Name: 
 

Unit 4: Evolution


Multiple Choice
Identify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
 

 1. 
Catastrophism, meaning the regular occurrence of geological or meteorological disturbances (catastrophes), was Cuvier's attempt to explain the existence of
a.
evolution.
b.
the fossil record.
c.
uniformitarianism.
d.
the origin of new species.
e.
natural selection.
 

 2. 
Darwin had initially expected the living plants of temperate South America to resemble those of temperate Europe, but he was surprised to find that they more closely resembled the plants of tropical South America. The biological explanation for this observation is most properly associated with the field of
a.
meteorology.
b.
embryology.
c.
vertebrate anatomy.
d.
bioengineering.
e.
biogeography.
 

 3. 
Both Darwin's and Lamarck's ideas regarding evolution suggest which of the following?
a.
All species were fixed at the time of creation.
b.
Acquired physical characteristics can be inherited.
c.
The giraffe's long neck is the result of artificial selection.
d.
The main mechanism of evolution is natural selection.
e.
The interaction of organisms with their environment is important in the evolutionary process.
 

 4. 
Which statement best describes how the evolution of pesticide resistance occurs in a population of insects?
a.
Individual members of the population slowly adapt to the presence of the chemical by striving to meet the new challenge.
b.
All insects exposed to the insecticide begin to use a formerly silent gene to make a new enzyme that breaks down the insecticide molecules.
c.
Insects observe the behavior of other insects that survive pesticide application, and adjust their own behaviors to copy those of the survivors.
d.
A number of genetically resistant pesticide survivors reproduce. The next generation of insects contains more genes from the survivors than it does from susceptible individuals.
e.
B and D only
 

 5. 
Members of two different species possess a similar-looking structure that they use in a similar fashion to perform the same function. Which information would shed the most light on whether these structures are homologous or whether they are, instead, the result 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 sizes of the structures in adult members of both species are similar in size.
d.
Both species are well adapted to their particular environments.
e.
Both species reproduce sexually.
 

 6. 
Which hypothesis of inheritance, common at Darwin's time, caused many to question the ability of natural selection to bring about adaptation in populations?
a.
particulate hypothesis
b.
blending hypothesis
c.
chromosomal hypothesis
d.
nucleic acid hypothesis
e.
proofreading hypothesis
 

 7. 
In peas, a gene controls flower color such that R = purple and r = white. In an isolated pea patch, there are 36 purple flowers and 64 white flowers. Assuming Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, what is the value of q for this population?
a.
0.36
b.
0.60
c.
0.64
d.
0.75
e.
0.80
 
 
Refer to the information below to answer the following questions.

You are studying three populations of birds. Population 1 has ten birds, of which one is brown (a recessive trait) and nine are red. Population 2 has 100 birds. In that population, ten of the birds are brown. Population 3 has 30 birds, and three of them are brown. Use the following options to answer the questions:

A.
Population 1
B.
Population 2
C.
Population 3
D.
They are all the same.
E.
It is impossible to tell from the information given.
 

 8. 
Which population is most likely to be subject to the bottleneck effect?
a.
A
b.
B
c.
C
d.
D
e.
E
 

 9. 
Genetic recombination is a crucial process in evolution. This statement is supported by the continuous existence of which of the following in evolving populations?
a.
sexual reproduction
b.
bacterial conjugation
c.
exchange of chromosome regions in meiosis (crossing over)
d.
A and C only
e.
A, B, and C
 

 10. 
Natural selection is most nearly the same as
a.
diploidy.
b.
gene flow.
c.
genetic drift.
d.
nonrandom mating.
e.
differential reproductive success.
 

 11. 
The Darwinian fitness of an individual is measured by
a.
the number of its offspring that survive to reproduce.
b.
the number of supergenes in the genotype.
c.
the number of mates it attracts.
d.
its physical strength.
e.
how long it lives.
 

 12. 
Cattle breeders have improved the quality of meat over the years by which process?
a.
artificial selection
b.
directional selection
c.
stabilizing selection
d.
A and B
e.
A and C
 

 13. 
Female wasps, which are protected by the use of a painful stinger, often make their presence conspicuous by rapidly moving their usually long antennae. These wasps are often mimicked by flies with short antennae who give the appearance of rapidly moving long antennae by waving their forelegs in front of their bodies. Which of the following statements concerning this behavior is not consistent with current evolutionary theory?
a.
Natural selection cannot fashion perfect organisms.
b.
The behavior of the flies may be a compromise if their short antennae are adapted for other uses.
c.
Variation in leg-waving behavior may have been present in ancestral populations and available for natural selection, while variation in antennae length may not have.
d.
Given enough time, these flies will develop longer antennae and become perfect mimics.
e.
Organisms are often locked into historic genetic constraints.
 

 14. 
Which of the following statements about species, as defined by the biological species concept, is (are) correct?
I.
Biological species are defined by reproductive isolation.
II.
Biological species are the model used for grouping extinct forms of life.
III.
The biological species is the largest unit of population in which successful reproduction is possible.
a.
I only
b.
II only
c.
I and III
d.
II and III
e.
I, II, and III
 
 
Use the options below to answer the following questions. For each description of reproductive isolation, select the option that best describes it. Options may be used once, more than once, or not at all.

A.
gametic
B.
temporal
C.
behavioral
D.
habitat
E.
mechanical
 

 15. 
mating fruit flies recognize the appearance, odor, tapping motions, and sounds of members of their own species, but not of other species
a.
A
b.
B
c.
C
d.
D
e.
E
 

 16. 
In a hypothetical situation, a certain species of flea feeds only on pronghorn antelopes. In rangelands of the western United States, pronghorns and cattle often associate with one another. If it should happen that some of these fleas develop a strong preference, instead, for cattle blood and mate only with fleas that, likewise, prefer cattle blood, it is possible that over time ____ will occur.

1.
reproductive isolation
2.
sympatric speciation
3.
habitat isolation
4.
prezygotic barriers
5.
cladogenesis
a.
1 only
b.
2 and 3
c.
1, 2, and 3
d.
1, 2, 3, and 5
e.
1 through 5
 

 17. 
Which of the following is a way that allopolyploidy can most directly cause speciation?
a.
It can improve success in island habitats.
b.
It can overcome hybrid sterility.
c.
It can change the mating behavior of animals.
d.
It can generate geographic barriers.
e.
It can produce heterochrony.
 
 
The following questions refer to this hypothetical situation:

A female fly, full of fertilized eggs, is swept by high winds to an island far out to sea. She is the first fly to arrive on this island, and the only fly to arrive in this way. Thousands of years later, her numerous offspring occupy the island, but none of them resemble her. There are, instead, several species each of which eats only certain type of food. None of the species can fly, for their flight wings are absent, and their balancing organs (i.e., the halteres) are now used in courtship displays. The male members of each species bear modified halteres that are unique in appearance to their species. Females bear vestigial halteres. The ranges of all of the daughter species overlap.
 

 18. 
In each fly species, the entire body segment that gave rise to the original flight wings is missing. The mutation(s) that led to the flightless condition probably affected the ____ genes, making the initial mutants examples of ____.
a.
thorax; complete metamorphosis
b.
exoskeleton; exaptations
c.
Hox; complete metamorphosis
d.
thorax; exaptations
e.
Hox; adaptive radiants
 

 19. 
Fly species W, found in a certain part of the island, produces fertile offspring with species Y. Species W does not produce fertile offspring with species X or Z. If no other species can hybridize, then species W and Y
a.
are still sibling species.
b.
shared a common ancestor more recently with each other than either did with the other two species.
c.
may merge into a single species if their hybrids remain fertile over the course of many generations.
d.
A and B only
e.
A, B, and C
 
 
The following questions are based on the observation that several dozen different proteins comprise the prokaryotic flagellum and its attachment to the prokaryotic cell wall, producing an incredibly complex structure.
 

 20. 
If the complex protein assemblage of the prokaryotic flagellum arose by the same general processes as those of the complex eyes of advanced molluscs (such as squids), then
a.
natural selection cannot account for the rise of the prokaryotic flagellum.
b.
ancestral versions of this protein assemblage were either less functional, or had different functions, than modern prokaryotic flagella.
c.
science should accept the conclusion that neither of these structures could have arisen by evolution.
d.
we can conclude that both of these structures must have arisen through the direct action of an intelligent "designer."
e.
Both A and C are true.
 

 21. 
A hypothetical mutation in a squirrel population produces organisms with eight legs rather than four. Further, these mutant squirrels survive, successfully invade new habitats, and eventually give rise to a new species. The initial event giving rise to extra legs would be a good example of
a.
punctuated equilibrium.
b.
species selection.
c.
habitat selection.
d.
changes in homeotic genes.
e.
allometry.
 

 22. 
The ostrich and the emu look very similar and live in similar habitats, however they are not very closely related. This is an example of
a.
divergent evolution.
b.
convergent evolution.
c.
exaptation.
d.
adaptive radiation.
e.
sympatric speciation.
 

 23. 
Panthera is a taxon at which level?
a.
order
b.
family
c.
phylum
d.
genus
e.
class
 
 
Match the types of tree diagrams below with the descriptions.

A.
phlyogenetic tree
B.
phylogram
C.
ultrametric tree
D.
A and B only
E.
A, B, and C
 

 24. 
Branch length indicates amount of change.
a.
A
b.
B
c.
C
d.
D
e.
E
 
 
The following questions refer to the hypothetical patterns of taxonomic hierarchy shown in the figure below.
unit4_evolution_files/i0310000.jpg
 

 25. 
If this figure is an accurate depiction of relatedness, then which taxon is unacceptable, based on cladistics?
a.
1
b.
2
c.
3
d.
4
e.
5
 
 
Use the figure below to answer the following questions.

Morphologically, Species A is very similar to four other species, B-E. Yet the nucleotide sequence deep within an intron in a gene shared by all five of these eukaryotic species is quite different in Species A compared to that of the other four species when one studies the nucleotides present at each position.

unit4_evolution_files/i0330000.jpg
 

 26. 
If the sequence of Species A differs from that of the other four species due to simple misalignment, then what should the computer software find when it compares the sequence of Species A to those of the other four species?
a.
The nucleotide at position 1 should be different in Species A, but the same in species B-E.
b.
The nucleotide sequence of Species A should have long sequences that are nearly identical to those of the other species, but offset in terms of position number.
c.
The sequences of species B-E, though different from that of Species A, should be identical to each other, without exception.
d.
If the software compares, not nucleotide sequence, but rather the amino acid sequence of the actual protein product, then the amino acid sequences of species B-E should be similar to each other, but very different from that of Species A.
e.
Computer software is useless in determining sequences of introns; it can only be used with exons.
 

 27. 
Species that are not closely related and that do not share many anatomical similarities can still be placed together on the same phylogenetic tree by comparing their
a.
plasmids.
b.
chloroplast genomes.
c.
mitochondrial genomes.
d.
homologous genes that are poorly conserved.
e.
homologous genes that are highly conserved.
 

 28. 
If the genes of yeast are 50% orthologous to those of humans, and if the genes of mice are 99% orthologous to those of humans, then one might validly expect ____ % of the genes of fish to be orthologous to the genes of humans.
a.
10
b.
30
c.
40
d.
50
e.
80
 

 29. 
Which process hinders clarification of the deepest branchings in a phylogenetic tree that depicts the origins of the three domains?
a.
binary fission
b.
mitosis
c.
meiosis
d.
horizontal gene transfer
e.
gene duplication
 
 
The graph in the figure below depicts the number of mutations occurring over time (mutation rate) in five possible patterns (A-E).

unit4_evolution_files/i0380000.jpg
 

 30. 
Which pattern of mutation rate would be most helpful if one desires to use a gene as a molecular clock to determine evolutionary relatedness of species that are closely related to each other?
a.
A
b.
B
c.
C
d.
D
e.
E
 



 
Check Your Work     Reset Help