AP BIO Modules 66-70

Fossilized bones are discovered. Carbon dating indicates that they contain one-fourth the normal amount of carbon-14 found in the bones of a living specimen. The half-life of carbon-14 is 5,730 years. Approximately how old are the bones? A. 12,000 years B. 4.5 billion years C. 4.5 million years D. 5,000 years E. 2,000 years

A. 12,000 years

What is suggested by comparing the bones in a cat's front leg and a bat's wing? A. Cats and bats share a common ancestor. B. Cats and bats have separate evolutionary histories. C. They serve the same functions. D. They are a vestigial trait in bats. E. Cats are descendants of bats.

A. Cats and bats share a common ancestor.

Which of the following is the mechanism that drives natural selection? A. Individuals with traits better suited to their environments are more likely to survive and reproduce; therefore, their offspring are more likely to inherit these adaptive traits. B. Individuals with traits better suited to their environments are more likely to survive and reproduce; however, their offspring are not likely to inherit these adaptive traits. C. Individuals with traits that are not suited to their environments are more likely to leave and reproduce elsewhere; therefore, offspring will inherit these traits. D. Traits that are best suited to their environments are more likely to survive and reproduce; therefore, offspring are more likely to inherit these adaptive traits E. None of the answers are correct.

A. Individuals with traits better suited to their environments are more likely to survive and reproduce; therefore, their offspring are more likely to inherit these adaptive traits.

Which of the following population sizes (N) of bison would be most affected by genetic drift? A. N = 10 B. N = 100 C. N = 1,000 D. N = 10,000 E. All the populations would be equally affected.

A. N = 10

How is natural selection different from other modes of evolution? A. Natural selection leads to the adaptation of a population to the environment. B. Allele frequencies do not affect natural selection. C. Natural selection requires the movement of individuals between populations. D. Natural selection does not occur in the native habitat of a population. E. None of the answers are correct.

A. Natural selection leads to the adaptation of a population to the environment.

How does the Church of England's initial response to Darwin's ideas compare with their current position? A. The Church was hostile to Darwin's work for many years but now accepts a scientific explanation of natural selection. B. In Darwin's time, the Church rejected all science. It now accepts science, but not evolution. C. The Church originally supported his work but now rejects it. D. The Church's position on evolution has not changed. E. The Church initially did not take a position on evolution but now accepts it.

A. The Church was hostile to Darwin's work for many years but now accepts a scientific explanation of natural selection.

A population of birds exhibits high diversity in alleles for feather color. Human settlers overhunt the population, causing a bottleneck effect. What might you predict about the population of birds that will exist after the bottleneck event? A. The population will have less diversity in feather color because the variety of alleles will be reduced. B. The population will be more fit than before the bottleneck event because only the fittest individuals will have survived and reproduced. C. The population will experience gene flow because the birds will begin breeding with members of other populations. D. The population will be prone to mutation because its members will begin inbreeding. E. None of the answers are correct.

A. The population will have less diversity in feather color because the variety of alleles will be reduced.

Both dragonflies and pigeons have wings. What insight can this fact give us about evolution? A. It suggests that dragonflies and pigeons share a common ancestor that had wings. B. It demonstrates that natural selection can result in similar solutions for similar needs independently. C. It is an example of descent with modification. D. It is not informative about evolution because the two species do not share a common ancestor. E. They are examples of homologous structures.

B. It demonstrates that natural selection can result in similar solutions for similar needs independently.

Which characteristic makes it least likely that an organism will be preserved in a fossil? A. It became extinct because a volcanic explosion covered its territory in ash. B. It lived in a tropical rain forest. C. It was abundant on the Eurasian continent at one time. D. It has a skeleton made of bones. E. It became extinct 5,000 years ago.

B. It lived in a tropical rain forest.

Who independently formulated the hypothesis of natural selection before Darwin published his work? A. Charles Lyell B. Thomas Malthus C. Alfred Russel Wallace D. Jean Baptiste Lamarck E. Josiah Wedgewood

C. Alfred Russel Wallace

Which of the following people proposed a theory of evolution before Charles Darwin did? A. Carl Linnaeus B. Charles Lyell C. Jean-Baptiste Lamarck D. Georges Cuvier E. Erasmus Darwin

C. Jean-Baptiste Lamarck

In his original work on natural selection, Darwin was unable to provide a mechanism to explain which of the following? A. selective pressures in the environment B. overproduction of offspring C. inheritance of traits D. founder effects E. competition for resources

C. inheritance of traits

Which of the following is a unique property of evolution by gene flow? A. There will be a change in allele frequency after several generations. B. It results in decreased variation. C. Alleles that help confer an advantage to an individual in a given environment will increase in frequency. D. It results in an increase in genetic variation. E. All answers are correct.

D. It results in an increase in genetic variation.

The fossil record provides direct evidence for evolutionary relationships among living organisms and the history of life. So why is it controversial? A. Many fossils were likely buried by scientists themselves. B. Fossil evidence suggests that the Earth is much older than what is written in religious texts. C. The fossil record suggests that species have gone extinct in the past. D. Large gaps in the record suggest there is not enough evidence to support descent with modification. E. All answers are correct.

D. Large gaps in the record suggest there is not enough evidence to support descent with modification.

Genetic drift can lead to populations with reduced genetic variation. What is one evolutionary consequence of reduced genetic variation? A. a decrease in stabilizing selection B. a decrease in sexual selection C. a decrease in environmental habitat D. a decrease in the potential for adaptation to changing environments E. a decrease in bottlenecks

D. a decrease in the potential for adaptation to changing environments

Imagine that you are hiking up a mountain and you notice that the trees are gradually becoming larger as you walk. You hypothesize that large size is an adaptation to colder habitats. Which of the following would NOT be informative in supporting or rejecting this hypothesis? A. planting small trees in cold conditions and large trees in warm conditions and measuring their survival and their offspring's size B. breeding the trees together experimentally to establish that tree size is a heritable trait C. measuring variation in the sizes of trees of the same species along several other mountains in the area D. measuring as many trees as possible along the mountain and plotting a graph of the relationship between temperature and tree size E. None of the other answers are correct because each one describes a test that would be informative.

D. measuring as many trees as possible along the mountain and plotting a graph of the relationship between temperature and tree size

Which of these phenomena best describes Darwin's 'descent with modification'? A. the change in a population of frogs after a new species of fish is added to their pond B. the origin of the first life forms to appear on Earth C. the dynamic nature of geologic features that occurs over time D. the similarities and differences between present-day species and ancestral species E. the grouping of various types of animals according to geographic or environmental features

D. the similarities and differences between present-day species and ancestral species

When does a hypothesis become a theory? A. when the results of an experiment confirm the predictions of the hypothesis B. when several experts state strong support for the proposed theory C. when five different observations support the hypothesis D. when several lines of evidence and multiple experiments all independently arrive at the same conclusion E. There is no difference between a hypothesis and a theory.

D. when several lines of evidence and multiple experiments all independently arrive at the same conclusion

Which observations formed the basis of Darwin's argument for the theory of natural selection explaining descent with modification outlined in On the Origin of Species? A. Galápagos finches show diverse traits, but they resemble a common ancestor on the mainland. B. his observations of the similarity between finches on the Galápagos Islands and the sparrows in England C. Earthquakes may cause sudden shifts in the Earth's crust, and these small changes may build up over time. D. Ocean currents near the Galápagos Islands influence species distribution among the islands. E. Individuals produce more offspring than are able to survive, and they vary in heritable traits.

E. Individuals produce more offspring than are able to survive, and they vary in heritable traits.

What was Darwin's interest in joining the mission of the H.M.S. Beagle? A. providing medical care for the captain and crew B. assisting local people living in earthquake-prone regions C. ship surgeon D. providing humanitarian aid to earthquake victims in Chile E. as a companion to the captain of the ship assisting in surveying the geology and biology of sites, primarily in South America

E. as a companion to the captain of the ship assisting in surveying the geology and biology of sites, primarily in South America

A forest fire kills 75% of a shrub population and 100% of the tall trees in an old-growth forest. After some time, the shrubs are much taller than those of a nearby population that was not affected by the fire. What evolutionary mechanism(s) could explain this difference? A. gene flow from the neighboring population B. selection for tall shrubs in the fire C. increased competition for resources relative to the adjacent population D. stabilizing selection and gene flow E. genetic drift and/or directional selection

E. genetic drift and/or directional selection

What influenced Darwin's ideas about the evolution of species during his journey on the surveying mission of the H.M.S. Beagle? A. his years of training as a naturalist prior to boarding the Beagle B. his observations that the finches of the Galápagos C. Islands all shared a unique beak shape on-board studies of comparative anatomy and physiology D. conversations with his traveling companion Alfred Russel Wallace E. his experience following a major earthquake in Chile

E. his experience following a major earthquake in Chile