Quiz

QUIZ

1. What did Anaximander believe that humans ultimately evolved from?

a. Plasma b. Fish c. Trees d. Plant forms

Answer: b. Anaximander thought that humans evolved from some type of ancient fish. He felt that life began in a wet environment and evolved into living on a drier environment.

2. What area of evolution was the focus of Empedocles in Ancient Greece?

a. The evolution of man from apes. b. The theory that animals and plants evolved separately. c. The theory of natural selection to cause monstrous forms of life to become extinct. d. The evolution of the different species over time.

Answer: c. Empedocles developed a theory that life was once filled with monstrous creatures that were selected out through natural selection but didn t understand that different species came out of the process.

3. What theorist in evolutionary theory was perhaps the most wrong in his theories?

a. Lamarck b. William Wells c. Saint-Hilaire d. Robert Grant

Answer: a. Lamarck developed Lamarckism, which was the idea that, if certain body parts were used most often in an organism s life, these were preferentially passed on to the environment.

4. What can best be described as artificial selection?

a. The idea that using a certain body part more could mean it gets passed down to the offspring. b. The process of selection that occurs in the breeding of domestic animals. c. The process of selection that occurs in a finite population. d. The process where certain species become extinct so others could take their niche.

Answer: b. The process of selection that occurs in the breeding of domestic animals is referred to as artificial selection.

5. The idea that all of a species’ characteristics are unchanging over time is called what?

a. Essentialism b. Rational thought c. Natural selection d. Naturalism

Answer: a. Essentialism has many different manifestations, depending on the field of study. In evolution, this is the idea that all species have characteristics that are unchanging over time.

6. Which ancient philosopher least believed in theology and the divine nature of things?

a. Plato b. Aristotle c. Empedocles d. Zeno

Answer: c. Each of these philosophers believed that there was divine design for how things are made and that every organism is made specifically so they are suited to their environment.

7. What was not a major contribution to science by George Cuvier?

a. The description that elephants, mastodons, and mammoths were different species. b. The idea that species could become extinct. c. The concept that plants evolved into animal species. d. The idea that catastrophism led to certain types of extinction.

Answer: c. Each of these was a contribution to science and especially the science of evolution that came out of George Cuvier s work. He looked at the evolution of plant life but did not suggest that animals came from plant life.

8. What is the dominant life form in the Cenozoic era as defined by John

Phillips?

a. Reptiles b. Invertebrates c. Plant life d. Mammals

Answer: d. In the Cenozoic era, the dominant organism has been mammals. This is different from the Paleozoic era and the Mesozoic era, which were dominated by marine invertebrates and reptiles, respectively.

9. The idea that a single mutation has the potential to alter offspring to such a degree that a new species can arise in a single step is called what?

a. Theistic evolution b. Neo-Lamarckism c. Orthogenesis d. Saltationism

Answer: d. In saltationism, the idea is that a single mutation has the potential to change offspring so they are of a different species than the parent.

10. According to the molecular clock hypothesis, what could help tell the time period between when two species diverged?

a. Their DNA genome b. Differences in related protein sequences c. Anatomic measurements between the species d. Differences in their archaeological patterns

Answer: b. Differences in protein sequences in related proteins in different species could tell the time when the species diverged from each other, according to the molecular clock hypothesis.