Unit Test: Evolution

Which scenario would most likely result in the extinction of one or more species?

A predatory fish is introduced into a lake, resulting in a dramatic decrease in the populations of smaller fish.

Which label belongs in the area marked X?

no longer used by species

A scientist has a fossil that was found in a layer of rock close to Earth's surface. He believes that the fossil is around 12,000 years old. Which method would best allow the scientist to confirm the actual age of the fossil?

using carbon/nitrogen absolute dating

Which is an example of an environmental influence that would most likely result in natural selection?

A food resource disappears in a pond, and some frogs in a population can eat the remaining food resource, while others cannot.

Which idea is most directly related to Lamarck's beliefs about evolution?

A frog's legs grow during life to help it jump farther, and it passes on the longer legs to its offspring.

Which statement best compares a trace fossil to a fossil that forms as a result of an entire organism being trapped in amber?

Both can possibly be used to study the organism's size.

Which example best illustrates a condition necessary for natural selection to occur?

Clownfish can lay a thousand eggs at a time.

Three organisms have four shared characteristics. They all have a backbone and scales, lay eggs, and walk on land. What can be determined based on this information alone?

Their common ancestor has the same four shared characteristics.

Nico is reading an article about two fossils that appear to have a common ancestor. Fossil X has a much more complex bone structure than fossil Y. What does this most likely suggest about the fossils?

Fossil X evolved later in Earth's history than fossil Y.

Darwin observed fossils of glyptodonts, which are now extinct. Living armadillos are the only animals remaining on Earth that are similar to glyptodonts. Armadillos live in the same places that glyptodonts lived. What did Darwin most likely conclude about the two types of animals?

Glyptodonts were early relatives of armadillos.

There are green and red bugs living in an area. As a result of an environmental change, birds that live in the same area grow in numbers. These birds eat the bugs, and they prefer the taste of the red bugs. How will the increase in the bird population most likely affect the bug population?

Green bugs will survive better and reproduce, so the bug population will evolve into mostly green bugs.

Which scientist most inspired Darwin to pursue his studies of evolution?

Malthus, who thought that populations could outgrow their food sources

Geralda is listing all of the conditions under which natural selection occurs. So far, she has listed: 1. The environment changes. 2. Organisms in a population have different traits. Which other condition should she include in her list?

Only some of the organisms survive and reproduce.

The diagram shows a fossil of an ancient whale skull and a skull of a present-day whale. The ancient whale is extinct and is believed to be an ancestor of the present-day whale. What do these skulls most likely show that supports Darwin's theory of evolution?

Populations change slowly over time.

Which statements best describe the cladogram?

Reptiles are the most primitive and Frogs are more closely related to fish than birds.

A scientist observes fossil evidence that leads her to believe that certain organisms have a common ancestor. Which observation most likely led to this conclusion?

She observed a fossil with skeletal structures similar to certain modern organisms.

Which has been observed in the study of embryology?

Some traits in certain embryos disappear as the embryo develops.

Kelli drew a diagram to compare cast and imprint fossils. Which label belongs in the area marked Y?

Takes millions of years to form.

Which is a feature of a cladogram?

The characteristics must be shared among the organisms.

Due to a genetic mutation, a mouse is born with fur that is not as light as fur in other mice of the same population. This makes it easier for the mouse to blend into the environment. How will this mutation most likely affect the mouse and the population?

The mouse with the mutation will survive and reproduce, and the trait will spread over future generations.

A population of ducks lives in an area that floods many times each year. Some of the ducks are better at finding food on dry land, while other ducks are better at finding food in wet, muddy areas. Eventually, the land around the lake permanently changes from dry soil to wet, marshy mud. How will this change to the land most likely affect the duck population?

The population will evolve so that most ducks are better at finding food in wet, muddy areas.

Which best explains why the siblings look more like each other and less like their grandparents?

The siblings are more closely related to each other than they are to their grandparents.

The diagram shows the embryological development of a species. Which is best supported by the diagram?

The species could be human because it has gill slits, limb buds, and a tail.

Birds and humans are theorized to have a common ancestor because they have homologous structures. Which evidence best supports this theory?

They both have tails as embryos.

The diagram shows a shell fossil. Which type of fossil is shown?

cast

Embryology is the study of the development of a/an , _________________ which is a fertilized egg attached to the wall of the mother's uterus.

embryo

Study the cladogram. Which organism is most closely related to the fish?

frog

Which organisms are most closely related?

species B and C