DSU BIOLOGY 101 EXAM 1 | EKDALE
BIOLOGY STUDY GUIDE, PRACTICE
QUESTIONS, ANSWERS & EXAM PREP
The ability of an individual to survive and reproduce in its environment relative to other
individuals is called its: - correct answer fitness
The specific study of multicellular and heterotrophic organisms that acquire nutrition
through ingestion is also know as: - correct answer Zoology
____recognized that heritable traits of an organism were passed from parent to
offspring on "genes" - correct answer Gregor Mendel
An adaptation is a feature that: - correct answer increases the chance that an individual
will reproduce
Certain species of land snail are found in isolated populations in high elevation habitats
on mountaintops. There are mountain ranges in which different mountaintops will have
different, but very closely related, species of snails. The snails cannot survive if they
travel to lower elevations--thus the snails cannot move to populations on other
mountains (i.e., the various species are both reproductively and geographically
isolated.) Evolutionary biologists studying these snails have argued that the different
species of snail arose through the process of: - correct answer allopatric speciation
The physical expression of an organism's genetic constitution is called its: - correct
answer phenotype (visible or expressed characteristics of an organism, influenced by
the genotype)
What does the theory of endosymbiosis explain? - correct answer Evolution of the
eukaryotic cell
Why is taxonomy, or the naming and organizing of organisms, important? - correct
answer All of the above.
Two different groups of organisms are termed sister taxa if: - correct answer they share
common ancestry with each other more recently than either one does with any other
organisms
A membrane-bound nucleus within the cell is a synapomorphy for the monophyletic
group called - correct answer Eukarya
, Cilia, flagella, and pseudopods are structures found in some unicellular "protists" that: -
correct answer allow the organisms to move
British geologist Charles Lyell popularized the principle of uniformitarianism, which
states that: - correct answer natural laws of physics and chemistry have remained
constant throughout Earth's history
A synapomorphy: - correct answer a heritable attribute that is shared between two or
more taxa
What is the name of the major clade of life that is the sister taxon to Animalia? - correct
answer Choanoflagellatea
The oldest fossil, which represents the first life form on Earth, is similar in structure to
living: - correct answer Bacteria
The divergence (splitting) of two species from one is known as: - correct answer
speciation
If the fitness of a variable trait is greatly reduced, then the trait will: - correct answer
become less common in the population in the following generation
In 1995, a hurricane deposited a collection of uprooted trees and leaves on the eastern
beaches of the island of Anguilla in the Caribbean. The vegetative matter likely came
from Guadaloupe, an island a few hundred miles away. Approximately one dozen green
iguanas, which were native to Guadaloupe but had never been seen on Anguilla, were
observed emerging from the vegetation deposited on the Anguilla beach. Over the past
20 years, the iguanas on Anguilla have been diverging genetically from the original
Guadaloupe population through genetic drift. If the two populations become two new
species, the most likely method would be____ speciation by means of _____. - correct
answer allopatric; dispersal
Allopatric (Occurs in small populations that are physically isolated)
Dispersal (Individuals migrate from one area to another)
Which of the following scenarios accurately describes natural selection? - correct
answer The size of canine teeth (fangs) varies among members of population of saber-
tooth cats. Those individuals with larger canines are more likely to catch prey than
individuals with shorter canines. After several generations, the majority of saber-tooth
cats have large canines.
Which of the following mechanisms explains evolution through random sampling error of
genotypes within a population across generations? - correct answer genetic drift
BIOLOGY STUDY GUIDE, PRACTICE
QUESTIONS, ANSWERS & EXAM PREP
The ability of an individual to survive and reproduce in its environment relative to other
individuals is called its: - correct answer fitness
The specific study of multicellular and heterotrophic organisms that acquire nutrition
through ingestion is also know as: - correct answer Zoology
____recognized that heritable traits of an organism were passed from parent to
offspring on "genes" - correct answer Gregor Mendel
An adaptation is a feature that: - correct answer increases the chance that an individual
will reproduce
Certain species of land snail are found in isolated populations in high elevation habitats
on mountaintops. There are mountain ranges in which different mountaintops will have
different, but very closely related, species of snails. The snails cannot survive if they
travel to lower elevations--thus the snails cannot move to populations on other
mountains (i.e., the various species are both reproductively and geographically
isolated.) Evolutionary biologists studying these snails have argued that the different
species of snail arose through the process of: - correct answer allopatric speciation
The physical expression of an organism's genetic constitution is called its: - correct
answer phenotype (visible or expressed characteristics of an organism, influenced by
the genotype)
What does the theory of endosymbiosis explain? - correct answer Evolution of the
eukaryotic cell
Why is taxonomy, or the naming and organizing of organisms, important? - correct
answer All of the above.
Two different groups of organisms are termed sister taxa if: - correct answer they share
common ancestry with each other more recently than either one does with any other
organisms
A membrane-bound nucleus within the cell is a synapomorphy for the monophyletic
group called - correct answer Eukarya
, Cilia, flagella, and pseudopods are structures found in some unicellular "protists" that: -
correct answer allow the organisms to move
British geologist Charles Lyell popularized the principle of uniformitarianism, which
states that: - correct answer natural laws of physics and chemistry have remained
constant throughout Earth's history
A synapomorphy: - correct answer a heritable attribute that is shared between two or
more taxa
What is the name of the major clade of life that is the sister taxon to Animalia? - correct
answer Choanoflagellatea
The oldest fossil, which represents the first life form on Earth, is similar in structure to
living: - correct answer Bacteria
The divergence (splitting) of two species from one is known as: - correct answer
speciation
If the fitness of a variable trait is greatly reduced, then the trait will: - correct answer
become less common in the population in the following generation
In 1995, a hurricane deposited a collection of uprooted trees and leaves on the eastern
beaches of the island of Anguilla in the Caribbean. The vegetative matter likely came
from Guadaloupe, an island a few hundred miles away. Approximately one dozen green
iguanas, which were native to Guadaloupe but had never been seen on Anguilla, were
observed emerging from the vegetation deposited on the Anguilla beach. Over the past
20 years, the iguanas on Anguilla have been diverging genetically from the original
Guadaloupe population through genetic drift. If the two populations become two new
species, the most likely method would be____ speciation by means of _____. - correct
answer allopatric; dispersal
Allopatric (Occurs in small populations that are physically isolated)
Dispersal (Individuals migrate from one area to another)
Which of the following scenarios accurately describes natural selection? - correct
answer The size of canine teeth (fangs) varies among members of population of saber-
tooth cats. Those individuals with larger canines are more likely to catch prey than
individuals with shorter canines. After several generations, the majority of saber-tooth
cats have large canines.
Which of the following mechanisms explains evolution through random sampling error of
genotypes within a population across generations? - correct answer genetic drift
