63 minute read
Course Questions and Answers
1. Who first developed a scientific method for the naming of organisms in the environment?
a. Carl Linnaeus b. Comte de Buffon c. James Hutton d. Erasmus Darwin
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Answer: a. Carl Linnaeus was an 18th century botanist, who first described the different species in terms of their genus and species names. He used physical similarities to decide the different relationships between the species.
2. According to Erasmus Darwin, what led to the survival of a species?
a. Better adaptation to the environment b. Beneficial mutations with a species c. Better genetic makeup d. Competition among males of a species
Answer: d. Erasmus Darwin had some unique ideas about reproduction and embryonic development. He believed that competition among males of a species led to the survival of the fittest among them.
3. Which scientist did not believe in natural selection?
a. Empedocles b. James Hutton c. Carl Linnaeus d. William Wells
Answer: c. Each of these scientists supported the ideas of natural selection, while Carl Linnaeus was mainly responsible with naming conventions for different species.
4. Who did Charles Darwin work with in order to give rise to his theories on natural selection?
a. Lamarck b. William Wells c. Robert Chambers d. Alfred Wallace
Answer: d. Charles Darwin worked with Alfred Wallace to publish a paper on natural selection in 1958.
5. Which scientist was the first to back up the theory of natural selection through demonstrative research?
a. Robert Chambers b. Edward Blythe c. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire d. Charles Darwin
Answer: d. Charles Darwin did extensive research that proved his theories of natural selection by studying species on the Galapagos Islands.
6. What is not one of the more recent developments in evolution?
a. Horizontal gene transfer b. Natural selection c. Molecular genetics d. Three-domain theory
Answer: b. Each of these is a recent development in evolutionary thought except for natural selection, which has been around for hundreds of years.
a. Origen of Alexandria b. Augustine of Hippo c. Aristotle d. Pliny the Elder
Answer: b. Augustine of Hippo was relatively revolutionary. He believed in the gradual transition of life over time and believed that later living things arose from the decomposition of earlier forms of life.
8. In Christian philosophy, what was not true of the great chain of being?
a. God is at the top of the chain b. Living things cannot change their position in the chain c. Hell is at the top of the chain d. Amoebae are the lowest form of animal life
Answer: d. According to the great chain of life, each of these is a part of the chain except that worms were considered the lowest form of animal life. Living things cannot change their position on the chain.
9. Who first proposed that there was no conflict between theology and natural evolutionary processes?
a. Thomas Aquinas b. Johann Herder c. Gottfried Leibniz d. Pierre Maupertuis
Answer: a. Thomas Aquinas did not believe there was a conflict between theological beliefs and natural evolutionary processes. He believed that God set the stage with the idea that the natural processes would follow in a non-interventionist way.
10. Who believed that evolution was based on gradual geological processes rather than on cataclysmic events?
a. George Cuvier b. Charles Lyell c. Adam Sedgwick d. William Buckland
Answer: b. Each of these theorists believed mainly that cataclysmic events contributed to evolutionary changes except for Charles Lyell, whose work was more based on gradual processes in geology rather than catastrophes in nature.
11. What theory immediately preceded the idea of evolution?
a. Transmutation of species b. Essentialism c. Natural theology d. Lamarckism
Answer: a. The transmutation of species looked at the different ways that species changed over time, which immediately preceded the main theory of evolution.
12. What did the finding of the Archaeopteryx do to help define evolution?
a. Explained the evolution of horses b. Indicated the extinction of dinosaurs c. Showed the origins of bird species from reptiles d. Showed the origin of certain insect species
Answer: c. The discovery of the Archaeopteryx species helped to define the ways in which birds evolved from reptiles.
13. What was not an area of study Darwin himself was involved in?
a. Psychology b. Geology c. Fossils d. Zoology
Answer: a. Darwin studied many things as part of his research into the origin of species, including geology, the study of fossils, and zoology. He gathered many fossil and zoological specimens.
14. What type of animal did Darwin study the most on the Galapagos Islands?
a. Sea turtles b. Fish c. Finches d. Insects
Answer: c. Darwin collected numerous finches on the Galapagos Islands and actually found about twelve different species of this type of bird on the island.
15. What is another name for the ability to select a mate among other mates that might be similar?
Answer: d. Sexual selection is the ways in which organisms select a mate based on features of the mate that make him or her more capable of having genetically successful offspring.
16. What is the selection of certain traits in an organism that make it better at reproducing either more or better offspring successfully?
Answer: b. Fecundity selection is the selection of certain traits in an organism that make it better at reproduction in general and at making more successful offspring.
17. What is it called when natural selection leads to the formation of an ecological niche for a specific organism?
a. Microevolution b. Speciation c. Macroevolution d. Adaptive evolution
Answer: a. The actual formation of an ecological niche for a specific organism in a population is referred to as microevolution.
18. The formation of a new species through natural selection is specifically referred to as what?
a. Microevolution b. Formation of an ecological niche c. Macroevolution d. Adaptive evolution
Answer: c. Macroevolution is a part of speciation, which is the formation of a new species through natural selection.
19. What is true of an organism’s trait that is selected against?
a. It decreases reproductive success b. It increases reproductive success c. It often kills the organism prematurely d. It prolongs the longevity of the organism
Answer: a. Traits that are selected against will decrease the organism s reproductive success. Those that are selected for will increase reproductive success.
20.In Manchester, England, the industrial revolution caused lichen to disappear from trees. What did this phenomenon select for in this environment?
a. The development of light-colored moths. b. The development of long-legged beetles. c. The development of dark-colored moths. d. An increase in birds that ate moths as part of their diet.
Answer: c. When lichen disappeared from trees, the bark was dark and dark-colored moths were selected for and became more predominant. This disappeared when the Clean Air Act reversed the process to allow for the lichenification of trees again.
21. What is not true of competition in an environment?
a. It can happen within or between species. b. It is more prevalent where the territory is small. c. It depends on limited resources. d. It is based on the idea that both population expansion and food sources increase arithmetically.
Answer: d. Competition is based on the idea that an unchecked population will increase exponentially, while food source increases arithmetically.
22.Selection can be of different types. What type of selection increases the longevity of an organism?
a. Fecundity selection b. Viability selection c. Reproductive selection d. Gametic selection
Answer: b. Viability selection involves those forces that increase the longevity of the organism regardless of its ability to reproduce. The other choices are related to reproduction success of the organism.
23.What is not true of mutations when it comes to natural selection?
a. It can affect single genes or whole chromosomes. b. Some mutations do not have a major effect and are called neutral. c. Whether a mutation is advantageous or disadvantageous is dependent on the environment. d. Most genetic mutations result in an advantage to the organism.
Answer: d. Each of these is true of a genetic mutation except that most mutations are harmful or deadly to the organism.
24.What is not true of genetic hitchhiking?
a. It allows for some slightly deleterious genes to be selected for anyway. b. It happens when genes are located on different chromosomes. c. It allows for some genes to be selected against, even if they are benign. d. The process happens because of recombination in the formation of gametes.
Answer: b. Each of these is true of genetic hitchhiking except that it occurs when two alleles or genes are located close to one another in the genome of an organism.
25. What does teleology most refer to?
a. The ability to compete with others in the same species. b. The sexual selection of a mate. c. The ability to have genetic drift happen in a population. d. The structure and purpose of an organism’s features.
Answer: d. Teleology refers to the structure and purpose of an organism s features. It implies that the form of an organism s features determines their functions.
26.What aspect of a population leads to a species having functional and practical differences?
a. Reproductive isolation b. Adverse genetic mutations c. Adaptations d. Sexual selection
Answer: c. It is adaptations that lead to functional and practical differences within a species. Speciation also leads to diversity but this involves different species rather than one species that simply has adaptational differences.
27. What most involves an adaptation of an organism?
a. Flexibility b. Learning c. Instincts d. Acclimatization
Answer: c. Adaptations must be heritable and, among these choices, instincts are the only change in an organism that can be inherited. The others develop throughout life.
28.Which animal is least generalist when it comes to flexibility to the environment?
a. Humans b. Rats c. Carnivores d. Koala bears
Answer: d. Koala bears and related herbivores are not very flexible because they only eat a certain type of food. The other choices are more flexible when it comes to adapting to different environments.
29.What is the least likely outcome of a habitat that changes too fast for genetic changes to happen in a population?
a. Improved adaptation b. Extinction c. Habitat tracking d. Evolutionary rescue
Answer: a. If the habitat changes too fast for genetic changes to happen in a population, there can be habitat tracking, which involves moving away, evolutionary rescue, where the species is rescued from extinction, or there can be extinction of the species.
30.The evolution of palatable species into a structure that makes them appear to be unpalatable is called what?
a. Evolutionary rescue b. Mimicry c. Adaptation compromise d. Habitat tracking
Answer: b. Mimicry happens in certain species of insects that have evolved to appear to be unpalatable because they mimic insects that are actually unpalatable.
31. What factor least plays a role in reproductive success of an organism?
a. Parental investment b. Reproductive success of the offspring c. Longevity of the organism d. Mate selection
Answer: c. Each of these plays a role in determining reproductive success except for the longevity of the organism, which does not always play a role in fecundity.
32.What is not a principle of evolutionary psychology?
a. The brain largely operates because of conscious choice. b. The brain has inherited adaptive mechanisms. c. The brain’s adaptations were present from the time of the hunter-gatherer society. d. Complex behaviors have a subconscious component.
Answer: a. Each of these is true of the principles of evolutionary psychology except that researchers do not believe that the brain is largely a matter of conscious choice.
33. What is not one of the three main domains of human life?
a. Bacteria b. Archaea c. Eukarya d. Viridae
Answer: d. Viridae or viruses do not represent a domain of life because viruses are not cellular and therefore are not considered a form of life.
a. Genus b. Phylum c. Kingdom d. Family
Answer: a. Of these listed the classification of genus is considered the smallest. The smallest known subdivision is just smaller than genus, which is the organism s species.
a. Genus b. Phylum c. Kingdom d. Family
Answer: c. Kingdom is just beneath domain and is the second-largest subdivision of living things when it comes to their taxonomic classification.
36.When a group of organisms has an ancestor but does not have all of the descendants included, what is this group called?
a. Monophyletic b. Polyphyletic c. Paraphyletic d. Cladistic
Answer: c. A group of organisms that has been defined as having a common ancestor but does not have all of its descendants included is called paraphyletic.
37. In taxonomic systems, there are two separate divisions for plants and animals.
What is used in place of phylum in the animal kingdom?
a. Division b. Clade c. Family d. Subdivision
Answer: a. Instead of phylum in the plant kingdom, the term division” is used instead. The rest of the taxonomic ranks remain the same.
38.What is a phylogenetic tree called that estimates the time period between descendants and when they broke off from the ancestor?
a. Rooted tree b. Unrooted tree c. Bifurcated tree d. Molecular clock diagram
Answer: d. In a molecular clock diagram, the time period between descendants and when they broke off from a common ancestor is estimated.
39.Similar traits between species that arise independently from one another from a common ancestor are called what?
a. Homologous traits b. Analogous traits c. Derived traits d. Ancestral traits
Answer: b. Analogous traits are those that arise independently from one another even though they seem similar in appearance.
40.What are now the most commonly used characteristics to define clades and phylogenetic trees?
a. Structural traits b. Protein differences c. DNA differences d. Biochemical differences
Answer: c. Differences and similarities in the DNA of different organisms are now commonly used to describe the different clades and to develop the phylogenetic trees.
41. In a clade, what term represents a trait that has been retained by the ancestor to the descendants?
a. Plesiomorphy b. Autapomorphy c. Apomorphy d. Symplesiomorphy
Answer: a. A structural or biochemical trait that is retained by all of the descendants of a specific ancestor is called a plesiomorphy.
42.What is the basis of the Great Chain of Life interpretation used by early taxonomists?
a. There was a common ancestor to all forms of life. b. Living relationships were ordained by God. c. Plants have a different ancestor than animals. d. Bacteria were the first forms of life.
Answer: a. In the Great Chain of Life, mankind is at the top but there was a common ancestor to all of the different forms of life.
43.What is least likely to be used to look into genetic relationships between different organisms in phylogenetics?
a. DNA sequencing b. Protein sequencing c. Behaviors d. Morphologic characteristics
Answer: c. Each of these can be used to study phylogenetics but behaviors are least likely to define a specific evolutionary characteristic shared among the different descendants in a phylogenetic tree.
44.What is meant by the phrase “ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny”?
a. Homologous traits indicate a common ancestry in a group of descendants. b. There is not a common ancestor to all living things. c. Biochemical principles better predict phylogeny than morphological traits. d. The embryonic development of an organism shows its phylogeny
Answer: d. The phrase ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny” indicates that the embryonic development of an organism best shows its overall phylogeny. This idea is no longer considered valid in discussing phylogeny.
45. What is not a limitation of using molecular techniques to uncover the phylogeny of organisms?
a. It does not account for convergences in the branches of the tree. b. It cannot make use of whole genomes for analysis. c. It does not take horizontal gene transfer into account. d. It assumes a common ancestor or a rooted tree.
Answer: b. Each of these is true except that molecular phylogeny can make use of whole genomes. It just isn t done often because of the time and expense involved.
46.The concept that both innate and acquired traits could be inherited from the parents was called what?
a. Pangenesis b. Blended inheritance c. Lamarckism d. Mendelian inheritance
Answer: a. Based on the theory of pangenesis, there could be acquired traits or innate traits inherited from the parents. This was one of Charles Darwin s beliefs.
47. What is the process of turning the DNA code into an RNA messenger called?
a. Amplification b. Replication c. Transcription d. Translation
Answer: c. The transfer of the DNA code into an RNA messenger is referred to as transcription. It is just one step involved in the making of proteins from a piece of DNA in a gene.
48.What does it mean when a trait or characteristic isn’t 100 percent heritable?
a. Acquired traits from the parents partially explain the feature in the offspring. b. There are environmental and inherited factors that play a role in the end result. c. There are too many genes that factor into the inheritance. d. There is blended inheritance going on in the heritability of the trait.
Answer: b. When something is not 100 percent heritable, it means that there are inherited and environmental factors that determine the end result in the offspring.
49.What is the combination of the nucleic acids and organizing proteins in the chromosome called?
a. Genome b. Histones c. Gene d. Chromatin
Answer: d. The chromatin is what the combination of nucleic acids and organizing proteins in a chromosome is called.
50.The uptake of DNA from another bacterial cell or the environment to another bacterial cell is referred to as what?
a. Mitosis b. Horizontal gene transfer c. Sexual reproduction d. Binary fission
Answer: b. Horizontal gene transfer can be either conjugation or transformation and involves the uptake of a piece of DNA from outside the bacterial organism.
51. The uptake of DNA from the environment into a bacterial cell is known as what?
a. Binary fission b. Asexual reproduction c. Conjugation d. Transformation
Answer: d. Transformation is when DNA is taken up from the environment and is incorporated into the genome of the bacterial cell.
52. What is a true statement about genetic linkage of chromosomes?
a. The genes that are close together exhibit a high degree of genetic linkage. b. Chromosomes do not recombine so the entire chromosome is genetically linked. c. Genetic linkage can be demonstrated in egg cells but not in sperm cells. d. Genes that are far from each other on a chromosome will not show any genetic linkage.
Answer: a. Genes that are close together on the chromosome will have a high degree of genetic linkage despite the fact that recombination of genetic information happens during meiosis.
53. How many nucleotides together make up a codon?
a. 1 b. 3 c. 5 d. 7
Answer: b. There are three nucleotides that make up a codon. There are 64 possible codons that code for 20 amino acids or for instructions to start or stop the translation process.
54. What percent of the offspring of organisms that are heterozygous for a dominant and recessive trait will be homozygous for the recessive trait?
Answer: b. About 25 percent of the offspring will be homozygous for the recessive trait if both of the parent organisms are heterozygous for the trait.
55. If there is a dominant trait and a recessive trait and one parent is heterozygous for the trait, while the other is homozygous for the recessive trait, what percent of the offspring will be homozygous for the recessive trait?
Answer: c. Half of the offspring will be homozygous for the recessive trait, while the other have will be heterozygous and will have the dominant trait.
a. It will always be homozygous for the recessive trait. b. It can be homozygous or heterozygous for the recessive trait. c. It will be heterozygous for the recessive trait. d. It will be heterozygous 95 percent of the time but a few will be homozygous.
Answer: a. In the expression of a recessive trait, the organism must be homozygous for the recessive trait all of the time. If not, the phenotype will show the dominant trait.
57. What is the genetic makeup of an organism rather than its physical appearance?
a. Phenotype b. Haplotype c. Genotype d. Diploid type
Answer: c. The genotype is the genetic makeup of an organism, which ultimately plays a role in its physical appearance, which is called its phenotype.
a. It will always be homozygous for the dominant trait. b. It can be homozygous or heterozygous for the dominant trait. c. It will be heterozygous for the dominant trait. d. It will be homozygous 95 percent of the time but a few will be heterozygous.
Answer: b. The organism will be homozygous or heterozygous for the dominant trait but you would not be able to tell the difference because the recessive trait will be hidden in the phenotype.
59. What is the cause of differences in the appearance in the populations of a species that happens with geographic distance between them?
a. Genetic drift b. Deleterious mutations c. Genetic recombination d. Aneuploidy
Answer: a. Because of genetic drift, populations separated by geography may actually appear different despite being of the same species.
60.What is more likely to decrease genetic variability rather than increase genetic variability?
a. Natural selection b. Genetic drift c. Climate change d. Genetic recombination
Answer: c. Each of these will increase genetic variability, except for climate change, which can decrease genetic variability by decreasing population size.
61. What is not a cause of DNA mutations?
a. Exposure to carcinogens b. Cancer c. Exposure to radiation d. DNA replication errors
Answer: b. Each of these can be a cause of DNA mutations except for cancer, which is the result of DNA mutations rather than a cause.
62.About how old is planet earth from the time it was first coalesced from space gas and dust?
a. 10 billion years b. 4.5 billion years c. 2.6 billion years d. 100,000 million years
Answer: b. The earth itself is about 4.5 billion years old. This is the geological age of the earth and does not represent the age of when life first formed on the planet.
63.In what era did the dinosaurs live on planet earth?
a. Cenozoic b. Paleozoic c. Mesozoic d. Archean
Answer: c. In the Mesozoic era, dinosaurs came to be the dominant life form on earth and also become extinct, which marked the end of the Mesozoic era.
64.About how long ago did the first life forms likely begin on planet earth?
a. 8 billion b. 7.5 billion c. 5 billion d. 3.5 billion
Answer: d. Life on earth most likely occurred around 3.5 billion years ago. This was exclusively made from unicellular, simple life forms.
65. What percent of all life forms that have lived on earth have since gone extinct?
Answer: d. About 99 percent of all the life forms that have lived on planet earth throughout the years have gone extinct.
66.What is not considered a greenhouse gas?
a. Methane b. Oxygen c. Carbon dioxide d. Nitrous oxide
Answer: b. Each of these is a greenhouse gas contributed by volcanoes in early earth. Oxygen, however, is not a greenhouse gas.
67. What did the earliest common ancestor of all living things look like?
a. Fungi b. Algae c. Eukaryotic cells d. Bacteria
Answer: d. The earliest common ancestor of all living things was a prokaryote, most likely very similar to the bacteria that exist today.
68.What is most true of green sulfur bacteria and purple sulfur bacteria?
a. They live in normally inhospitable environments. b. The get nutrients from the environment rather than photosynthesis. c. They make oxygen as a byproduct. d. They are recent additions to the tree of life.
Answer: a. These bacteria are very ancient and participate in photosynthesis. The end product is not oxygen and they live in inhospitable environments.
a. Greenhouse gases b. Hydrogen c. Oxygen d. Helium gas
Answer: c. The third atmosphere that has existed on earth consists of higher quantities of oxygen. The other gases contribute to the first and second atmospheres on the earth.
70.The earliest common ancestor of all living things is most like what organisms living today?
a. Sulfur-producing photosynthetic bacteria b. Anaerobes living near thermal vents c. Oxygen-producing photosynthetic bacteria d. Filamentous prokaryotic organisms
Answer: b. The earliest common ancestor of all living things was probably similar to anaerobes that live near thermal vents in the oceans today.
71. What is true of the earliest life forms on earth?
a. They thrived on oxygen b. There was probably just one form of life that arose on early earth c. Early life was based on RNA instead of DNA d. It is easy to recreate these organisms de novo in the laboratory setting
Answer: c. Early life probably did not use oxygen but were based on RNA instead of DNA. There may or may not have been a single life form on early earth but these have not been created in a laboratory setting.
72. What is not true of viruses?
a. They need a host in order to replicate. b. They mutate to a higher degree than other organisms. c. They can easily adapt to their environment. d. Almost all viruses have DNA as their nucleic acid.
Answer: d. Each of these is true of viruses except that their nucleic acid can easily be RNA or DNA.
73. What is the theory of virus evolution that says viruses were once pieces of DNA in cells that somehow left the cell to form an independent organism?
a. Escape theory b. Virus first theory c. Degeneracy theory d. Coevolution theory
Answer: a. The escape theory is one in which the virus particle was once part of cellular DNA but escaped the cell to become and independent organism.
74. Which type of viral transmission involves the least virulent viruses?
a. Waterborne transmission b. Vertical transmission c. Droplet transmission d. Airborne transmission
Answer: b. Each of these involve horizontal transmission except for vertical transmission. In general, horizontal transmission is more virulent than vertical transmission.
75. What structure is found in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes?
a. DNA b. Mitochondria c. Lysosomes d. Golgi apparatus
Answer: a. Both eukaryotes and prokaryotes have DNA, ribosomes, cytoplasm, and plasma membranes. Only eukaryotes have mitochondria, lysosomes, and Golgi apparatuses.
76. What type of molecule can self-replicate, making it most necessary for the formation of life?
a. Proteins b. Carbohydrates c. Nucleic acids d. Lipids
Answer: c. While all cells need each of these things, only nucleic acids are capable of self-replication so they are definitely necessary for life.
77. Which metabolic pathway to gain ATP energy is the most advanced?
a. Fermentation b. Photosynthesis c. Glycolysis d. Oxidative phosphorylation
Answer: d. Oxidative phosphorylation is the most advanced pathway that makes the most ATP energy per unit of initial substrate in the food of the organism.
78. What is not considered evidence that mitochondria were once separate prokaryotes?
a. The mitochondrial membrane is double-walled. b. The cells can be seen taking up mitochondria from the outside. c. Mitochondria divide by binary fission. d. Mitochondria have their own DNA.
Answer: b. Each of these is true of mitochondria except that cells have not been observed taking mitochondria up from the outside. This happened billions of years ago and does not happen today.
79. What is the structure of mitochondrial DNA like?
a. Single linear piece of DNA b. Multiple linear pieces of DNA c. Multiple circular pieces of DNA d. Single circular piece of DNA
Answer: d. There is a single circular piece of DNA in mitochondria, which is identical to that of the type of DNA seen in bacteria.
80.What is true of the evolution of chloroplasts and mitochondria?
a. The mitochondria and chloroplasts do not have to be present in eukaryotic cells at all. b. All eukaryotic cells have chloroplasts and mitochondria. c. Mitochondria likely evolved to be endosymbiotic first, followed by chloroplasts. d. Chloroplasts likely evolved to be endosymbiotic first, followed by mitochondria.
Answer: c. Mitochondria likely evolved to be endosymbiotic first, followed by chloroplasts. The evidence for this is that all eukaryotic cells have mitochondria but only plant cells have chloroplasts.
81. What is not something required in order to have an organism be multicellular?
a. The ability to make gametes. b. The ability to specialize or differentiate its cells. c. The ability to have a circulatory system. d. The ability to have cell to cell adherence.
Answer: c. Each of these things is necessary for multicellularity except for the ability to have a circulatory system, which is not seen in all multicellular organisms.
82.Which type of organism is least likely to have reverted to unicellularity or loss of some degree of their multicellularity?
a. Animals b. Protozoa c. Algae d. Fungi
Answer: a. Each of these types of organisms has experienced loss of their degree of multicellularity or has reverted to unicellularity except
for animal species. Protozoa, Algae, and fungi have all done this as part of their evolutionary process.
83.What phenomenon is unique to multicellular organisms?
a. Viral infections b. Cancer c. Bacterial infections d. Mutation
Answer: b. Multicellular organisms, because of their differentiation, can develop cancer because it involves losing differentiation of a more advanced cell.
84.What theory of multicellularity involves organisms of the same species coming together to function as one organism?
a. Cellularization theory b. Symbiosis theory c. Colonialization theory d. Syncytial theory
Answer: c. In the colonialization theory, it is believed that a single species of organism comes together under distress in order to function as a single organism. This is what happens with protists like amoeba.
85.What is not part of the transition process necessary for separate cells to become an individual unit?
a. Cohesiveness of the cells b. Competition between the cells c. Division of labor between the cells d. Aggregation of the cells
Answer: b. Competition or conflict between the cells cannot occur between the cells if they are to evolve into an individual organism.
86.What is not an evolutionary benefit of cooperation between cells in an aggregate?
a. Direct transfer of nutrients from cell to cell b. Greater dispersal of seeds or young by making fruiting bodies c. Efficiency of factor recognition between cells d. Avoidance of predators
Answer: a. Each of these is an evolutionary benefit in cells learning to cooperate in an aggregate except for the direct transfer of nutrients from cell to cell. In fact, cells in an aggregate must find unique ways to transfer and exchange nutrients so that the inside cells get as much nutrients as the outside cells.
87. What is the major cause of mutual dependence between cells of an organism or between organisms in a group?
a. Predators can kill them if they aren’t mutually dependent. b. Extreme specialization has occurred in the group. c. Cell to cell communication has curbed independence. d. Growth factors are not present in individual cells.
Answer: b. The major cause of mutual dependence is that extreme specialization has occurred so that one part of the whole cannot survive and reproduce without the other part.
88.Which species of animal is least social with members of its own species?
a. Ants b. Termites c. Bees d. Wolves
Answer: d. While wolves live in packs they are not as social as bees, termites, and ants, which are highly dependent on the ability to live in a colony and cannot easily survive on their own.
89.Which organisms form social groups for other reasons than to escape predators?
a. Bees b. Wildebeests c. Fish d. Birds
Answer: a. Each of these types of animals form social groups in order to escape predators, except for bees, which do not form social groups for this purpose.
90.What is not a feature of animal groups that live in colonies?
a. There is an advantage to raising children that aren’t related to all members. b. The organisms share tasks among themselves. c. They produce large numbers of offspring. d. Every member has the same reproductive chances.
Answer: d. In animals that live in colonies, only a few members of the colony have the ability to reproduce but there is an advantage to workers raising children that are not genetically related to them.
91. A species concept that defines a species by its ability to reproduce sexually with others in the same group is called what?
Answer: d. Using the species concept of biospecies defines those that can reproduce sexually with others in the same group.
92.A species concept that involves defining a species in terms of their ecological niche is called what?
a. Ecospecies b. Taxonomic species c. Morphospecies d. Biospecies
Answer: a. An ecospecies is a species concept that defines organisms in terms of their ecological niche in the environment.
93.What species type is also referred to as an organism’s typological species?
a. Biospecies b. Morphospecies c. Genospecies d. Taxonomic species
Answer: b. In the study of evolution and taxonomy, the organism s morphospecies is the same as their typological species.
94.What poses the biggest challenge to identifying different species types, particularly among prokaryotes?
a. Horizontal gene transfer b. Lack of fossil record c. Hybridization d. The presence of quasispecies
Answer: a. Horizontal gene transfer is common in bacteria and other prokaryotes, which leads to the possibility of the same pieces of DNA being in prokaryotic species that are actually very divergent species.
95. Species that are different in a variety of geographical locations that can interbreed if their ecological niches overlap but not if they don’t overlap are called what?
a. Microspecies b. Ringed species c. Species aggregates d. Quasispecies
Answer: b. Ringed species are related but have different characteristics in differing geographical areas. Where their habitats overlap, interbreeding can occur but this is not a universal phenomenon if the species have geographical differences in habitat.
96.What is the mechanism by which there are changes in a species along the same line of lineage called?
a. Natural selection b. Sexual selection c. Anagenesis d. Cladogenesis
Answer: c. Anagenesis is the changing of a species along the same lineage lines over time.
97. In sexual selection and mating, what is koinophilia?
a. The choosing of brightly colored mates b. The choosing of mates that do not have unusual characteristics c. The fact that males and females of a species appear different d. The choosing of mates with the best reproductive potential
Answer: b. Koinophilia involves the selection of a mate that does not have rare or unusual characteristics so that the species similarities remain relatively stable over time.
98.Which mode of speciation involves the same geography but differences in ecological preferences between different types of species?
Answer: d. In sympatric speciation, new species develop in the same geographical area but do so because of differences in their preferred niches within that area.
99.Which mode of speciation is also called island speciation because it involves a habitat disruption or difference in the geographic locations of the organisms?
Answer: a. With island speciation or allopatric speciation, there will be the development of new species with new ecological pressures by virtue of having different geographical locations.
100. What factor plays a role in all modes of speciation?
a. Horizontal gene transfer b. Mate selection c. Geography d. Ecological niches
Answer: d. Because ecological niches have the ability to exert different pressures on the organisms, these play a role in all modes of speciation.
101. What is not a way of isolating different species and causing speciation in the laboratory?
a. Through differences in habitat preference b. Through forcing genetic mutations with carcinogens c. Through differences in food preferences d. Through exerting different ecological pressures
Answer: b. Each of these is a way of causing speciation in the laboratory, except by causing mutations with carcinogens, which tends to produce deleterious mutations and nonviable organisms.
102. What happens in speciation using polyploidy?
a. There is a meiosis failure that leads to more chromosomes in the offspring. b. A cell divides but does not have division of its cell membrane so there are two nuclei per cell c. A chromosome gets deleted from the offspring. d. The offspring develop an increased ability to procreate so these are favored in evolution.
Answer: a. In speciation using polyploidy, there is a failure of meiosis so that the offspring have more chromosomes than the parent. The offspring must be able to reproduce themselves if this is to be successful.
103. What is the major disadvantage of using DNA technology and genetics to define a new or different species?
a. Too many species get labeled as subspecies rather than unique species b. Species cannot be easily identified as being endangered c. It is too difficult to define what a species is d. It is a more expensive way of defining a species
Answer: d. While genetics does define more species than is true of morphologic species identification, this is not a disadvantage and more
species can be defined as being endangered. The biggest disadvantage is that it is more expensive to define species in this way.
104. What is a cryptic species?
a. It is a species that has become extinct over time. b. It is any species that has more recently been discovered. c. It is a species that looks like others but is unique genetically. d. It is a species that has become geographically isolated from other species.
Answer: c. A cryptic species is hidden because it looks like other species except that it has been discovered to be a unique species through DNA analysis.
105. Where did modern man first appear on earth, according to archaeological records?
a. Ethiopia b. China c. South Korea d. Peru
Answer: a. Most records list modern man as first appearing in archaeological digs in Ethiopia about 160,000 years ago.
106. Hominine is a subfamily of the family that includes each of these species living today except for which of the hominids?
a. Gorillas b. Humans c. Chimpanzees d. Orangutan
Answer: d. The Hominine subfamily includes each of these types of hominids except for orangutans, which are not included as part of this subfamily.
107. What term defines each of the great apes, including mankind?
a. Hominine b. Hominin c. Hominid d. Hominoid
Answer: c. The great apes are the hominids, which includes gorillas, orangutans, chimpanzees and humans.
108. Which of these is a species that humans are closest to in evolutionary time?
Answer: b. The separation of humans in the evolutionary process last occurred with the ancestor that led to chimpanzees and humans, making chimpanzees our closest relative.
109. What is least likely to be an advantage of bipedalism to our early ancestors?
a. Greater use of hands for carrying food b. Better long-distance running ability c. Prevents hypothermia d. Less energy expended in locomotion
Answer: c. Each of these is an advantage of bipedalism except that it doesn t prevent hypothermia; instead, it prevents hyperthermia by exposing less of the back to the full effects of the sun.
110. Which bony structure needed to change the most as part of bipedalism?
a. Big toe b. Pelvis c. Vertebral column d. Arms
Answer: b. The pelvis changed the most as part of the adjustment to bipedalism. The birth canal narrowed and the birthing process became more difficult.
111. What aspect of the female reproductive system developed as a result of bipedalism?
a. The ability to have longer gestation times. b. Decreased spacing of children during the mother’s lifespan. c. Decrease in the age of menarche. d. The development of menopause.
Answer: d. Many reproductive changes happened as a result of bipedalism. There were shorter gestation times, increased spacing of children, later menarche, and the development of menopause so it would be more advantageous to help raise one s grandchildren than it was to have more children at a later age.
112. Which human species has the largest brain size?
Answer: a. Homo neanderthalensis or Neanderthal man had the largest brain size. The smaller brain size of Homo sapiens has been offset by greater strides in growth that occur in the modern human brain after birth has occurred.
113. Which part of the brain was least effected by the evolution of humans over time?
a. Temporal lobe b. Prefrontal cortex c. Brainstem d. Cerebellum
Answer: c. Each of these has changed considerably as humankind has also changed over time. The brainstem has least changed as this is a very primitive part of the brain, responsible for things like breathing and heartbeat.
114. What genus was Lucy from, who was found in Ethiopia in 1974?
Answer: a. Lucy belonged to the Australopithecus genus, which dated back about 3.2 million years ago. She was found in Ethiopia, which is roughly where mankind originated from.
115. Which type of early human do most all humans share DNA with?
Answer: d. Because of interbreeding, almost all modern humans have up to 4 percent Neanderthal genes as part of their genome. A few people in Oceania and Tibet have Denisovan genes.
116. Which species of the Homo genus is considered to be the oldest?
a. Homo erectus b. Homo habilis c. Homo ergaster d. Homo neanderthalensis
Answer: b. Homo habilis is the original stone-age human and is the oldest ancestor of the Homo genus. The others all came out of this species.
117. Among these non-Homo primates, which is the closest relative to humans over evolutionary time?
a. Australopithecus b. Orrorin c. Ardipithecus d. Sahelanthropus
Answer: a. All of these are precursors to humans but Australopithecus dates back to just 3 to 4 million years ago, which is the most recent form of non-Homo species related to humans.
118. When did encephalization or the increase in brain size occur in human evolution?
a. Prior to Australopithecus b. Prior to Homo habilis c. After Homo habilis d. After Homo erectus
Answer: c. Homo habilis had a very small brain. It was after this and prior to Homo erectus that encephalization occurred and brain size increased.
119. What aspect of anatomically modern humans was considered superior to
Neanderthal man, leading to the ascent of man over the Neanderthals?
a. Better use of social skills and tools in modern man b. Better visual acuity in modern man c. Greater physical size in modern man d. Bipedal nature of modern man versus Neanderthals.
Answer: a. Both Neanderthals and anatomically modern man were bipedal. Neanderthals were larger, stronger, and had better vision than man but men had better social skills, better use of tools, and more mating choices than Neanderthals.
120. What species did Homo sapiens likely evolve directly from?
a. Denisovans b. Homo floresiensis c. Heidelberg man d. Neanderthals
Answer: c. Current evidence suggests that modern man s immediate predecessor was Heidelberg man or Homo heidelbergensis.
121. What would least likely be a reason why a species would be functionally extinct?
a. Mass extinction event b. Sparsely populated organisms c. Poor health of individuals in the species d. Poor distribution of mating partners
Answer: a. Each of these is a common reason why a species would be functionally extinct; that is, having just a few of its numbers left. Mass extinction events in evolution are very rare.
122. What happens when a species undergoes extirpation?
a. They evolve to meet the demands of the habitat b. They split into more than one extant species c. They repopulate an area where they were once threatened d. They disappear from their usual habitat
Answer: d. Extirpation refers to the disappearance of a species from their usual habitat without a true extinction. This is sometimes referred to as local extinction.
123. What is an extant species?
a. One that has been repopulated after threatened extinction. b. One that cannot keep up with its death rate by increasing its reproductive rate. c. A species that currently lives on earth. d. A species that mimics a previously extinct group of organisms.
Answer: c. Any species that currently lives on earth is referred to as an extant species.
124. What is the least likely cause of human-related extinction?
a. Mass extinction events b. Destruction of habitat c. Overharvesting d. Pollution
Answer: a. Each of these is a cause of human-related extinctions except that humans are not generally involved in mass extinction events over evolutionary history.
125. What factors in a species population will least likely lead to the population’s extinction?
a. The small size of a population b. A narrow habitat for the population c. A large degree of genetic diversity d. Population bottlenecks
Answer: c. A population with a large degree of genetic diversity will have a decreased chance of extinction rather than an increased chance of extinction. The other choices will increase the chances of extinction.
126. What is not a cause of genetic pollution?
a. Selective breeding b. Decreased fitness of a hybrid organism c. Bringing two populations together d. Domestication of animals
Answer: b. In general, each of these things causes genetic pollution but increased fitness of the hybrid organism is more likely to cause genetic pollution rather than decreased fitness of the hybrids.
a. Human population growth b. Climate change c. Natural disasters d. Species competition
Answer: a. Human population growth and the overconsumption of the earth s resources are the main cause of what is termed the Holocene extinction.
128. What is the major reason for planned extinctions?
a. To decrease the pest population b. To eliminate competitors of desirable species c. To decrease the frequency of a mutant gene d. To get rid of diseases
Answer: d. The planned extinctions that have taken place and that are taking place today involve the getting rid of disease-causing microorganisms and to eradicate a specific disease, such as smallpox and polio.
129. What is not a way to determine the background extinction rate?
a. The estimated survival time for a given species b. The percent of a species that dies off every year c. The number of species million years d. The number of species that go extinct over a time period
Answer: b. Each of these can be used to determine the background extinction rate but it is not the percent of a species that dies off every year.
130. What was the cause of the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event that killed off the land-based dinosaurs 66 million years ago?
a. Meteor strike b. Climate change c. Volcanic eruption d. Sea level disruption
Answer: a. This extinction event was likely triggered by a meteor strike that markedly affected the climate in the world.
131. What is true of evolution and mass extinction events?
a. Evolution temporarily stops when a mass extinction event happens b. Extinction events cause vacancies in certain habitats c. Extinction events allow for a superior species to take hold d. Extinction events affect the evolution of microbes more than multicellular organisms
Answer: b. Extinction events cause vacancies in certain habitats but they do not necessarily allow for a superior species to ascend over an inferior species.
a. They are usually caused by competition between species b. They are caused by short-term shocks to the environment c. They are caused by long-term pressures on the ecosystem d. They are caused by a combination of long-term pressures and short-term shocks to the environment
Answer: d. Mass extinction is most likely caused by a combination of long-term ecological pressures and short-term shocks to the environment. Either one alone probably doesn t cause a mass extinction.
133. Which types of species are most at risk during extinction events triggered by global warming?
a. Marine species b. Polar species c. Tropical species d. Temperate species
Answer: b. Polar species are most impacted by global warming events because it destroys their habitats and leads to competition from species that have moved to the polar regions.
134. Which theory of mass extinctions has largely been debunked as implausible?
a. Anoxic events b. Ocean turnover c. Global warming d. Disease infestation
Answer: d. Each of these is a valid theory except for disease infestation, which most likely would not affect the majority of all species at the same time.
135. The basic process that describes any cell that divides into more than one daughter cell in asexual reproduction is called what?
a. Gametogony b. Merogony c. Schizogony d. Sporogony
Answer: c. The process that describes the ability to make several daughter cells from the same parent cell is called schizogony. The parent cell will make multiple nuclei before dividing its cytoplasm to make the daughter cells.
136. The process by which an organism makes daughter cells inside itself that digest the mother cell is called what?
Answer: b. Internal budding involves the presence of at least two daughter cells created inside a parent cell, after which the daughter cells digest the mother cell prior to actually separating.
137. What is it called when plants produce tubers, clones, or rhizomes as part of asexual reproduction?
Answer: d. Vegetative propagation only happens with plants that reproduce asexually by giving off clones, tubers, or rhizomes that share the genetic material of the mother cell.
138. What is not true of parthenogenesis?
a. All of the genes inherited by the offspring are of female origin. b. It can be an obligatory thing or something an organism does under certain circumstances. c. It is primarily done in primitive forms of life. d. It yields only female offspring.
Answer: c. Parthenogenesis does not just happen in primitive forms of life. It happens with certain species of sharks, snakes, and birds as well, usually under certain circumstances.
139. What is not a major benefit of sexual reproduction?
a. It can create fitter offspring than the parents. b. It can weed out deleterious genes in the population. c. It can increase the possibility of two beneficial mutations occurring in the same offspring. d. It has the greater chance of increasing the population compared to asexual reproduction.
Answer: d. Each of these is a benefit of sexual reproduction except that it does not increase population numbers faster than asexual reproduction but, in fact, is much slower.
140. What factor in sexual reproduction is not considered a benefit to the offspring’s genome?
a. The pairing of homologous chromosomes when one contains a deleterious recessive trait. b. The pairing of homologous chromosomes when one contains a deleterious dominant trait. c. The fact of genetic recombination to increase diversity. d. The fact of DNA repair processes during meiosis.
Answer: b. Each of these factors will benefit the offspring s genome during sexual reproduction except for the pairing of homologous chromosomes with dominant traits, which do get passed to the offspring and adversely affect the chromosome.
141. In sexual reproduction, what is the difference between inbreeding and outbreeding?
a. Inbreeding better maintains enhanced vigor in the population. b. Inbreeding is more effective in masking deleterious genes in the population. c. Inbreeding better allows dominant genes to take hold in the population. d. Inbreeding is less effective in masking deleterious genes in the population.
Answer: d. Outbreeding is more effective than inbreeding in masking deleterious genes in the population. With inbreeding, the deleterious genes are not as masked by normal genes in the parents.
142. What is not true of the origin of sexual reproduction?
a. It started in prokaryotes and persisted in eukaryotic organisms. b. It is believed to have started about 1.2 billion years ago. c. It started with a common eukaryotic ancestor. d. It may have persisted because meiosis is evolutionarily beneficial.
Answer: a. Each of these is a true statement of sexual reproduction, except that it did not start in prokaryotic organisms.
143. What is considered an advantage of asexual reproduction?
a. It increases genetic diversity b. It allows for more rapid evolution c. It can happen in harsh environments d. It masks deleterious mutations
Answer: b. The major advantage to the evolutionary process with asexual reproduction is that it happens faster with asexual reproduction, which may be advantageous in populations large enough to tolerate many mutations.
144. What type of mating system is involved in chimpanzees, who will mate with any other member of a given group?
Answer: c. Chimpanzees will mate with any other member, which means they have a promiscuous mating system.
145. What mating system is the most common among human systems on earth?
Answer: b. Most mating systems in the world among humans are polygynous. About 83 percent of mating systems are considered polygynous.
146. What is not true of microbial mating?
a. Viruses do not exchange genetic material. b. Bacteria can engage in mating through the conjugation process. c. Archaea can aggregate and can exchange genetic material. d. Protists are eukaryotes that will under stress engage in mating behavior.
Answer: a. Each of these is true of microbial mating, except that viruses do exchange genetic material, which is a form of primitive mating.
147. Under what circumstance would sex role reversal occur in a species?
a. When the female fitness is more important than male fitness to survival. b. When there are more males than females in a population. c. When males participate in rearing their young. d. Sex role reversal does not exist in animals.
Answer: c. Sex role reversal happens when males participate in rearing their young.
148. What is true of human mate selection?
a. Males look more for long term potential in a female mate. b. Females prefer taller men with deeper voices. c. Males look for a larger waist to hip ratio. d. Males prefer sexually inexperienced females.
Answer: b. Each of these is an untrue statement except that women do tend to prefer taller men who have beards and deeper voices.
149. What is a populations equivalent of an organism’s genome in evolution?
a. Gene pool b. Genetic drift c. Allele frequency d. Genetic fitness
Answer: a. The gene pool is the totality of the alleles in a given population, which is the equivalent of the genome in a given organism; it is applied, however, specifically to the population rather than the individual organism.
150. What plays the least role in the changes in gene pool within a population of organisms?
a. Natural selection b. Founder effect c. Asexual reproduction d. Random genetic drift
Answer: c. Each of these plays a role in the changes in the gene pool within a population of organisms except for asexual reproduction, which tends not to change the gene pool because all the daughter cells are clones of the parent.
151. The term that describes a population that has organisms that look different from one another is called what?
a. Polymorphism b. Shallow gene pool c. Genetic drift d. Allele frequency
Answer: a. Polymorphism describes a population in which the organisms do not look the same as one another. This is also referred to as a polymorphic population.
152. What is least likely to play a role in genetic variance within a population?
a. Trait heritability b. Inbreeding c. Outbreeding d. Acquired traits
Answer: d. Acquired traits are not heritable so that these do not contribute to genetic variance. Each of the other factors will add or subtract from the genetic variance within a given population.
a. Inbreeding b. Mutations c. Migration d. Habitat destruction
Answer: c. The main cause of gene flow in a group of organisms is migration either into or out of a population, which can change gene and allele frequency.
154. What does a cline do to lead to differences in phenotype in a population?
a. It can affect mating habits within a species. b. It is a major contributor to gene flow. c. It is a major contributor to population social behaviors. d. It sets up a gradient in environmental conditions that affects phenotypes.
Answer: d. A cline can be altitudinal or latitudinal, for example. It sets up a gradient of different environmental factors that affect the phenotypes of individuals in a population.
155. What type of selection in a population favors a phenotype that is an average of two separate phenotypes?
a. Diversifying selection b. Stabilizing selection c. Extreme selection d. Diversifying selection
Answer: b. With stabilizing selection, the phenotype most often selected for is an average of two separate and extreme phenotypes.
156. What is the handicap principle of sexual selection in a population?
a. Positive reproductive success can be related to increased risk for the male of a species. b. Females tend to avoid males who have handicaps in some ways. c. Certain sexual traits will handicap the male in his ability to find a good mate. d. Certain genetic traits cause a decrease in the male’s ability to provide for the young.
Answer: a. Certain positive traits when it comes to reproductive sex can cause an increased risk for the male of the species, which is called the handicap species. It is the principle in play in male peacock feathers that further reproductive success but increase the risk of predation.
157. What best defines a population in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium?
a. Evolution is a slow process in the population. b. The population does not have mate selection. c. All of the alleles in the gene pool stay at the same frequency. d. There is just a single phenotype present in the population.
Answer: c. In true Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, the alleles in the entire gene pool stay at the same frequency over time.
158. What is an outcome of a behavior that affects the health of one’s own offspring?
Answer: a. Direct fitness is the behavior that affects the health of one s own offspring directly. This is an example of cooperation.
159. Which is an outcome of a behavior that affects the fitness of all the offspring in a population?
Answer: c. Inclusive fitness is the outcome of a behavior that affects the fitness of all of the offspring in a certain population. It is an example of cooperation.
160. What is a cooperative behavior in a population?
a. A behavior that benefits someone but has an adverse effect on the actor of the behavior. b. A behavior that benefits someone and is evolutionarily positive for the group. c. A behavior in which two species are dependent on each other. d. A behavior beneficial to the giver but harmful to the host.
Answer: b. A cooperative behavior is any behavior that benefits someone and is evolutionarily positive for the group or population.
161. Cooperative behavior that is weighted toward increased fitness of one’s relative organisms is called what?
a. Direct fitness b. Inclusive fitness c. Kin selection d. Mutually beneficial
Answer: c. Kin selection refers to behaviors that most greatly favor those who are closely related to the actor doing the behavior.
162. What is not true of kin discrimination in a population?
a. It helps to create kin selection in a group. b. It is generally a positive thing in a group. c. It can involve certain learned vocalizations in a kin group. d. It is practiced by many different species.
Answer: b. Kin discrimination can be a bad thing for a population because it has a tendency to decrease genetic variability in the population.
163. What is not true of enforcing cooperation among population members?
a. It can be done by punishing cheaters b. It can be done by rewarding cooperators c. It will increase cooperation levels d. It is a necessary part of cooperation
Answer: d. Each of these is true of enforced cooperation except that it doesn t necessarily have to occur.
164. What is not an advantage of group living?
a. Decreased competition b. Increased ability to forage c. Increase in social information d. Better proximity to mates
Answer: a. Each of these is an advantage to group living except for decreased competition among group members.
a. There is an increase in heterozygosity in finite populations b. Genetic drift is greater than is seen in infinite populations. c. Neutral mutations will drive the population’s evolution forward. d. Decreased fitness can happen if mutation rates exceed the ability to adapt to the environment.
Answer: a. Each of these is true of evolution in finite populations except that heterozygosity will decrease in these types of populations.
166. What is not true of population bottlenecks?
a. They are usually caused by some type of natural disaster or habitat destruction. b. They will increase the rate of inbreeding. c. They will increase the rate of genetic drift. d. They are not affected by the founder effect.
Answer: d. These are all true statements of population bottlenecks except that they can result in the founder effect if the population shrinks to a greater degree.
a. They tend to be red or orange in color. b. They have certain stripes that guide the insects. c. A flower’s scent can direct the insects to the plant. d. Some flowers have parts that mimic female insect parts.
Answer: a. Each of these is true of flowers that require insects to pollinate them, except that they are blue or ultraviolet in color.
a. They tend to be red in coloration. b. They have a tubular shape to discourage insects and encourage pollination. c. They have very little nectar in each flower. d. Their relationship is primarily with hummingbirds.
Answer: c. Each of these is true of ornithophilous flowers, except that they have a lot of nectar and sugar per flower.
169. Which type of organism is so much of an obligate parasite that it cannot survive without coevolution with its hosts?
a. Bacteria b. Archaea c. Protists d. Viruses
Answer: d. Viruses are entirely unable to develop outside the host so they become obligate parasites that must coevolve with their respective hosts.
170. What happens in the situation of brood parasitism?
a. The youth of a litter are particularly targeted by the parasite. b. A viral infection infects the eggs of a specific bird species. c. The parasitic bird deposits camouflaged eggs into another bird’s nest. d. A parasite preferentially infects the gestating female hosts.
Answer: c. Brood parasitism happens between two bird species. The parasitic bird deposits camouflaged eggs into another bird s nest so they can be raised by the host bird.
a. Parasites that get more effective at invading a host that gets a tougher skin b. Gazelles that get faster and cheetah’s that get to be stronger hunters c. Bees that grow longer proboscises and flowers that become more accessible to them d. Trees that grow taller in order to compete for available sunlight
Answer: d. When trees evolve to be taller in order to compete with other trees that are also growing taller for the same reason, this is an example of a symmetrical evolutionary arms race.
172. What does the Red Queen Hypothesis refer to?
a. Increased ability to compete for resources in a population b. Constant adaptation occurring over time with antagonistic species c. Decreased host resistance when mutations accumulate d. When virulent species become overly adapted to their host
Answer: b. The Red Queen Hypothesis relates to the constant adaptation throughout evolutionary time between antagonistic species, such as a parasite and host.
173. What is the main underlying mechanism behind the Red Queen hypothesis?
a. Competition between two species for scarcity of resources b. Changing or adapting to a new habitat c. Mutual selective pressures on two antagonistic organisms d. Decrease in competition when a new organism is introduced into the environment
Answer: c. In the Red Queen Hypothesis, there are mutual selective pressures on two antagonistic organisms, which is generally what happens in a predator-prey relationship.
174. Which relationship between species involves the probable decrease in fitness of both species involved?
a. Exploitation b. Interspecies competition c. Parasitism d. Mutualism
Answer: b. In interspecies competition, there is competition between two species for the same resources, which decreases the fitness of both species in many situations.
175. What type of arrangement in a species involves behaviors intended to increase the population’s fitness?
a. Mutualism b. Commensalism c. Symbiosis d. Cooperation
Answer: d. Cooperation is an intraspecies process that increases the population s fitness because of behaviors that exist between the different members. This is different from symbiotic relationships.
176. What happens in a mutualistic relationship, such as with honeybees and flowers, when one species becomes extinct?
a. The other species has no competition and it will become overpopulated. b. The surviving species selects another type of mutualistic organism. c. Nothing happens to the surviving species. d. The surviving species becomes extinct along with the first species.
Answer: d. The surviving species, unless it can quickly evolve, will also become extinct because it is just as dependent on the other species as the extinct species is on the surviving species.
177. What type of organism do humans have a mutualistic relationship with?
a. Malaria b. HIV c. Intestinal bacteria d. Body lice
Answer: c. Intestinal bacteria and humans have a mutualistic relationship with one another. The others have a parasitic relationship with humans.
178. The Red Queen Hypothesis applies to what type of relationship between organisms?
a. Parasite-host relationships b. Mutualistic relationships c. Intraspecies competitive relationships d. Cooperative group relationships
Answer: a. The Red Queen Hypothesis applies to the host-parasite relationship because the organisms must adapt to the reciprocal adaptations of the other species.
179. With antagonistic coevolution of insects, what evolutionary characteristic hasn’t been identified as something supporting reproduction?
a. Females develop a thinner abdominal thorax for easier penetration. b. Females develop a storage area for sperm so they can self-inseminate. c. Males develop a longer sperm tail. d. Females evolve to be more aggressive in fending off insemination.
Answer: a. The problem with female insemination with male sperm is that they get over-penetrated, which weakens them. Each of these things promote reproduction except or developing a thinner abdominal thorax because, in actuality, they don t want to have multiple penetrations.
180. What plays the biggest role in determining what happens in mosaic coevolution?
a. Mutation rates b. Virulence of parasite c. Geographic variables d. Size of population
Answer: c. With mosaic coevolution, geographic location of the two species in question determines the subtle differences in how each species coevolves with another.
181. What is the main reason why infectious diseases have not been eradicated?
a. Natural selection favors antimicrobial resistance. b. Organisms increase their virulence over time. c. Humans have less resistance than they used to. d. New organisms are created that we aren’t immune to.
Answer: a. Because of natural selection, drugs and vaccines are not as effective because pathogens become resistant to the drugs that have been developed. Many organisms are resistant to a number of antibiotics.
182. How can evolution explain the rise in heart disease and obesity-related illnesses?
a. We have evolved to become more overweight than our ancestors. b. We have evolved to be more sensitive to dietary fat and calories. c. We evolved to have an evolutionary advantage to procuring fatty food that is now too abundant. d. We have evolved to have lower basal metabolic rates than our ancestors.
Answer: c. In the hunter-gatherer society, evolution favored those who could get and eat more but now that these things are plentiful, it has become an evolutionary disadvantage.
183. What is not a human factor that contributes to the development of zoonotic disease outbreaks?
a. Having animals as pets b. Crowded population demographics c. Agricultural practices d. Lack of healthcare access
Answer: a. Each of these is a reason for major diseases of zoonotic origin but having animals as pets is not one of these.
184. Where did the Ebola virus come from originally?
a. Monkeys b. Insects c. Bats d. Fish
Answer: c. Ebola came from fruit bats that later infected livestock that was eaten by humans to cause the Ebola virus disease in areas of the world with poor healthcare access.
185. Which human disease is evolutionarily the oldest?
a. HIV b. Leprosy c. Smallpox d. Malaria
Answer: d. It is believed that malaria is one of the oldest diseases to have affected humans over the course of evolutionary time.
a. There are some people who do not get any infectious diseases to a great degree. b. There are some genes that protect against acute viral infections. c. There are random genes known to protect against specific diseases. d. There is no connection between genetics and infectious disease susceptibility?
Answer: c. There are certain random genetic mutations that are known to protect against specific diseases but not all of the connections between genetics and infectious diseases have been discovered.
187. How does the evolution of humans and pathogens help to prevent pathogenic diseases in humans from killing the human race?
a. Human evolution keeps up with bacterial evolution in an evolutionary arms race. b. Bacteria gradually lose their virulence over greater contact with humans. c. Humans make up for a lack of evolutionary responses with things like antibiotics. d. Evolution does not favor organisms that are pathogenic to humans.
Answer: c. Human evolution does not keep up with bacterial evolution but the advances in antibiotics have made up for this lack of parity in the evolutionary processes.
188. What nutrient in particular is sequestered by humans during times of infection to prevent bacteria from thriving within the human body?
a. Selenium b. Iron c. Protein d. Glucose
Answer: b. Iron is particularly necessary for bacteria to grow so humans have evolved to protect themselves by sequestering this nutrient away from bacteria.
189. How would evolvability itself contribute to the aging phenomenon?
a. Old organisms do not reproduce so longevity is not selected for in the population. b. If older organisms dominate the gene pool, the species cannot evolve fast enough. c. Older organisms do not contribute to the longevity of the population. d. Evolvability does not contribute to the aging phenomenon.
Answer: b. Evolution depends on reproduction so that, if older organisms dominate the gene pool, the species would not be able to evolve fast enough to keep up with selection pressures.
a. Predators have greater extrinsic mortality than intrinsic mortality. b. Larger organisms have greater extrinsic mortality than intrinsic mortality. c. Prey have a greater extrinsic mortality. d. Animals with fewer competitors have greater extrinsic mortality.
Answer: c. The true statement is that prey have greater extrinsic or environmentally-caused mortality than they have intrinsic mortality.
191. What makes up the greatest amount of the biomass of the earth?
a. Livestock b. Fish c. Humans d. Wild animals
Answer: a. More than 60 percent of the biomass of the earth is made of livestock. The second largest group, making up about 30 percent, is humans.
192. What habitat area has suffered the greatest devastation on flora and fauna since the arrival of man?
a. Rainforests b. Oceans c. Temperate areas d. Islands
Answer: d. Because of their small size and nature, islands have suffered the greatest loss of flora and fauna because of the introduction of man into their habitat areas.
193. What feature of a virulent pathogen would least likely contribute to the extinction of many animals with the introduction of the organism to a new area?
a. It should affect many species. b. It should be very virulent with a high transmission rate. c. It should have a high mortality rate. d. It should lead to long-term chronic infections.
Answer: d. An organism that would lead to mass extinction would have to kill quickly, kill many different organisms, and should kill most of the population over a short period of time with high virulence and transmission rates.
194. What animal type is least threatened with extinction because of human predation and loss of habitat?
a. Bats b. Gorillas c. Rhinoceroses d. Big cat species
Answer: a. These animal types are at the highest risk for defaunation and extinction, except for bats, which are more adaptable.
195. What is true of human evolution?
a. We stopped evolving thousands of years ago. b. We have evolved to have bigger brains than thousands of years ago. c. The different races represent speciation of humans. d. Humans have evolved recently to adapt to their environment.
Answer: d. Humans have been evolving but most of this has been physiological and has happened because of adaptation to the environment.
196. According to Darwinian theories on inheritance and natural selection, which human trait or disease may decrease in humans because of natural selection?
a. Intelligence b. Tourette’s syndrome c. Alcoholism d. ADHD
Answer: a. Each of these things is believed to possibly increase over time, except that intelligence could decline if people with less intelligence have more children. This has not been proven to be the case so far.
197. In evolution, what is omnicide?
a. Death to humans from natural disasters b. Death to reproductive-age humans c. Decrease in fertility rates in humans d. Extinction of humans through human activities
Answer: d. Omnicide involves the extinction of the human race because of human-related activities, such as biological or nuclear warfare, or ecological disasters.
198. What has not yet occurred as part of global warming of the earth?
a. Extreme weather events b. Evaporation of the ocean c. Changes in season timing d. Loss of polar ice caps
Answer: b. Each of these has occurred except that the oceans have not begun to evaporate as a result of global warming.
199. What is true of precipitation events during global warming?
a. All areas of the world will dry out. b. All areas of the world will be wetter. c. Wet areas will be drier and dry areas will be wetter. d. Wet areas will be wetter and dry areas will be drier.
Answer: d. With global warming, there will not be an equalization of precipitation. Dry areas will become drier and wet areas will become wetter.
200. What most likely contributes to the rise in sea levels so far?
a. Loss of polar ice caps b. Thermal expansion of the oceans c. Loss of Greenland ice sheets d. Glacier losses
Answer: b. The thermal expansion of the oceans has contributed to more than 70 percent of the rise in the sea levels so far.
