BIO 110 FINAL EXAM STUDY GUIDE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS | COMPLETE
INTRODUCTORY BIOLOGY FINAL REVIEW 2026/2027
The study of immature forms of an organism - ✔✔embryology
Preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age - ✔✔fossil
Specific characteristics or behaviors influence mate selection - ✔✔nonrandom mating
Prevents fertilization - issues with mating times, courtship behaviors, or physical displays -
✔✔prezygotic mechanisms
Prevents viable offspring - infertility of a hybrid - ✔✔postzygotic mechanisms
Matings occur without consideration of physical or behavioral characteristics - ✔✔random mating
Which of the following is not a basic cause of evolution?
a. genetic mutations
b. gene flow
c. inheritance of acquired characteristics
d. genetic drift
e. natural selection - ✔✔c. inheritance of acquired characteristics
Situation A: A toad population's size is drastically reduced by a flood, creating a group of toads that are
less genetically diverse.
Situation B: Male deer with larger antlers are more attractive to females and so they are more likely to
successfully mate and pass on their genes to the next generation than males with smaller antlers.
Situation C: Two populations of caribou live relatively close to each other. Occasionally a caribou from
one herd will mate with a member of the other herd.
Which situation describes the bottleneck effect?
a. Situation C
b. Situation A
c. Situation B - ✔✔b. Situation A
If two adjacent populations of the same species show gene flow, then the two populations will
a. develop into different species.
b. become more similar in their gene pools.
c. adapt to different conditions and become separate.
d. become isolate from each other. - ✔✔b. become more similar in their gene pools.
Which is the correct order of steps regarding allopatric speciation?
a. reproductive isolation --> two species --> reproductive isolation --> one species
b. reproductive isolation --> one species --> reproductive isolation --> two species
c. geographic isolation --> one species --> reproductive isolation --> two species
,d. one species --> geographic isolation --> reproductive isolation --> two species - ✔✔d. one species -->
geographic isolation --> reproductive isolation --> two species
Almost all living organisms have the same triplet DNA code and many similar proteins. This is evidence
for evolution based on
a. comparative anatomy.
b. comparative embryology.
c. biogeography.
d. comparative biochemistry.
e. the fossil record. - ✔✔d. comparative biochemistry.
A variety of genotypes and phenotypes in a population is useful to that organism because it
a. means that the gene pool is constant and unchanging.
b. makes gene flow in and out of a population unlikely.
c. makes life more interesting.
d. may allow the species to survive if the environment changes.
e. makes genetic drift an unlikely occurrence. - ✔✔d. may allow the species to survive if the
environment changes.
A biologist is studying the speciation of organisms without geographical barriers. Based on this
information you would conclude that he/she is studying
a. ecological speciation.
b. microevolution.
c. allopatric speciation.
d. hybrid speciation.
e. sympatric speciation. - ✔✔e. sympatric speciation.
A condition where the number of chromosomes is more than two sets (diploid) is referred to as
a. gametoploidy.
b. haploploidy.
c. polyploidy.
d. zygoploidy.
e. symploidy. - ✔✔c. polyploidy.
The Hawaiian Islands are inhabited by several different species of honeycreepers. These species of birds
evolved from a single species based upon different food sources and occupying different niches. This is
an example of
a. adaptive radiation
b. eutrophication
c. sympatric speciation
d. microevolution
e. mass extinction - ✔✔a. adaptive radiation
Which of the following is NOT an example of sympatric speciation?
a. Over millions of years a canyon becomes too deep to be crossed by squirrel populations on either side
of the canyon. Reproductive isolation causes the development of two different squirrel species.
, b. As the cichlid population grew in Lake Victoria, competition for food also grew. New food sources were
discovered at different depths. Changes in behaviors of successive generations allowed for breeding with
other cichlids displaying the same feeding behaviors. Two species developed.
c. Allium carinatum or keeled garlic is triploid due to nondisjunction during meiosis. It is desirable by
farmers because of its size and disease resistance. - ✔✔a. Over millions of years a canyon becomes too
deep to be crossed by squirrel populations on either side of the canyon. Reproductive isolation causes
the development of two different squirrel species.
The ___________ is the total alleles of all the genes in all the members of a population.
a. gene selection
b. gene migration
c. gene flow
d. genetic drift
e. gene pool - ✔✔e. gene pool
Natural selection is the process by which populations become __________ to their environment.
a. adapted
b. isolated
c. resistant
d. immune - ✔✔a. adapted
Genetic diversity in a population comes from two main sources; _______ and ________.
a. mutations in DNA and homologous structures
b. microevolution and speciation
c. sexual reproduction and mutations in DNA
d. speciation and random mating - ✔✔c. sexual reproduction and mutations in DNA
In the early 1800's Jean-Baptiste Lamarck offered the idea of inheritance of acquired characteristics. This
__________ a satisfactory explanation of evolution, mainly because __________.
a. was not; acquired traits are not inherited; only the traits determined by genes can be passed on to
offspring
b. was; it explained why all giraffes have such long necks
c. was; this idea was supported by experimentation and observation - ✔✔a. was not; acquired traits are
not inherited; only the traits determined by genes can be passed on to offspring
Which of the following situations would likely lead to natural selection?
a. Selective breeding by humans of tame silver foxes to produce individuals that allow themselves to be
petted and seek attention.
b. Choosing an animal or plant to reproduce based on desirable characteristics.
c. Reproduction in a population of bacteria that vary in their ability to survive in an environment of
antibiotics.
d. Selective reproduction of wild mustard plants with enlarged stems to produce kohlrabi - ✔✔c.
Reproduction in a population of bacteria that vary in their ability to survive in an environment of
antibiotics.
Biologists believe that the modern whale evolved from land-dwelling mammals. About 50 million years
ago, through evolution, some mammal species moved back into the water and continued to change over
INTRODUCTORY BIOLOGY FINAL REVIEW 2026/2027
The study of immature forms of an organism - ✔✔embryology
Preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age - ✔✔fossil
Specific characteristics or behaviors influence mate selection - ✔✔nonrandom mating
Prevents fertilization - issues with mating times, courtship behaviors, or physical displays -
✔✔prezygotic mechanisms
Prevents viable offspring - infertility of a hybrid - ✔✔postzygotic mechanisms
Matings occur without consideration of physical or behavioral characteristics - ✔✔random mating
Which of the following is not a basic cause of evolution?
a. genetic mutations
b. gene flow
c. inheritance of acquired characteristics
d. genetic drift
e. natural selection - ✔✔c. inheritance of acquired characteristics
Situation A: A toad population's size is drastically reduced by a flood, creating a group of toads that are
less genetically diverse.
Situation B: Male deer with larger antlers are more attractive to females and so they are more likely to
successfully mate and pass on their genes to the next generation than males with smaller antlers.
Situation C: Two populations of caribou live relatively close to each other. Occasionally a caribou from
one herd will mate with a member of the other herd.
Which situation describes the bottleneck effect?
a. Situation C
b. Situation A
c. Situation B - ✔✔b. Situation A
If two adjacent populations of the same species show gene flow, then the two populations will
a. develop into different species.
b. become more similar in their gene pools.
c. adapt to different conditions and become separate.
d. become isolate from each other. - ✔✔b. become more similar in their gene pools.
Which is the correct order of steps regarding allopatric speciation?
a. reproductive isolation --> two species --> reproductive isolation --> one species
b. reproductive isolation --> one species --> reproductive isolation --> two species
c. geographic isolation --> one species --> reproductive isolation --> two species
,d. one species --> geographic isolation --> reproductive isolation --> two species - ✔✔d. one species -->
geographic isolation --> reproductive isolation --> two species
Almost all living organisms have the same triplet DNA code and many similar proteins. This is evidence
for evolution based on
a. comparative anatomy.
b. comparative embryology.
c. biogeography.
d. comparative biochemistry.
e. the fossil record. - ✔✔d. comparative biochemistry.
A variety of genotypes and phenotypes in a population is useful to that organism because it
a. means that the gene pool is constant and unchanging.
b. makes gene flow in and out of a population unlikely.
c. makes life more interesting.
d. may allow the species to survive if the environment changes.
e. makes genetic drift an unlikely occurrence. - ✔✔d. may allow the species to survive if the
environment changes.
A biologist is studying the speciation of organisms without geographical barriers. Based on this
information you would conclude that he/she is studying
a. ecological speciation.
b. microevolution.
c. allopatric speciation.
d. hybrid speciation.
e. sympatric speciation. - ✔✔e. sympatric speciation.
A condition where the number of chromosomes is more than two sets (diploid) is referred to as
a. gametoploidy.
b. haploploidy.
c. polyploidy.
d. zygoploidy.
e. symploidy. - ✔✔c. polyploidy.
The Hawaiian Islands are inhabited by several different species of honeycreepers. These species of birds
evolved from a single species based upon different food sources and occupying different niches. This is
an example of
a. adaptive radiation
b. eutrophication
c. sympatric speciation
d. microevolution
e. mass extinction - ✔✔a. adaptive radiation
Which of the following is NOT an example of sympatric speciation?
a. Over millions of years a canyon becomes too deep to be crossed by squirrel populations on either side
of the canyon. Reproductive isolation causes the development of two different squirrel species.
, b. As the cichlid population grew in Lake Victoria, competition for food also grew. New food sources were
discovered at different depths. Changes in behaviors of successive generations allowed for breeding with
other cichlids displaying the same feeding behaviors. Two species developed.
c. Allium carinatum or keeled garlic is triploid due to nondisjunction during meiosis. It is desirable by
farmers because of its size and disease resistance. - ✔✔a. Over millions of years a canyon becomes too
deep to be crossed by squirrel populations on either side of the canyon. Reproductive isolation causes
the development of two different squirrel species.
The ___________ is the total alleles of all the genes in all the members of a population.
a. gene selection
b. gene migration
c. gene flow
d. genetic drift
e. gene pool - ✔✔e. gene pool
Natural selection is the process by which populations become __________ to their environment.
a. adapted
b. isolated
c. resistant
d. immune - ✔✔a. adapted
Genetic diversity in a population comes from two main sources; _______ and ________.
a. mutations in DNA and homologous structures
b. microevolution and speciation
c. sexual reproduction and mutations in DNA
d. speciation and random mating - ✔✔c. sexual reproduction and mutations in DNA
In the early 1800's Jean-Baptiste Lamarck offered the idea of inheritance of acquired characteristics. This
__________ a satisfactory explanation of evolution, mainly because __________.
a. was not; acquired traits are not inherited; only the traits determined by genes can be passed on to
offspring
b. was; it explained why all giraffes have such long necks
c. was; this idea was supported by experimentation and observation - ✔✔a. was not; acquired traits are
not inherited; only the traits determined by genes can be passed on to offspring
Which of the following situations would likely lead to natural selection?
a. Selective breeding by humans of tame silver foxes to produce individuals that allow themselves to be
petted and seek attention.
b. Choosing an animal or plant to reproduce based on desirable characteristics.
c. Reproduction in a population of bacteria that vary in their ability to survive in an environment of
antibiotics.
d. Selective reproduction of wild mustard plants with enlarged stems to produce kohlrabi - ✔✔c.
Reproduction in a population of bacteria that vary in their ability to survive in an environment of
antibiotics.
Biologists believe that the modern whale evolved from land-dwelling mammals. About 50 million years
ago, through evolution, some mammal species moved back into the water and continued to change over
