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WorksheetsEvolution Unit
Total questions: 19
Worksheet time: 10mins
After which event could you say that evolution has occurred?
A new predator comes into an environment.
An animal gets fat.
A white-eyed fly is born into a population of brown-eyed flies.
An allele frequency changes in a population.
Which situation would most likely result in evolution?
A single individual leaves a large population.
A large population loses a few individuals.
A predator prefers one phenotype to another.
A bird has two alleles for a certain feather color.
Which group of organisms can be considered a population?
all buffalo in North America
a group of skunks living in the same forest
freshwater salmon
different kinds of butterflies living in the same patch of rain forest
A population of white-tailed deer inhabits a certain patch of forest in Michigan. Which group of alleles can be considered the gene pool of those deer?
he dominant alleles of the white-tailed deer in this population only
the dominant alleles of all white-tailed deer
all alleles of all white-tailed deer
all alleles of the white-tailed deer in this population only
Natural selection acts on populations of living things, usually through a specific trait. Which statement must be true about that trait?
The trait is resistant to mutations.
The trait is the same for all organisms.
The trait is passed on genetically to the next generation.
All forms of the trait have the same impact on survival.
This graph shows the variation in birth weights in a specific population of humans. Use the graph data to answer the question.
Which statement describes the variation of birth weights in this population?
There is no variation in birth weight.
There is a moderate variation in birth weight.
Variation changes over time.
A population of snails is experiencing disruptive selection in terms of their shell patterns. Which statement is most likely true about the population?
The frequency of a new shell pattern is becoming higher than all other patterns.
The frequency of the most common shell pattern is becoming higher than all other patterns.
Two different patterns are combining into one very common pattern.
Two different shell patterns are increasing in frequency, while the most common pattern is decreasing.
These two graphs show data at the beginning and ending of a study on a certain population of parrots. Use the information in the two graphs to answer the question.
Which type of selection is illustrated by these two graphs?
Disruptive
Directional
Stabilizing
natural
Based partially on his comparative studies of the fossils of woolly mammoths and the bones of modern-day elephants, Georges Cuvier proposed several new ideas about the history of life on earth. Which general statement can be made about this example?
Scientists always discover new ideas when they study details about living things.
Through specific studies, new ideas can be developed.
Understanding the past is not important to studying the present.
All scientific ideas are made by comparing past and present organisms.
Why was Charles Darwin able to offer a large amount of evidence for his theory of evolution by natural selection?
He conducted in-depth experiments with chemicals in England.
He collected data for 5 years while traveling around the world.
He compiled the fossil record.
He worked with Gregor Mendel for many years collecting genetic proof for evolution.
How does comparing the embryos of different organisms support the theory of evolution?
The embryos of all organisms are identical.
The stages of development of the embryos of different organisms are extremely similar, thereby suggesting common ancestors.
The embryos of any group of living things resemble the other embryos in that group.
A bird's wing, a dolphin's flipper, and a cat's paw are homologous structures. What about these structures supports the theory of evolution?
They all have similar sizes and functions.
They are evidence that the animals had a common ancestor.
They prove that the limbs of all land animals evolved from wings and fins.
They are good examples of vestigial structures.
Which sentence best describes vestigial structures?
They are necessary for an organism's survival.
They may have had an important function in the past.
They contain genetic mutations.
All animals have them.
Fossil evidence suggests that whales evolved from land mammals. Using comparative DNA techniques, scientists have also suggested that whales are related to hippos. How could comparing amino acid sequences support the theory of evolution?
By comparing amino acid sequences, scientists were able to prove that whales evolved from hippopotamus ancestors.
Comparing amino acid sequences can show close genetic relationships between organisms that may appear very different, such as whales and hippos.
Comparing amino acid sequences showed that stabilizing selection took place in a population of hippos, resulting in the formation of a new species of whale.
By comparing amino acid sequences, scientists were able to prove that ancient whales had the same DNA base pairs as ancient hippos.
Which is a significant benefit of studying fossils?
Fossils give information about the colors and outer coverings of organisms that are no longer living.
Fossils give information about the time period in which organisms lived in the past.
Fossil evidence shows that changes that occurred in the past no longer occur.
Fossils help prove that organisms of the past have little relation to present-day organisms.
How does radiometric dating help scientists pinpoint the age of a fossil?
In radiometric dating, scientists place samples of a fossil in certain liquids until the samples dissolve. The rate at which they dissolve indicates the age of the fossil.
Radiometric dating allows scientists to find fossils in only the lowest and oldest layers of sediment.
In radiometric dating, scientists mix the carbon in a fossil with carbon from similar fossils whose age they know. By comparing the carbon, they can tell the exact age of the fossil.
Radiometric dating shows the rate of decay of radioactive material present in any object. Scientists can use that data to find the age of the fossil.
Which scenario would natural selection most likely work on?
a population of parakeets that have the same size beak
an island with lizards that all look alike and are all eating the same food
a population of salmon with different skin colors that attract mates
all of the insects in a certain desert that have the same adaptation for saving water
Which significant change can occur to a small population as a result of genetic drift?
The Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium will not equal 1.
Recessive traits always become dominant.
New individuals add their genes to the gene pool.
Large changes in allele frequencies can occur in a short time.
In which location would a population most likely be geographically isolated?
an island
A river
a wetland
a rain forest
