Which of the following statements reflects aspects of Hutton and Lyell's ideas of gradualism that were incorporated into Darwin's theory of evolution?
There is a struggle in populations for survival and reproduction.
Natural selection acts on heritable variation.
Small changes accumulated over vast spans of time can produce dramatic results.
Characteristics acquired gradually over an organism's lifetime can lead to changes in the characteristics of the next generation.
Homologous structures are found in organisms with a common ancestor.
2 . Which of the following is not an observation or inference on which natural selection is based?
There is heritable variation among individuals.
Poorly adapted individuals never produce offspring.
There is a struggle for limited resources, and only a fraction of offspring survive.
Individuals whose characteristics are best suited to the environment generally leave more offspring than those whose characteristics are less well suited.
Organisms interact with their environments.
3 . Analysis of forelimb anatomy of humans, bats, and whales shows that humans and bats have fairly similar skeletal structures, while whales have diverged considerably in the shapes and proportions of their bones. However, analysis of several genes in these species suggests that all three diverged from a common ancestor at about the same time. Which of the following is the best explanation for these data?
Humans and bats evolved by natural selection, and whales evolved by Lamarckian mechanisms.
Evolution of human and bat forelimbs was adaptive, but not for whales.
Natural selection in an aquatic environment resulted in significant changes to whale forelimb anatomy.
Genes mutate more rapidly in whales than in humans or bats.
Whales are not properly defined as mammals.
4 . Which of the following observations helped Darwin shape his concept of descent with modification?
Species diversity declines as distance from the equator increases.
Fewer species are found living on islands than on the nearest continents.
Birds can be found on islands that are farther from the mainland than the birds' maximum nonstop flight distance.
South American temperate plants are more similar to the tropical plants of South America than to the temperate plants of Europe.
Earthquakes reshape life by causing mass extinctions.
5 . Darwin synthesized information from several sources in developing his theory of evolution by natural selection. Which of the following did not influence his thinking?
Linnaeus' hierarchical classification of species
Lyell's Principles of Geology
observations of molecular homologies
examples of major changes in domesticated species produced by artificial selection
the distribution of species that he observed on the Gal谩pagos Islands and during his journey around South America
6 . In science, the term theory generally applies to an idea that
is a speculation lacking supportive observations or experiments.
attempts to explain many related phenomena.
is synonymous with what biologists mean by a hypothesis.
is considered a law of nature.
all of the above.
7 . Within a few weeks of treatment with the drug 3TC, a patient's HIV population consists entirely of 3TC-resistant viruses. How can this result best be explained?
HIV has the ability to change its surface proteins and resist vaccines.
The patient must have become reinfected with 3TC-resistant viruses.
HIV began making drug-resistant versions of reverse transcriptase in response to the drug.
A few drug-resistant viruses were present at the start of treatment, and natural selection increased their frequency.
The drug caused the HIV RNA to change.
8 . The smallest biological unit that can evolve over time is
a cell.
an individual organism.
a population.
a species.
an ecosystem.
9 . Which of the following ideas is common to both Darwin's and Lamarck's theories of evolution?
Adaptation results from differential reproductive success.
Evolution drives organisms to greater and greater complexity.
Evolutionary adaptation results from interactions between organisms and their environments.
Adaptation results from the use and disuse of anatomical structures.
The fossil record supports the view that species are fixed.
10 . Which of the following pairs of structures is least likely to represent homology?
the wings of a bat and the forelimbs of a human
the hemoglobin of a baboon and that of a gorilla
the mitochondria of a plant and those of an animal
the wings of a bird and those of an insect
the brain of a cat and that of a dog Sorry buddy, I am not doing your homework for you. 1 Characteristics acquired gradually over an organism's lifetime can lead to changes in the characteristics of the next generation. (Characteristics acquired over a lifetime are not necessarily genetic and therefore not inheritable)
2 Poorly adapted individuals never produce offspring. (Obviously they do but their offspring are less likely to survive)
3 Natural selection in an aquatic environment resulted in significant changes to whale forelimb anatomy.
4 South American temperate plants are more similar to the tropical plants of South America than to the temperate plants of Europe. (I think)
5 observations of molecular homologies
6 attempts to explain many related phenomena
7 A few drug-resistant viruses were present at the start of treatment, and natural selection increased their frequency. (I thought this the best response though the virus could have also mutated after the start of treatment.
8 a species
9 Evolutionary adaptation results from interactions between organisms and their environments.
10 the wings of a bird and those of an insect (since they are not descended from the same structures)
(do I get a star?) |
