Module 3 Bio Quizzes
A gene will increase in a population, even if it causes an individual's fitness to be immediately decreased, if: A. an individual's "sacrificial" behavior leads to reciprocity and an overall fitness increase for that individual. B. the individual fails to get reciprocity from others. C. the individual acquires more relatives. D. that individual can produce more offspring. E. the individual allows itself to be eaten.
A
A radioactive isotope has a half-life of 5,000 years. A rock originally contained 16 grams of radioactive isotope and now contains 4 grams. Approximately how many years old is the rock? A. 10,000 years B. 75,000 years C. 15,000 years D. 3,750 years E. 5 million years
A
An example of chemical communication in animals would be: A. a silkworm moth releasing pheromones. B. the waggle dance of a honeybee. C. a balloon fish puffing up its body. D. a peacock displaying its tail feathers. E. a baboon baring its teeth.
A
Anatomical homology in vertebrate forelimbs is considered to be evidence for evolution because: A. similarities among vertebrate forelimbs suggest that they evolved from a common ancestor. B. differences among vertebrate forelimbs suggest that they evolved independently. C. the anatomy of the vertebrate forelimb is not currently under natural selection. D. such homologies do not exist in other areas of the vertebrate skeleton. E. all vertebrate skeletons have forelimbs.
A
Archaea and bacteria diverged: A. before archaea and eukarya diverged. B. after archaea and eukarya diverged. C. when archaea and eukarya diverged. D. when bacteria and eukarya diverged. E. before bacteria and eukarya diverged.
A
If evolution has occurred: A. the allele frequencies in a population have changed. B. the frequency of a physical trait in a population has changed. C. the mean value for a trait has increased or decreased. D. the individuals in a population have had differential reproductive success. E. one species has split into two distinct species.
A
In the population of 1,000 kangaroo rats shown above, what is the allele frequency of b? A. 0.867 B. 0.218 C. 0.379 D. 0.758 E. 0.762
A
In what order did the following structures or processes evolve? A. prokaryotic cell, photosynthesis, multicellularity, terrestriality B. prokaryotic cell, multicellularity, terrestriality, photosynthesis C. photosynthesis, prokaryotic cell, terrestriality, multicellularity D. photosynthesis, prokaryotic cell, multicellularity, terrestriality E. prokaryotic cell, terrestriality, multicellularity, photosynthesis
A
Macroevolution ___________, whereas microevolution ________________. A. takes place over long periods of time; takes place over relatively short periods of time B. occurs with physical structures; occurs with physiological traits C. is characterized by changes to an entire population; is characterized by changes within a population D. is characterized by changes in allele frequencies; is characterized by no change in allele frequencies E. occurs in eukaryotes; occurs in prokaryotes
A
Most mutations are: A. random with respect to the environmental needs of the organism in which the mutation takes place. B. occurring more often now than in the past. C. beneficial or neutral to the organism in which the mutation takes place. D. responsible for gene flow. E. accounted for by the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.
A
Phase 1 of the creation of life on earth was the formation of small molecules containing carbon and hydrogen. Phase 2 was the ___________________. Phase 3 was the development of a membrane, enabling metabolism and creating the first cells. A. formation of self-replicating, information-containing molecules B. formation of small molecules containing ammonia and methane C. cooling of the earth to a temperature conducive to life D. increase in the amount of atmospheric oxygen E. development of a nucleus
A
The argument that a behavior has evolved because it benefits the species or population as a whole is an argument for: A. group selection. B. artificial selection. C. group living. D. kin selection. E. reciprocal altruism.
A
The biological species concept is useful for describing: A. plants and animals B. bacteria C. asexual species D. ring species E. fossil species
A
The dark gray dots along the trunk of this evolutionary tree represent both common ancestors and: A. speciation events. B. convergent traits. C. bimodal distribution. D. analogous traits. E. branches.
A
The notochord that characterizes all chordates at some stage in their life cycle provides all of the following functions, except:a A. point of attachment for legs. B. making locomotion possible by C. stiffening when muscles contract D. an axis around which the vertebral column develops.a base for E. trunk muscles.a longitudinal stiffening of the main body axis.
A
Two adaptations are central to the ecological diversity of insects: (1) the ability to fly and (2): A. metamorphosis. B. segmented bodies. C. antennae. D. joined appendages. E. multiple pairs of legs.
A
What is the best measure of an organism's fitness? A. the number of fertile offspring it produces B. its size, relative to other members of the same species C. the number of mutations it passes along to its offspring D. the amount of food that the organism eats E. its size, relative to its predators
A
Which short description best describes the body plan of modern sponges? A. an aggregation of cells built around a water canal system B. a gel-like consistency with cells interspersed, making up a semi-solid structure C. a complete gut with an anterior mouth and posterior anus D. a mouth connected to a blind sac in which digestion occurs E. a complete gut with one opening serving as both mouth and anus
A
Which statement about genetic drift is true? A. Genetic drift can obscure the deterministic process of selection. B. The impact of genetic drift is much greater in large populations. C. Genetic drift is determined through natural selection. D. Genetic drift is possible via the founder effect but is impeded by the bottleneck effect. E. Genetic drift occurs naturally at some level in very few populations.
A
All living organisms have evolved from a single common ancestor. The existence of which molecule lends the greatest support to this statement? A. DNA B. ribosomal RNA C. messenger RNA D. proteins E. transfer RNA
B
Although coral polyps can catch prey using their cnidocytes, they obtain most of their nutrition from algae, called __________, that live symbiotically with the polyps. A. medusae B. zooxanthellae C. platyhelminthes D. cnidarians E. anemones
B
An optimal strategy for an animal in procuring food would involve which of the following: A. spending any amount of energy as long as it gets the nutrients it needs. B. securing essential nutrients. C. ignoring the risk of predation during foraging and feeding. D. minimizing energy gained. E. maximizing energy expended.
B
Choose the statement that correctly describes the changes in genetic variability from the four agents of evolution. A. Mutation, migration, and natural selection increase variation, whereas genetic drift decreases variation over time. B. Mutation and migration lead to increased variation, whereas genetic drift and natural selection decrease variation over time. C. Mutation is the only agent of evolution that increases genetic variation over time. D. Mutation, genetic drift, and migration lead to increased variation, whereas natural selection decreases variation over time. E. Mutation and natural selection lead to increased variation, whereas migration and genetic drift decrease variation over time.
B
From which of the species listed in the figure are we, Homo sapiens, least likely to be directly descended? A. Homo ergaster B. Australopithecus (robust) C. Homo habilis D. Australopithecus (gracile) E. Homo heidelbergensis
B
Human birth weight is a classic example of the results of: A. genetic drift. B. stabilizing selection. C. genotype by environmental interaction. D. disruptive selection. E. directional selection.
B
If a young goose sees only a human in the first several days after birth, it will follow that human around as if it were its mother. What behavioral concept best describes this? A. fixed action pattern B. prepared learning C. irrational behavior D. innate behavior E. migration behavior
B
In most mammals, as well as many other species, males generally compete for females. The best explanation for this phenomenon is: A. males are more aggressive. B. females have a higher parental investment. C. mammals engage in external fertilization. D. females, on average, have higher fitness. E. males, on average, have higher fitness.
B
Some general evolutionary change trends in animals include: A. lower surface area-to-volume ratio, radial symmetry, and mutualism with photosynthetic organisms. B. larger body size, bilateral symmetry, and an enclosed, fluid-filled body cavity. C. bilateral symmetry, chitinous cell walls, and the ability to digest cellulose. D. greater surface area-to-volume ratio, radial symmetry, and diffusion to move nutrients in the body. E. radial symmetry, motility, and filter feeding..
B
The conditions on earth around the time of the origin of life were very different from those of today. Most of the molecules present were likely produced by volcanic eruptions. Critical to the origin of life was the formation of small molecules containing which of the following? A. oxygen and hydrogen B. carbon and hydrogen C. ammonia and methane D. nitrogen and methane E. sulfur and carbon
B
When Homo sapiens first left Africa, they: A. were the only genus of Homo on earth. B. encountered Homo erectus in Java. C. were wiped out, but succeeded on subsequent attempts. D. encountered Homo neanderthalensis in South-East Asia. E. headed east but not west.
B
When black widow spiders mate, the male breaks off his sexual organ inside the female, preventing her from ever mating again. This is an extreme example of: A. a nuptial gift. B. mate guarding. C. kin selection. D. a courtship ritual. E. female choosiness.
B
Which statement about bacteria is true? A. Bacteria are not a monophyletic group. B. They are responsible for morning breath. C. They are all single-celled with one or more linear molecules of DNA. D. Most bacteria cause disease. E. The biomass of bacteria is smaller than that of all the plants and animals.
B
Which statement is true about evolutionary success? A. Humans are the crowning achievement of evolution. B. Any species that arises on earth is evolutionarily successful. C. Darwin said that some species are better than others. D. A successful organism can find food, escape predators, and reproduce. E. Vertebrates are the most evolutionarily successful.
B
Which structure most likely represents homology? A. the tail of a monkey and the tail of a koala B. the reduced eyes of a cave fish and the reduced eyes of a burrowing salamander C. the bill of a platypus and the bill of a duck D. a bear's fur and human hair E. a bat's wing and a moth's wing
D
A breeder of thoroughbreds selects only the fastest horses for breeding stock. This is an example of artificial ____________ selection. A. frequency-dependent B. disruptive C. directional D. convergent E. stabilizing
C
A population's environment changes rapidly. In these situations: A. natural selection will rapidly adapt the organisms in a population to the new environment. B. extinction will occur. C. natural selection may be too slow to adapt the organisms in a population to such a moving target. D. the rate of somatic mutations increases. E. sterility of the population is likely.
C
Based specifically on the evolutionary tree presented here, which of the following constitutes a monophyletic group? A. fungi and animals B. protists and bacteria C. archaea and eukarya D. plants and animals E. bacteria and fungi
C
Egg-retrieval behavior in geese exemplifies the principle that: A. animals consciously act in order to improve their reproductive success. B. any stimulus can trigger a fixed action pattern. C. an animal may exhibit complex-appearing behaviors when they are actually following simple behavioral rules. D. animals learn complex behaviors by watching and imitating others. E. innate behaviors may vary widely from individual to individual in a population.
C
Polygyny is often positively correlated with: A. sexual dimorphism and variation in female reproductive success. B. equal parental investment and equal choosiness in mate selection. C. sexual dimorphism and variation in male reproductive success. D. territoriality and mate guarding. E. sexual monomorphism and variation in male reproductive success.
C
Soon after amniotic vertebrates appeared, two different evolutionary lineages began to diverge. They are the: A. amphibians and the reptiles. B. mammals and the birds. C. mammals and the reptiles. D. dinosaurs and the birds. E. crocodiles and the fish.
C
The taxonomic rank that includes species but not families is: A. variety. B. domain. C. genus. D. class. E. kingdom.
C
Under what circumstances does reciprocal altruism appear in unrelated individuals? A. when the benefits to the donor are significantly greater than the costs to the recipient B. when one individual gives up something of high value in exchange for frequent low-value returns in the future C. when there are repeated interactions with opportunities for all individuals to be the donor and recipient of the altruistic act D. Reciprocal altruism only appears when there are frequent interactions between close kin, and the outcome is an increase in relative fitness. E. when there is anonymity among individuals in a population, so no one individual can be singled out and recognized
C
Under what conditions would an allele increase in a population? A. The allele causes easily "faked" behavior. B. The allele increases the fitness of the population but not the individual. C. The allele leads to deceptive behavior that increases individual fitness. D. The allele decreases the clarity of a communicative behavior. E. The allele leads to honest behavior that decreases individual fitness.
C
When first used in medicine in the 1940s, penicillin was uniformly effective in killing the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. Today, ____________________ has led to an increase in antibiotic-resistant alleles, and humans are increasingly at risk from untreatable Staphylococcus aureus infections. A. natural selection in human populations B. the substitution of methicillin for penicillin C. natural selection in Staphylococcus aureus populations D. molecular genetics E. unsanitary conditions in hospitals
C
Which statement about extinctions is true? A. Fewer families of organisms exist on earth today than there ever have been. B. During the most recent mass extinction, the cave man was exterminated. C. Extinctions are always occurring naturally. D. Two documented mass extinctions have occurred in the last 500 million years. E. During "The Great Dying," a smaller percentage of the earth's families went extinct than at any other time.
C
Which statement describes a limitation of using the fossil record to study evolution? A. Because fossils must be embedded within rocks, only the soft parts of organisms can become fossilized. B. Because fossils are found in rocks on land, only fossils from terrestrial species exist. C. Fossils only form under a very specific and rare set of environmental conditions. D. Fossils representing transitional forms are nonexistent. E. Because the formation of fossils only occurs under extremely high pressures, only fossils of marine organisms are preserved.
C
Which statement is true about eukaryotes? A. Most eukaryotes are unicellular. B. They are classified into six kingdoms. C. They split from archaea with the development of organelles. D. One of the eukaryotic kingdoms contains microscopic members. E. The kingdoms of eukaryotes are equally diverse.
C
Which statement is true of reptiles and amphibians? A. Reptiles are endotherms, whereas amphibians are ectotherms. B. Reptiles can't live in water, whereas all amphibians can live in water throughout their lives. C. Reptiles have amniotic eggs, whereas amphibians do not. D. Reptiles, not amphibians, were the earliest animal group to evolve lungs. E. Reptiles are less closely related to whales, whereas amphibians are more closely related to whales.
C
While traveling around the world on the HMS Beagle, Charles Darwin made which of the following observations? A. All the island species of finch were much larger and fitter than the mainland finches. B. Only the largest and most fit organisms tended to survive. C. Island species of finch closely resembled mainland finches. D. Organisms on islands tended to have fewer offspring. E. The fossils of the Galápagos tortoises were distinctly different from any extant species.
C
Darwin's observations while traveling on the Beagle helped him develop which theory? A. Genes can mutate. B. The number of current species remains constant. C. The Earth is about 6,000 years old. D.Species might change over time. E. The Earth is mostly unchanging.
D
During breeding season, the sight of a red belly on a male stickleback fish will trigger an antagonistic response in other males. This is an example of: A. aggressive conditioning. B. a learned behavior. C. communication. D. a fixed action pattern. E. parental behavior.
D
It is thought that modern-day humans (Homo sapiens) evolved from the species Homo heidelbergensis approximately 250,000 to 400,000 years ago; however, we do not know the exact point when H. heidelbergensis became H. sapiens. This example illustrates which reason why the biological species concept sometimes falls short? A. difficulty classifying ring species B. difficulty classifying fossil species C. difficulty classifying hybridizing species D. difficulty determining when one species changed into another E. difficulty classifying asexual species
D
Lampreys and hagfishes: A. have lobed fins. B. are more closely related to ray-finned fish than they are to cartilaginous fish. C. are two species that only recently evolved. D. are the only extant jawless vertebrates. E. are the only extant air-breathing fish.
D
Life is best defined as the ability to: A. reproduce and breathe oxygen gas. B. find and metabolize food for energy. C. move and escape predators. D. replicate and conduct metabolic activity. E. convert solar energy into food.
D
Long periods of relatively little evolutionary change punctuated by bursts of rapid change describe: A. gradual change. B. reproductive isolation. C. speciation. D. punctuated equilibrium. E. microevolution.
D
Mass extinctions, colonization events, and evolutionary adaptations all tend to trigger which of the following? A. increase in competition for resources B. convergent evolution C. increase in background extinctions D. adaptive radiation E. reduction of range of habitats where species can roam
D
Natural selection can only act on traits that: A. are adaptive. B. confer a reproductive advantage. C. are acquired in an individual's lifetime. D. are heritable. E. are dominant.
D
The energy that a parent puts into the growth, feeding, and care of offspring is called: A. the mating system. B. reproductive success. C. reciprocal altruism. D. reproductive investment. E. total reproductive output.
D
The migration of reproductive individuals between populations results in a movement of alleles called: A. hybridization. B. disruptive selection. C. directional selection. D. gene flow. E.recombination.
D
The theory of kin selection holds that an altruistic-appearing individual maximizes its own "inclusive fitness" by helping other individuals with whom it shares genetic material. In which species is such altruistic-appearing behavior most likely to evolve? A. vampire bats, which live in a large community of bats, most of which are not related B. honey badgers, one of the few tool-using animals C. red-tailed hawks, which live in male-female pairs to raise chicks and rarely interact with other hawks D. honey bees, which live in a hive of mostly sisters from the same mother queen bee E. vampire squid, which are primarily solitary animals
D
Using the given starvation resistance curve for fruit flies, what is the maximum number of hours an individual fruit fly could survive without food after an experimenter has selected for starvation resistance on this population over thousands of generations? A 60 hours B. 20 hours C 35 hours D. Theoretically, there is no maximum number of hours. E. 50 hours
D
Which feature of echinoderms means that they are more closely related to humans than any other invertebrate group? A. The structure of their nervous system is similar to humans. B. They use tube feet for locomotion. C. They are radially symmetrical (as adults). D. They are deuterostomes. E. Their skeletal structure is similar to humans.
D
Which is a common characteristic of the arthropod phylum? A. tentacles B. radially symmetrical C. post-anal tail D. chitinous exoskeleton E. radula
D
Which of these is a member of the segmented worms (phylum Annelida)? A. gastropods B. roundworms C. platyhelminthes D. oligochaetes E. nematoda
D
Which of these statements about adaptation is true? A. Evolution in general, and natural selection specifically, guides organisms toward perfection. B. A mutation creating a new "perfect" version of a gene will arise naturally, given enough time. C. Adaptation refers only to the process by which organisms become better matched to their environment. D. Natural selection can produce adaptation; however, it does not necessarily lead to organisms perfectly adapted to their environment. E. Alleles that cause organisms to have the traits that make them most fit in that environment at that time tend to decrease in frequency.
D
Which statement best describes the difference between natural and artificial selection? A. Artificial selection has produced many unwanted genotypes; natural selection has not. B. Natural selection's effectiveness is limited by physiological and developmental constraints. C. Natural selection works on all species; artificial selection will only work on lab-reared species. D. Natural selection can act without the input of humans; artificial selection requires some human input. E. Charles Darwin understood natural selection; however, he was unaware of artificial selection in his time.
D
Which statement is true? A. Thomas Malthus suggested that all species were not created at the same time. B. Charles Darwin calculated that the Earth was more than 75,000 years old. C. Georges Cuvier suggested that the Earth was much older than previously believed D. Charles Lyell argued that geological forces had gradually shaped the Earth and continued to do so. E. Georges-Louis Leclerc documented fossil discoveries in the 1790s and showed that extinction had occurred.
D
An older female Belding's ground squirrel has been transplanted from her home colony to a new colony; therefore, she has no close kin nearby. Nevertheless, she risks her life to make an alarm call, warning the colony of an approaching predator. This is an example of: A. a sign stimulus. B. a selfless act. C. a fixed action pattern. D. group selection. E. maladaptive behavior.
E
Bred in captivity, the "liger" is a cross between a tiger and a lion. They are healthy and fertile. According to the biological species concept, the existence of the liger demonstrates that: A. tigers and lions are the same species. B. the interbreeding of two species can create a new species. C. tigers and lions are both large cats. D. in the wild, lions and tigers are prevented from mating by a postzygotic barrier. E. tigers and lions are different species because they do not mate in the wild.
E
Female hanging flies will only mate with males who bring them large offerings of food, or nuptial gifts. Which one of the general rules of female choosiness in mate selection does the example illustrate? A. Mate only with a male who controls valuable resources. B. Mate only with a male who has a valuable physical attribute. C. Mate only with a male after subjecting him to a courtship ritual. D. Mate only with a male who engages in reciprocal altruism. E. Mate only with a male who contributes a large parental investment up front.
E
Sexual dimorphism is a good predictor of mating systems because: A. mating systems cause variance in reproductive success, which results in sexual dimorphism. Therefore, when one is known, the other can be inferred. B. when males are bigger than females, males are able to contribute more to their offspring than females, resulting in polyandry. Therefore, sexual dimorphism determines the mating system. C. sexual dimorphism causes a difference in parental investment between males and females, which results in variance in reproductive success. Therefore, when one is known, the other can be inferred. D. only polygynous mating systems exhibit sexual dimorphism. Therefore, if sexual dimorphism is present, the mating system is known. E. the degree of sexual dimorphism and the type of mating system present in a species are both determined by the difference in parental investment between the male and female. Therefore, when one is known, the other can be inferred.
E
The graph shows reproductive output data for male and female fruit flies. Why is there no increase in the number of offspring produced by females that have access to additional males beyond the first? A. The fertility window for female fruit flies is very short. B. Females only ever mate with one male. C. Females are limited in their access to males and, therefore, rarely come in contact with more than one. D. Females are limited in offspring production by the availability of male sperm. E. If a single male produces more sperm than the number of eggs produced by the female, access to more sperm does not result in more offspring.
E
The group of mollusks that contains the nautilus species as well as squids and octopuses is called: A. gastropods B. annelids C. nudibranches D. bivalves E. cephalopods
E
The longer that two species have been evolving on their own, the: A. greater the differences in how they look. B. fewer the genetic differences that accumulate between them. C. more likely their hemoglobin will be composed of the same sequence of amino acids. D. more likely they will share a common embryology. E. greater the genetic differences that accumulate between them.
E
The study of the distribution patterns of living organisms around the world is called: A. ecology. B. molecular biology. C. geography. D. phylogeny. E> biogeography.
E
Two important features that distinguish mammals from any other type of animal are: A. sweat glands and hair. B. placentas and mammary glands. C. scales and mammary glands. D. placentas and hair. E. hair and mammary glands.
E
Which behavior is indicative of higher intelligence? A. a chimpanzee using a stone to crack the hard shells of nuts B. an octopus opening a glass jar with its tentacles C. a red squirrel hiding its food in autumn and then retrieving it in winter D. a spider building an elaborate web to capture its prey E. The concept of intelligence cannot be applied objectively to other species.
E
Which statement is true about all animals? A. All are sessile at some point in their life cycles. B. All are capable of conducting photosynthesis. C. Some are unicellular, whereas others are multicellular. D. All are capable of reproducing asexually. E. All acquire energy by eating other organisms.
E
