Question 1

Why are Australian mammals all marsupial while mammals on other continents are mostly placental?
A) The marsupial anatomy is better adapted to the environments of Australia than is the anatomy of placental mammals.
B) The placental anatomy is better adapted to the environments of North and South America than is the anatomy of marsupial mammals.
C) When the continents separated from one another, marsupials on Australia did not have the placental competitors that were present in the Americas.
D) Marsupials outcompeted the placental mammals in Australia.
E) Australian mammals have a different common ancestor than mammals elsewhere in the world. When the continents separated from one another through continental drift, marsupials on Australia did not have the placental competitors that were present in the Americas. The mix of plants and animals determine the course of evolution.

Accepted Answer

When the continents separated from one another, marsupials on Australia did not have the placental competitors that were present in the Americas, which allowed marsupials to thrive and evolve into a diverse range of species. This is known as the "marsupial takeover" theory. However, there may have been other factors at play as well, such as environmental and ecological differences between Australia and other continents.

Question 2

Which type of snail would be best suited to hide from predators if this population existed in a variable mixed patches of light and dark areas) environment?
A) The dark-colored snails would most easily hide from predators.
B) The light-colored snails would most easily hide from predators.
C) The multicolored variable) snails would most easily hide from predators.
D) All snails would equally hide well from predators anywhere in the environment.
E) All snails would equally be obvious to predators anywhere in the environment.

Accepted Answer

Variation is maintained through natural selection in variable habitats. Here, if snails were all light colored, they would only do well in the light environment and likewise for the dark snails in dark environments. However, by being multicolored, snails have a chance at surviving in either light or dark environments.

Question 3

The theory of evolution is supported by multiple sources of evidence described by many different people, and by a variety of fields of study.

Accepted Answer

When a theory like evolution is supported by multiple sources of evidence, it strengthens the theory.

Question 4

What do transitional fossils illustrate?
A) All life is related.
B) Shared ancestral traits.
C) Convergent evolution occurred in the ancient past.
D) Natural selection happened long ago just as it does today.
E) All transitional links are now extinct. Transitional fossils possess traits of two distinct groups illustrating that the two groups evolved from this common ancestor.

Accepted Answer

Transitional fossils show shared ancestral traits, indicating evolutionary links between different groups.

Question 5

As you hike up a mountain, you realize that the plants and animals present at the base are not the same as those at the top. This observation is the basis of
A) natural selection.
B) biogeography.
C) comparative anatomy.
D) geology.
E) paleontology. Observing that plants and animals are distributed differently among varying environments is the basis for the science of biogeography.

Accepted Answer

Observing that plants and animals are distributed differently among varying environments is the basis for the science of biogeography.

Question 6

Which one of the following statements is true?
A) Organisms always evolve the characteristics they need to survive.
B) Some individuals within the population must die for natural selection to occur.
C) Darwin used molecular biology as evidence of evolution.
D) Natural selection can only work on variation that already exists.
E) Convergent evolution produces homologous structures. Natural selection can only operate on existing variation.

Accepted Answer

Natural selection can only act on traits that exist within a population. It cannot create new traits or variations.

Question 7

Natural selection results in
A) increased genetic variation.
B) a decreased population size.
C) an increase in population size.
D) offspring that is better adapted to their current environment.
E) offspring that is better adapted to a future environment. The result of natural selection is that offspring are better adapted to their current environment than were their parents.

Accepted Answer

Natural selection favors traits that allow an organism to survive and reproduce in its current environment. The result is offspring that are better adapted to their current environment than their parents. Therefore, the option D is the correct answer. Options A, B, C, and E do not accurately describe the result of natural selection.

Question 8

The molecule cytochrome c supports the theory of evolution as biochemical evidence. Which of the following is not part of that evidence?
A) Cytochrome c has evolved multiple times among many species.
B) Cytochrome c has the same function in all organisms.
C) The genetic code for cytochrome c differs among species.
D) Cytochrome c is found in a variety of organisms from yeast to humans.
E) Cytochrome c plays a role critical to survival. Cytochrome c sequence comparisons show evolution in that this molecule has a common function important for cellular metabolism and it is present in many species but is variable among them. This pattern illustrates that cytochrome c evolved once in an ancestor and was passed to all of its descendents with modification through time unique to each species.

Accepted Answer

Cytochrome c did not evolve multiple times; it evolved once in a common ancestor and was passed down to various species, showing variations due to evolutionary changes.

Question 9

Given the comparative study of embryology, it is concluded that genes controlling embryonic development are essentially the same.

Accepted Answer

Similar embryos across many species indicates that the genes controlling embryonic development are basically the same.

Question 10

Many people refer to Alfred Russel Wallace as the "father of biogeography." Which of the following contributions led Wallace to achieve this title?
A) Wallace described the idea of evolution at the same time as Darwin.
B) Wallace had traveled around the world and collected specimens.
C) Wallace coined the term "survival of the fittest."
D) Wallace described a sharp line dividing Australian species from Asian species.
E) Wallace prompted Darwin to publish the book On the Origin of Species. Alfred Russel Wallace achieved the title "father of biogeography" due to his work in the Malay Archipelago, where he discovered the "line" that separated Australian species from Asian species inhabiting the islands.

Accepted Answer

Alfred Russel Wallace achieved the title "father of biogeography" due to his work in the Malay Archipelago, where he discovered the "line" that separated Australian species from Asian species inhabiting the islands. This description of a sharp line dividing the distribution of species in the region became known as the Wallace Line and is considered a landmark contribution to the field of biogeography. The other choices, such as describing evolution or coining the term "survival of the fittest," are also significant contributions to science but are not directly related to biogeography.

Question 11

When hiking high in the mountains, you find fossil marine shells lying about. This provides evidence that
A) someone brought the shells to the top of the mountain.
B) shelled marine animals live on the top of mountains.
C) very high ocean waves brought the shells to the top of the mountain.
D) the mountain top was once under the ocean and has been uplifted.
E) marine animals are not restricted to living in the ocean. Observing marine fossils on mountaintops indicate that the land used to be underwater and has subsequently been uplifted.

Accepted Answer

Finding fossil marine shells on the top of a mountain is evidence that the area was once underwater and has been uplifted to its current elevation. This is a common occurrence in mountainous areas, where geological processes such as tectonic uplift can push ancient seabeds high above sea level. It is unlikely that the shells were brought to the top of the mountain by humans or by ocean waves, as these explanations would require significant effort or unusual circumstances. Similarly, it is not plausible that shelled marine animals currently live on the top of the mountain, as they would require a suitable habitat and food sources.

Question 12

Environmental catastrophes are a requirement of natural selection.

Accepted Answer

Natural selection occurs with or without environmental catastrophes. Catastrophes are not a requirement of natural selection.

Question 13

The fact that DNA is the molecule containing the genetic code for all life on Earth is a part of
A) comparative anatomical evidence.
B) comparative embryological evidence.
C) biochemical evidence.
D) biogeographical evidence.
E) evidence of artificial selection. DNA, the molecule containing the genetic code for all life on Earth, is one of many examples of biochemical evidence of evolution.

Accepted Answer

Biochemical evidence includes similarities in DNA and amino acid sequences, which show common ancestry and provide evidence for evolution.

Answer: E 
 While artificial selection is not directly related to DNA, it is another example of how humans have influenced the evolution of organisms through selective breeding.

Question 14

A finch population with heritable variation in beak size arrives on an island where only large seeds are available as a food source. Describe the process of natural selection that would follow.
A) Finches with smaller beaks would grow larger beaks so that they could eat the large seeds. All birds will reproduce and the frequency of large beaks within the population will increase.
B) Finches with larger beaks will more easily eat the large seeds and are thus more likely to survive and produce offspring with similarly large beaks. The frequency of large beaks within the population will increase.
C) All of the finches with small and medium beaks will soon die; all of the finches with large beaks will survive. The frequency of large beaks within the population will increase.
D) Finches with smaller beaks would grow larger beaks so that they could eat the large seeds. Only these birds that grew larger beaks will reproduce and the frequency of large beaks within the population will increase.
E) Finches with larger beaks will more easily eat the large seeds and not need to reproduce. On an island where only large seeds are available for food, those birds with large beaks will more easily manipulate the food, outcompete those birds with smaller beaks, and have more time to reproduce. Birds with smaller beaks must work harder obtaining food and thus have less time to reproduce. The next generation of birds will be comprised mostly of birds with larger beaks.

Accepted Answer

Finches with larger beaks will more easily eat the large seeds and are thus more likely to survive and produce offspring with similarly large beaks. Over time, the frequency of large beaks within the population will increase due to natural selection favoring individuals with traits better suited to their environment.

Question 15

Interpreting this figure, which of the following is a similarity between Lamarck's proposal for evolution and Darwin's proposal? 
A) Both scenarios begin with a population of giraffes that contains variation.
B) Both scenarios expose the giraffes to an environmental pressure or challenge).
C) Both scenarios involve only an individual, not a population.
D) Both scenarios involve differential reproductive success.
E) Both scenarios involve giraffes of equal fitness.

Accepted Answer

Lamarck's idea of evolution involved individuals that changed form throughout their lifetimes to adapt to an environmental pressure. Darwin's idea of evolution involved populations that contain variation. Those individuals with favorable traits are better at surviving an environmental challenge and subsequently reproduce more than individuals lacking such traits. However, adapting to an environmental challenge is common in both concepts.

Question 16

Monkeys in the New World the Americas) have prehensile tails, strong flexible tails that grip branches and operate much like another hand. Old World Africa and Asia) monkeys do not have such a tail. The explanation for this is
A) monkeys in the Old World did not need a prehensile tail and therefore did not evolve one.
B) monkeys in the New World needed a prehensile tail and therefore evolved one.
C) the prehensile tail evolved in New World monkeys after the Americas separated from Africa and Asia.
D) the Americas are much older than Africa and Asia. There has not been enough time to evolve a prehensile tail in Africa and Asia.
E) a catastrophe occurred in the Old World that killed all prehensile tail monkeys leaving only non-prehensile tailed monkeys to survive. Monkeys evolved when the continents were connected. However, the prehensile tail evolved in New World monkeys after the Americas separated from Africa and Asia. What evolves on one continent does not automatically evolve on other continents.

Accepted Answer

The prehensile tail evolved in New World monkeys after the Americas separated from Africa and Asia, leading to different evolutionary paths.

Question 17

The artificial selection of different breeds of dogs is an example of speciation.

Accepted Answer

Speciation occurs naturally over a very long time. Breeds produced through artificial selection can still interbreed and remain one species.

Question 18

Many species of finches, tortoises, cacti, and iguanas are found on the Galápagos Islands and nowhere else in the world. Which physical attribute of these islands has not played a role in permitting such unique life forms to evolve?
A) There is geographic isolation from mainland species.
B) Multiple islands exist.
C) Food is plentiful and diverse on every island.
D) The islands are small compared to the South American mainland.
E) Each island has its own unique environment. Island clusters such as the Galápagos offer opportunities for multiple species to evolve since they are isolated, small, have different environments, and food is often either scarce or different from that available on the mainland.

Accepted Answer

The availability of plentiful and diverse food on every island is not a necessary condition for the evolution of unique species. In fact, limited or specialized food sources can drive evolutionary adaptations.

Question 19

When comparing chick and pig embryos, the similar eyes, pharyngeal pouches, and postanal tails are evidence of
A) analogy.
B) convergent evolution.
C) common ancestry.
D) biogeography.
E) artificial selection. The presence of similar structures among embryos of various species is evidence that all species inherited such traits from a common ancestor that also possessed these traits.

Accepted Answer

The presence of similar structures among embryos of various species is evidence of common ancestry, as it suggests that these traits were inherited from a common ancestor that also possessed these traits. This is different from analogy, which refers to the presence of similar structures in different species that are not inherited from a common ancestor, but instead evolved independently through convergent evolution. Biogeography and artificial selection are not relevant to the observation of similar structures among embryos of different species.

Question 20

The similarity of the fossil glyptodont to the living, modern armadillo is an example of comparative anatomy.

Accepted Answer

Comparative anatomy involves comparing anatomical structures of both living and extinct forms.

Quiz 14: Darwin and Evolution

Why are Australian mammals all marsupial while mammals on other continents are mostly placental?

Which type of snail would be best suited to hide from predators if this population existed in a variable mixed patches of light and dark areas) environment?

The theory of evolution is supported by multiple sources of evidence described by many different people, and by a variety of fields of study.

What do transitional fossils illustrate?

As you hike up a mountain, you realize that the plants and animals present at the base are not the same as those at the top. This observation is the basis of

Which one of the following statements is true?

Natural selection results in

The molecule cytochrome c supports the theory of evolution as biochemical evidence. Which of the following is not part of that evidence?

Given the comparative study of embryology, it is concluded that genes controlling embryonic development are essentially the same.

Many people refer to Alfred Russel Wallace as the "father of biogeography." Which of the following contributions led Wallace to achieve this title?

When hiking high in the mountains, you find fossil marine shells lying about. This provides evidence that

Environmental catastrophes are a requirement of natural selection.

The fact that DNA is the molecule containing the genetic code for all life on Earth is a part of

A finch population with heritable variation in beak size arrives on an island where only large seeds are available as a food source. Describe the process of natural selection that would follow.

Interpreting this figure, which of the following is a similarity between Lamarck's proposal for evolution and Darwin's proposal?

Monkeys in the New World the Americas) have prehensile tails, strong flexible tails that grip branches and operate much like another hand. Old World Africa and Asia) monkeys do not have such a tail. The explanation for this is

The artificial selection of different breeds of dogs is an example of speciation.

Many species of finches, tortoises, cacti, and iguanas are found on the Galápagos Islands and nowhere else in the world. Which physical attribute of these islands has not played a role in permitting such unique life forms to evolve?

When comparing chick and pig embryos, the similar eyes, pharyngeal pouches, and postanal tails are evidence of

The similarity of the fossil glyptodont to the living, modern armadillo is an example of comparative anatomy.