biology quizzes evolution

Which of the following is/are a source of variation in insect color?

Both mutation and sexual reproduction

Variations within a species are an important part of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. Which example can be explained by individual variation?

Brightly colored cardinals are better able to survive and to reproduce than darker cardinals.

States that natural disasters shaped Earth's landforms and species

Catastrophism

Zoologist that developed a theory that sudden disasters shaped Earth's landforms and species

Cuvier

States that slow changes over long periods of time shaped Earth's landforms and species

Gradualism

Theorized the idea that landforms gradually changed over long periods of time

Hutton

What hypothesis did Darwin investigate by studying the breeding of pigeons with distinctive traits?

New species can appear gradually through small changes in an ancestral species.

In terms of natural selection, what is the best description of an organism that is fit?

The organism is better able to survive and pass on traits to offspring than competing organisms.

A population of rabbits has individuals with fur coloring that ranges from white to brown. The population lives in a temperate deciduous forest where the summers are mild and average about 50°F. The winters are often below freezing. If warmer temperatures last longer into the fall and the average temperature in the winter is getting warmer, what do you expect to happen to the population?

The percentage of the population with white fur will decrease.

States that constant processes shaped Earth's landforms and species; "the present is the key to the past"

Uniformitarianism

The difference in the physical traits from one individual to another

Variation

A feature that allows an organism to better survive in its environment

adaptation

Which of the following lists the four main principles of the theory of natural selection?

adaptation, descent with modification, overproduction, variation

The beak types of different Galápagos finch species are examples of

adaptations

The study of the distribution of organisms around the world

biogeography

Which of the gazelle's naturally selected traits is shown in this picture to be an evolutionary advantage?

coat color for blending in with dry grass

Charles Darwin observed a unique beak size and shape in the finch population of each of the Galapagos Islands that he visited. Which is the most likely cause of the observed variation?

competition among individuals for available food sources

Proposed the idea of natural selection as a mechanism for evolution

darwin

In natural selection, the selective agent is the

environment

Koalas are marsupials that are found in eastern Australia. Although their ancestors lived mostly on the ground, modern koalas spend most of their time in eucalyptus trees. This is possible because their hands and feet have strong claws and opposable digits. What other adaptation could have helped koalas as they evolved from land dwellers to tree dwellers?

fur color that closely matches the eucalyptus bark color

Over time, adaptations can lead populations to experience

genetic changes

The ability of a trait to be passed on from one generation to the next

heritability

The study of the fossils or extinct organisms

paleontology

What is suggested by the similarity of early embryos of different species of vertebrates?

recent common ancestry

Evolution is considered to be one of the most important theories in science, because it

unites the fields of biology, geology, chemistry, and ecology

Remnants of organs or structures that had a function in an early ancestor

vestigial structures

The hind leg bones shown in the whale in Figure 10.2 are

vestigial structures that functioned in an early ancestor

In the African savanna, more wildebeests are born than the environment can support. Which is most likely to happen over a period of years as a result?

Individuals that are well suited to the environment reproduce, and those that are not well suited die before they reproduce.

During a trip to the Galapagos Islands, which observation led Charles Darwin to suspect that organisms change over time?

Island finches resembled mainland finches, but were not the same species.

Which of the following describes natural selection?

It acts on existing physical traits.

Proposed that all living things evolved toward perfection directly related to environmental change

Lamarck

Developed a system of classification to group organisms by their similarities

Linnaeus

Which statement about the giraffes explains their evolution based on Charles Darwin's main points?

Long necks were a random genetic change and resulted in the gradual increase of organisms with long necks.

Which bug has the greatest fitness for this environment?

Mutations affecting coloration occur randomly in insects. Insects with mutations that help them to blend in are more likely to survive than others, and gradually these helpful mutations accumulate in the population.

Body part that is similar in function as a body part of another organism but is structurally different

analogous structure

Process by which humans modify a species by breeding it for certain traits

artificial selection

According to the concept of "survival of the fittest," if a population of birds eats worms that they find deep under ground by using their beaks, which members of the bird population would be more fit?

birds that have longer beaks

In the Galápagos Islands, Charles Darwin saw different species of finch on different islands. This led him to theorize that species

can adapt to their environment

Process of biological change by which descendants differ from their ancestors

evolution

Measure of an individual's ability to survive and reproduce

fitness

Traces of organisms that existed in the past

fossils

Body part that is similar in structure but appear in different organisms and have different functions

homologous structure

The false idea that a high-jumper who trains to become a champion will have descendants who can jump exceptionally high is known as the

inheritance of acquired characteristics

Heritable differences exist in every population. What type of variation exists among members of the different species as seen in Fig.10.1?

interspecific

Theorized that the geologic processes shaped Earth are uniform through time.; slow changes happen at constant rates and are ongoing.

lyell

The DNA sequences of whales and ungulates, or hooved animals, are very similar. What type of evidence of evolution is this?

molecular

Charles Darwin discovered fossils of huge animals that resembled modern animals. This led him to conclude that the age of Earth was

much more than 6000 years

Similar DNA and protein sequences in one organism that resemble those of another suggest a

shared common ancestry

A group of organisms similar enough to reproduce fertile offspring

species