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Unit 10.2: Natural & Artificial Selection

Total questions: 17

Worksheet time: 34mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

Which term describes the entire group of offspring produced by a given group of parents?

a)

generation

b)

variation

c)

population

2.

What is a testable idea or explanation that leads to scientific investigation called?

a)

law

b)

trait

c)

hypothesis

3.

Which term refers to a descriptive statement or equation that reliably predicts events under certain conditions?

a)

hypothesis

b)

law

c)

population

4.

What is a system of ideas that explains many related observations and is supported by a large body of evidence acquired through scientific investigation called?

a)

hypothesis

b)

generation

c)

theory

5.

What is the occurrence of hereditary or nonhereditary differences between different individuals of a population called?

a)

variation

b)

population

c)

trait

6.

What is the process by which humans modify a species by breeding it for certain traits called?

a)

natural selection

b)

artificial selection

c)

trait

7.

What is the process by which individuals that are better adapted to their environment survive and reproduce more successfully than less well-adapted individuals?

a)

variation

b)

natural selection

c)

hypothesis

8.

What is a group of organisms of the same species that live in a specific geographical area called?

a)

population

b)

generation

c)

trait

9.

What is a genetically determined characteristic called?

a)

trait

b)

hypothesis

c)

variation

10.

Which of these is an example of artificial selection?

a)

using honey bees to pollinate almond trees to produce nuts

b)

producing new basil plants from cuttings of a parent plant

c)

mating horses that win the most races to produce faster horses

11.

How are artificial selection and natural selection similar and different?

a)

response to the environment

1.

Natural Selection

b)

result of human intervention

2.

Artificial Selection

c)

traits passed to offspring

3.

Both Natural & Artificial Selection

12.

Which statement describes how natural selection can result in change in a population?

a)

Farmers crossbreed two types of pigs to produce a breed of pig that has high-quality pork and can tolerate a cold climate.

b)

Parrots of the same breed and having a desirable feather color are bred with one another to produce more birds with that same feather color.

c)

Fish that can swim fast survive an attack of preditors more than fish that swim slow. Fast swimming fish have more offspring the following season.

13.

Which statements describe examples of natural selection or artificial selection? Write the letter of each answer in the correct box.

a)

Wheat plants poorly adapted to their environment do not survive or reproduce.

1.

Natural selection

b)

Vegetables with desired traits are bred by farmers to produce a crop with desired traits.

2.

Artificial selection

c)

A person at a restaurant decides what to eat.

3.

Menu selection

14.

Which statements describe examples of natural selection or artificial selection? Write the letter of each answer in the correct box.

a)

Dogs with desired traits are bred by breeders to produce offspring with desired traits.

1.

Artificial selection

b)

Trees with traits most suited to their environment survive and pass the traits to their offspring.

2.

Natural selection

c)

The top college football player is chosen to play for a team

3.

Draft selection

15.

A farmer wants to produce sweeter strawberries using artificial selection.

Which change to the conditions can he do to make a change to the strawberries?

a)

Add more fertilizer to the soil to increase sugar production.

b)

Crossbreed the two sweetest plants on the farm to produce new plants.

c)

Use cuttings from the plant that produce the sweetest strawberries to produce new plants.

16.

Why is Darwin’s natural selection theory considered a theory and not a hypothesis or law?

Select 2 correct answers

a)

A. It refers to rules for how organisms change under certain conditions.

b)

B. It is a tentative prediction that requires more observations of other organisms.

c)

C. It explains findings and evidence within the context of the existing knowledge.

d)

D. It is a group of principles about nature developed over many years through rigorous testing.

17.

A farmer is trying to decide which cucumber hybrid to plant next season.

He is particularly interested in a new hybrid advertised in a local newspaper as having the highest yield.

He has researched the hybrid on the internet and found five other sources of information.

He decides to classify the sources as more biased or less biased to determine which sources are the most reliable.

Match the source to its degree of bias

a)

the seed dealer’s "shady" salesman

1.

totally biased

b)

the seed dealer’s newspaper advertisement

2.

biased

c)

a State Agricultural Department bulletin of cucumber rankings

3.

less biased