Question 1

​According to ____, environmental pressures caused changes in body parts, which were directed by ____ and passed onto offspring.
A) Lyell; genetics​
B) ​Lamarck; fluida
C) ​Darwin; genetics
D) ​Cuvier; lineages
E) ​Aristotle; fluida

Accepted Answer

Lamarck's theory of evolution, known as Lamarckism, proposed that environmental pressures could lead to changes in body parts, which were then inherited by offspring. This idea, often summarized by the phrase "use and disuse," suggested that organisms could pass on traits acquired during their lifetime to their offspring.

Question 2

Scientists have determined that this crater was created by a(n) ____.  ​
A) subsidence event
B) comet
C) asteroid
D) volcanic eruption
E) earthquake

Accepted Answer

C

Question 3

Which early naturalist is known for describing nature as a continuum of organization?​
A) Darwin​
B) ​Plato
C) ​Mendel
D) ​Galileo
E) ​Aristotle

Accepted Answer

Aristotle is known for his work in biology and natural history, where he observed and classified organisms in a hierarchical structure, laying the groundwork for the concept of a continuum of organization in nature.

Question 4

A mass extinction in which the dinosaurs disappeared from Earth occurred approximately ____ years ago.
A) 6600
B) 66,000
C) 660,000
D) 66,000,000
E) 660,000,000

Accepted Answer

The mass extinction event that led to the disappearance of dinosaurs occurred approximately 66 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous Period.

Question 5

The accepted explanation for the disappearance of the dinosaurs is _____.​
A) the result of an asteroid impact​
B) ​the loss of food sources
C) ​competition by mammals
D) ​gas emissions from volcanoes
E) ​giant tsunamis caused by earthquakes

Accepted Answer

The prevailing scientific consensus attributes the mass extinction event that led to the disappearance of dinosaurs about 66 million years ago primarily to an asteroid impact. This event created the Chicxulub crater in the Yucatán Peninsula, leading to drastic environmental changes that dinosaurs could not survive.

Question 6

Biogeography is the study of the ____.
A) distribution of landmasses
B) patterns in the geographical distribution of species
C) patterns of species dispersal
D) patterns of population demographics
E) the biodiversity of plant and animal species

Accepted Answer

Biogeography is primarily concerned with the geographical distribution of species and ecosystems in geographic space and through geological time.

Question 7

The similar body shape and color of dolphins and sharks is an example of ____.​
A) variations in master genes​
B) ​homologous structures
C) ​anatomical homology
D) convergent evolution​
E) ​divergent evolution

Accepted Answer

Dolphins (mammals) and sharks (fish) have evolved similar body shapes and colors not because they share a recent common ancestor with these traits, but because they have adapted to similar environments. This is an example of convergent evolution, where unrelated species evolve similar traits.

Question 8

The discovery of identical plant and animal fossils by Alfred Wegener in 1915 on either side of the Atlantic Ocean is evidence of ____.​
A) analogous structures​
B) ​catastrophism
C) ​plate tectonics
D) ​comparative morphology
E) the great chain of being​

Accepted Answer

The discovery of identical plant and animal fossils on either side of the Atlantic Ocean supports the theory of plate tectonics, which explains how continents have moved over geological time to their current positions, once forming a supercontinent (Pangaea) that included land masses now separated by oceans.

Question 9

Aristotle's ideas on the natural world greatly influenced ____, who believed that the "great chain of being" extended from ____.​
A) ​Asian beliefs; lifeless forms to humans
B) Hindu systems of thought; plants to spiritual beings​
C) ​tribal beliefs; lifeless forms to spiritual beings
D) later European thinkers; plants to spiritual beings​
E) ​Thomas Malthus' treatise on population; lifeless forms to mammals

Accepted Answer

Aristotle's ideas on the natural world, including the concept of a hierarchical structure of life, influenced later European thinkers. This concept evolved into the idea of the "great chain of being," which posited a continuum from plants to spiritual beings.

Question 10

Which radical idea did Cuvier propose based on his studies of Earth's history?​
A) ​extinction of species
B) ​evolution of species
C) ​Earth as billions of years old
D) ​an unchanging Earth
E) ​static species composition

Accepted Answer

Cuvier proposed the concept of extinction based on his studies of the fossil record, noting that some species found in the fossil layers were no longer present in the current biosphere. This was a radical idea at the time, challenging the prevailing belief in the immutability of species.

Question 11

An asteroid impact on Earth is often associated with the formation of ____.​
A) large floods​
B) ​erupting volcanoes
C) ​magnetized rock
D) ​fossils
E) ​shocked quartz

Accepted Answer

Shocked quartz is a form of quartz that is modified by the intense pressure of an asteroid impact, making it a common indicator of such events.

Question 12

Individuals with adaptive traits tend to survive longer and produce more offspring, leading to ___ of the species.​
A) ​extinction
B) ​descent
C) ​artificial selection
D) ​evolution
E) a decrease in fitness​

Accepted Answer

This process is known as evolution, where individuals with adaptive traits that enhance survival and reproduction tend to pass those traits to the next generation, leading to changes in the species over time.

Question 13

Darwin incorporated Malthus' idea that _____ into his theory of evolution.
A) humans have the capacity to produce more offspring than the environment can support
B) populations will always produce more individuals than the environment can support
C) humans will only produce the number of individuals that the environment can support
D) populations will never produce offspring in stressful environments
E) populations under environmental stress will become extinct

Accepted Answer

Malthus' idea that populations will always produce more individuals than the environment can support is incorporated into Darwin's theory of evolution. This is because it provides a mechanism for natural selection to occur. If there are more individuals than the environment can support, then those individuals that are better adapted to their environment will be more likely to survive and reproduce.

Question 14

An unusual, worldwide formation of sedimentary rock called the K-Pg boundary sequence contains rare elements that are associated with a(n) ____.
A) volcanic eruption
B) worldwide flood
C) ice age
D) asteroid impact
E) large earthquake

Accepted Answer

The K-Pg boundary sequence is associated with an asteroid impact. This is evidenced by the presence of iridium, a rare element that is abundant in asteroids but rare on the Earth's surface, found in the K-Pg boundary layer around the world. This layer marks the boundary between the Cretaceous and Paleogene periods, about 66 million years ago, and is linked to the mass extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs and many other species.

Question 15

Lyell's ideas that gradual, everyday geologic processes had shaped Earth challenged the prevailing estimate of Earth's age at ____, because ____.​
A) 6 billion years old; only catastrophic geologic events could sculpt Earth's surface​
B) ​600 million years old; species needed millions of years to evolve
C) ​600,000 years old; nobody had observed the evolution of species
D) ​60,000 years old; geologic processes quickly change landscapes on Earth's surface
E) ​6,000 years old; such slow geologic processes would take millions of years to sculpt Earth's surface

Accepted Answer

Lyell's ideas of gradualism implied that Earth had to be much older than the then-common belief of 6,000 years, as the slow processes of erosion, sedimentation, and other geological changes would require millions of years to shape the planet's surface.

Question 16

____ is the study of body plans and structures.​
A) Evolution​
B) ​Biogeography
C) ​Comparative morphology
D) ​Comparative physiology
E) ​Natural history

Accepted Answer

Comparative morphology is the branch of biology that deals with the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features. This includes aspects like the shape, size, and structure of organs, tissues, and cells.

Question 17

Lyell's theory of uniformity proposed that ____.​
A) ​Earth was shaped by gradual, repetitive change
B) ​catastrophic geological events caused extinctions
C) ​geologic events that occurred to shape Earth no longer occur
D) ​all populations produce more offspring than their environment can support
E) ​natural selection drives evolutionary change

Accepted Answer

Lyell's theory of uniformitarianism, often summarized by the phrase "the present is the key to the past," posits that the same natural laws and processes that operate in the universe now have always operated in the universe in the past and apply everywhere in the universe. This means Earth's features were shaped over long periods by ongoing processes such as erosion, not by catastrophic events.

Question 18

What is an asteroid?​
A) ​dust and small rock orbiting around the sun
B) ​a ball of ice with a tail
C) a small planet​
D) ​a small sun with weak solar emissions
E) ​debris from a large planet

Accepted Answer

An asteroid is a small rocky body that orbits the sun, often considered a minor planet.

Question 19

____ is the degree of adaptation to a specific environment.​
A) ​Fecundity
B) Fertility​
C) Fitness​
D) Adaptation​
E) Natural selection​

Accepted Answer

Fitness is the term used to describe how well an organism is adapted to its environment, reflecting its ability to survive and reproduce.

Question 20

​After studying the wildlife in the Amazon basin, ____ proposed the theory of natural selection.
A) ​Cuvier
B) ​Lyell
C) ​Lamarck
D) ​Aristotle
E) Wallace​

Accepted Answer

Alfred Russel Wallace, along with Charles Darwin, independently conceived the theory of evolution through natural selection. Wallace's studies of the wildlife in the Amazon basin and the Malay Archipelago led him to formulate his ideas on natural selection.

Quiz 12: Evidence of Evolution

According to , environmental pressures caused changes in body parts, which were directed by and passed onto offspring.

Scientists have determined that this crater was created by a(n) ____.

Which early naturalist is known for describing nature as a continuum of organization?

A mass extinction in which the dinosaurs disappeared from Earth occurred approximately ____ years ago.

The accepted explanation for the disappearance of the dinosaurs is _____.

Biogeography is the study of the ____.

The similar body shape and color of dolphins and sharks is an example of ____.

The discovery of identical plant and animal fossils by Alfred Wegener in 1915 on either side of the Atlantic Ocean is evidence of ____.

Aristotle's ideas on the natural world greatly influenced , who believed that the "great chain of being" extended from .

Which radical idea did Cuvier propose based on his studies of Earth's history?

An asteroid impact on Earth is often associated with the formation of ____.

Individuals with adaptive traits tend to survive longer and produce more offspring, leading to ___ of the species.

Darwin incorporated Malthus' idea that _____ into his theory of evolution.

An unusual, worldwide formation of sedimentary rock called the K-Pg boundary sequence contains rare elements that are associated with a(n) ____.

Lyell's ideas that gradual, everyday geologic processes had shaped Earth challenged the prevailing estimate of Earth's age at , because .

____ is the study of body plans and structures.

Lyell's theory of uniformity proposed that ____.

What is an asteroid?

____ is the degree of adaptation to a specific environment.

After studying the wildlife in the Amazon basin, ____ proposed the theory of natural selection.

Quiz 12: Evidence of Evolution

​According to ____, environmental pressures caused changes in body parts, which were directed by ____ and passed onto offspring.

Scientists have determined that this crater was created by a(n) ____. ​

Which early naturalist is known for describing nature as a continuum of organization?​

A mass extinction in which the dinosaurs disappeared from Earth occurred approximately ____ years ago.

The accepted explanation for the disappearance of the dinosaurs is _____.​

Biogeography is the study of the ____.

The similar body shape and color of dolphins and sharks is an example of ____.​

The discovery of identical plant and animal fossils by Alfred Wegener in 1915 on either side of the Atlantic Ocean is evidence of ____.​

Aristotle's ideas on the natural world greatly influenced ____, who believed that the "great chain of being" extended from ____.​

Which radical idea did Cuvier propose based on his studies of Earth's history?​

An asteroid impact on Earth is often associated with the formation of ____.​

Individuals with adaptive traits tend to survive longer and produce more offspring, leading to ___ of the species.​