribution?

a)

A new predator arrived that preferred dark-tan crabs.

b)

A new predator arrived that preferred light-tan crabs.

c)

A change in beach color made medium-tan crabs the least visible to predators.

d)

A change in beach color made medium-tan crabs the most visible to predators.

21.

Which of the following is NOT part of the that mechanisms of natural selection?

a)

Organisms produce more offspring than can survive.

b)

Disease and natural disaster will limit population growth.

c)

Species today descended with modifications from ancestral species.

d)

Organisms with advantages will survive and reproduce.

22.

Before the invention of the light bulb, Americans burned oil in lamps for light. Whale oil was popular bio-fuel for these

lamps. Ship crews would hunt whales for their oil. They searched for the largest whales they could find so that they could obtain as much whale oil as possible. How mighty decades of whale hunting possibly affect the natural selection of the species?

a)

The whales lost their legs.

b)

The whales became slower.

c)

The whales became smaller.

d)

The whales changed their calls.

23.

What is the most likely explanation of the data shown below?

a)

There has been a drought in the area that is affecting all life forms.

b)

The population of natural predators of the moths has gotten smaller.

c)

The moths are living in an environment with light trees.

d)

The moths are living in an environment with dark trees.

24.

Which of the following statements best describes what will most likely occur to the moth populations in the image above?

a)

The light moths will be captured by predators more easily than the dark moths, and the population of dark moths will rise.

b)

The light moths will be captured by predators more easily than the dark moths, and the population of light moths will rise.

c)

The dark moths will be captured by predators more easily than the light moths, and the dark moths will probably go extinct.

d)

The light moths will change their wing color to match that of the dark moths.

25.

Mutations are a change in what?

a)

DNA

b)

tRNA

c)

protein

d)

rRNA

26.
The differences among a species, like different bird beaks, are called
a)
genes.
b)
variations.
c)
traits.
d)
theories.
27.
What process is being shown in this image?
a)
Variation
b)
Natural Selection
c)
Selective Breeding
d)
Homeostasis
28.

Which best describes the role of mutations in natural selection?

a)

Mutations help an organism to better survive in their environment

b)

An organism may acquire a helpful mutation by interacting with the environment

c)

A mutation may result in a beneficial trait that makes an organism more likely to survive and reproduce

d)

Organisms with certain traits are more likely to win competitions for mutations

29.

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)

changes in genotype, but not phenotype

30.
Why do frogs and other organism reproduce so many eggs or offspring?
a)
so that their babies can have friends to play with
b)
the more offspring the more likely the offspring will survive
c)
the more offspring the less likely offspring will survive 
d)
the more offspring the less competition
31.

The Miller-Urey experiment of 1953 was designed to test the hypothesis that lightning supplied the energy needed to turn atmospheric gases into organic molecules such as amino acids. Which of the following describes why the Miller-Urey theory is widely accepted today?

a)

Amino acids spontaneously form from molecules in the atmosphere today.

b)

Organic molecules are present today in extremely high concentrations.

c)

The process of synthesizing organic molecules from a mixture of gases has been successfully modeled in the laboratory.

d)

No other alternative hypotheses have been introduced.

32.
Cells without a nucleus are said to be _____________________.
a)
Eukaryotic
b)
Prokaryotic
33.
What gas was necessary for complex (eukaryotic) life to evolve?
a)
Carbon dioxide
b)
Oxygen
c)
Dihydrogen monoxide
d)
Methane
34.
Which type of cell came first?
a)
Eukaryotic
b)
Prokaryotic
c)
Plant
d)
Both Eukaryotic and Prokaryotic cells evolved around the same time
35.
The diagram shows fossils in different rock layers. Which of these statements about the age of these fossils is most likely correct?
a)
Fossil A and C are the same age
b)
Fossil B is older than fossil C
c)
Fossils A is older than fossil B
d)
Fossil D is older than fossil C
36.
The idea that Earth's early oceans had organic molecules that became the first life is called the...
a)
Primordial soup hypothesis
b)
Bubble hypothesis
c)
Miller-Urey Experiment
d)
Radioactive dating theory
37.

Earth's early atmosphere had no

a)

gasses

b)

volcanoes

c)

water vapor

d)

free oxygen

38.

An explanation of the natural world. Describes how or why something is.

a)

theory

b)

fact

c)

law

d)

rule

39.

The gases that made up early earth's atmosphere were:

a)

oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, methane

b)

Oxygen, methane, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulfur

c)

Methane, Carbon dioxide, nitrogen, suflur, water vapor

d)

methane, carbon dioxide, nitrogen

40.

According to this image, which two domains of life are most related?

a)

Bacteria & Archaea

b)

Archaea & Eukarya

c)

Eukarya & Bacteria

41.

According to this phylogenetic tree, which creature is the least related out of all pictured?

a)

Fish

b)

Frog

c)

Salamander

d)

Human

42.

Which group of animals on this tree are most closely related to birds?

a)

Saurischian dinosaurs

b)

Ornithischian dinosaurs

c)

Crocodiles

d)

None of these are related to birds

43.

What number is the common ancestor of C and D

a)

1

b)

2

c)

3

d)

4

44.

Who is the closest relative to the brown bear?

a)

Giant panda

b)

Dog

c)

Lesser panda

d)

Sun bear

45.

The rapid evolution of a group following its introduction into a new habitat or occupation of newly available niches is called ________________?

a)

adaptive radiation

b)

microevolution

c)

coevolution

d)

convergent evolution

e)

divergent evolution

Similar Resources on Wayground

Respiratory & Cardio Test Review A&P

50 questions

Respiratory & Cardio Test Review A&P

quiz

Worksheet

•

10th - 12th Grade

Pre-VCE Biology EXAM Revision

49 questions

Pre-VCE Biology EXAM Revision

quiz

Worksheet

•

10th Grade

วิทยาศาสตร์โลกและอวกาศ

40 questions

วิทยาศาสตร์โลกและอวกาศ

quiz

Worksheet

•

12th Grade

Periodic Trend Unit Exam

50 questions

Periodic Trend Unit Exam

quiz

Worksheet

•

10th - 12th Grade

Year 9 - Moving and Shaking Recap 2

49 questions

Year 9 - Moving and Shaking Recap 2

quiz

Worksheet

•

9th Grade

Q3-Science 9 Reviewer

40 questions

Q3-Science 9 Reviewer

quiz

Worksheet

•

9th Grade