1. Evolution Unit Test
Ch 21-26

2. Know your Scientists and their contributions
Darwin
Cuvier and Lamarck
Wallace and Lyell
Hutton and Linnaeus
Miller and Urey
Oparin & Haldane

3. Darwin and Wallace's theory of evolution by natural selection was revolutionary because it ____.
A) was the first theory to refute the ideas of special creation
B) proved that individuals acclimated to their environment over time
C) dismissed the idea that species are constant and emphasized the importance of variation and change in populations
D) was the first time a biologist had proposed that species changed through time

4. C

5. Which of these conditions are always true of populations evolving due to natural selection?
Condition 1: The population must vary in traits that are heritable.
Condition 2: Some heritable traits must increase reproductive success.
Condition 3: Individuals pass on most traits that they acquire during their lifetime.
A) Condition 1 only
B) Condition 2 only
C) Conditions 1 and 2
D) Conditions 2 and 3

6. C

7. Fossils of Thrinaxodon, a species that lived during the Triassic period, have been found in both South Africa and Antarctica. Thrinaxodon had a reptile-like skeleton and laid eggs, but small depressions on the front of its skull suggest it had whiskers and, therefore, fur. Thrinaxodon may have been warm-blooded. The fossils of Thrinaxodon are consistent with the hypothesis that ____.
A) mammals evolved from a reptilian ancestor
B) Antarctica and South Africa separated after Thrinaxodon went extinct
C) fossils found in a given area look like the modern species in that same area
D) the environment where it lived was very warm

8. A

9. Members of two different species possess a similar-looking structure that they use in a similar way to perform about the same function. Which of the following would suggest that the relationship more likely represents homology instead of convergent evolution?
A) The two species live at great distance from each other.
B) The two species share many proteins in common, and the nucleotide sequences that code for these proteins are almost identical.
C) The structures in adult members of both species are similar in size.
D) Both species are well adapted to their particular environments.

10. B

11. What must be true of any organ described as vestigial?
A) It must be analogous to some feature in an ancestor.
B) It must be homologous to some feature in an ancestor.
C) It must be both homologous and analogous to some feature in an ancestor.
D) It need be neither homologous nor analogous to some feature in an ancestor.

12. B

13. For a biologist studying a small fish population in the lab, which Hardy-Weinberg condition is easiest to meet?
A) no selection
B) no genetic drift
C) no gene flow
D) no mutation

14. C

15. The higher the proportion of loci that are "fixed" in a population, the lower are that population's ____.
A) nucleotide variability
B) chromosome number
C) average heterozygosity
D) nucleotide variability and average heterozygosity

16. D

17. In the United States, the parasite that causes malaria is not present, but African-Americans whose ancestors were from equatorial Africa are present. What should be happening to the sickle-cell allele in the United States, and what should be happening to it in equatorial Africa?
A) stabilizing selection; disruptive selection
B) disruptive selection; stabilizing selection
C) directional selection; disruptive selection
D) directional selection; stabilizing selection

18. D

19. Two species of frogs belonging to the same genus occasionally mate, but the embryos stop developing after a day and then die. These two frog species separate by ____.
A) reduced hybrid viability
B) hybrid breakdown
C) reduced hybrid fertility
D) gametic isolation

20. A

21. The production of sterile mules by interbreeding between female horses (mares) and male donkeys (jacks) is an example of ____.
A) reduced hybrid viability
B) hybrid breakdown
C) reduced hybrid fertility
D) mechanical isolation

22. C

23. You want to study divergence of populations, and you need to maximize the rate of divergence to see results within the period of your grant funding. You will form a new population by taking some individuals from a source population and isolating them so the two populations cannot interbreed. What combination of characteristics would maximize your chance of seeing divergence in this study?
1. Choose a random sample of individuals to form the new population.
2. Choose individuals from one extreme to form the new population.
3. Choose a species to study that produces many offspring.
4. Choose a species to study that produces a few, large offspring.
5. Place the new population in the same type of environment as the source population.
6. Place the new population in a novel environment compared to that of the source population.
A) 1, 3, and 6
B) 1, 4, and 6
C) 2, 3, and 5
D) 2, 3, and 6

24. D

25. Which of the following statements best describes the rationale for applying the principle of parsimony in constructing phylogenetic trees?
A) Parsimony allows the researcher to "root" the tree.
B) Similarity due to common ancestry should be more common than similarity due to convergent evolution.
C) The molecular clock validates the principle of parsimony.
D) The outgroup roots the tree, allowing the principle of parsimony to be applied.

26. B

27. Given that phylogenies are based on shared derived characteristics, which of the following traits is useful in generating a phylogeny of species W, X, Y, and Z?
Species W Species X Species Y Species Z
Trait A A A A
Trait A A B B
Trait A B C D
A) Trait 1
B) Trait 2
C) Trait 3
D) Traits 1, 2, and 3

28. B

29. In a comparison of birds and mammals, having four limbs is ____.
A) a shared ancestral character
B) a shared derived character
C) a character useful for distinguishing birds from mammals
D) an example of analogy rather than homology

30. A

31. Endosymbiosis is an evolutionary theory that explains the origin of eukaryotes and suggests a specific order in which this might have occurred. Ancestral cells engulfed and then began to use the metabolic processes of the smaller cells. Based on shared core processes and features, which statement most accurately describes the order, the theory and the evolutionary implications for all organisms within domain Eukarya?
A) Ancestral heterotrophic eukaryotes most likely engulfed both a heterotrophic and an autotrophic prokaryote, whereas ancestral photosynthetic eukaryotes probably provided the host cell for the first mitochondria. Over time, natural selection favored these relationships and these cells became ancestors of all eukaryotes.
B) All ancestral eukaryotes would have most likely consumed a nucleus-like prokaryote that eventually became the eukaryotic nucleus. These new eukaryotic cells would have had an advantage over prokaryotic cells by acquiring a nuclear command center for regulating cellular activities.
C) As carbon dioxide levels were increasing over time, natural selection would have favored organisms that acquired a photosynthetic prokaryote to convert carbon dioxide into sugars. These would have likely been the first eukaryotic cells. At which point, these ancestral cells engulfed mitochondria-like prokaryotes that would have provided an even greater advantage for cells in this environment.
D) As Earth was becoming more aerobic, mitochondria would have provided an advantage to host cells by converting "toxic" oxygen into energy for heterotrophic cells. Since mitochondria are found in all eukaryotes, these combinations likely evolved first. Photosynthetic eukaryotes probably acquired an autotrophic prokaryote, which developed an advantageous symbiotic relationship with the host cell.

32. D

33. Understand & be able to give examples of Darwin’s contributions to the field of evolutionary biology
Such as:
non-constancy of species
common descent of all species
changes in species
Natural selection
Understand & be able to discuss how the following enhanced Darwin’s ideas
Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium
Punctuated equilibrium
Genetic engineering

34. Be able to explain and give examples of mutation
adaptive radiation
polyploidy
population bottlenecks
growth of the human population
How do they affect diversity?

35. Be able to relate the following to Natural Selection & give examples
Be able to explain the theory of evolution by natural selection as presented by Darwin
Be able to relate the following to Natural Selection & give examples
Convergent evolution
The formation of resistant organisms
Speciation and isolation
Natural selection and behavior such as kinesis, fixed-action-pattern, dominance hierarchy, etc.
Heterozygote advantage