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Biology 1500 Final Exam Questions And
Answers |Latest 2025 | Guaranteed Pass
Which of the following is the best modern definition of evolution?
A) inheritance of acquired characters
B) change in allele frequencies in a population over time
C) survival of the fittest
D) descent without modification - Answer✔B
Which of the following is not a correct version of one of Darwin's four postulates?
A) some of variability in traits in a population are heritable.
B) individuals with certain heritable traits are more likely to survive and reproduce.
C) in each generation, only as many offspring that can survive are produced.
D) individuals in a population vary in their traits. - Answer✔C
Evolution in a population island finches can be caused by the following agent(s):
A) genetic drift
B) natural selection
C) gene flow
D) all of the above
E) both natural selection and genetic drift - Answer✔D
1|Page
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Biological fitness is best defined as:
A) similar reproductive success among individuals in a population
B) relative the ability of an individual to produce offspring that survive and reproduce
C) competition among individuals for resources that allow them to have more offspring
D) a heritable trait that increases the match of an individual to its environment
E) variability in the population for a trait that increases survival - Answer✔B
Cotton-topped tamarins are small primates with tufts of long white hair on their heads. While
studying these creatures, you notice that males with longer hair get more opportunities to
mate and father more offspring. You believe that having longer hair is adaptive to these males.
To prove that this is an adaptation, you next should ________.
A) conclude that natural selection will lead to males with longer hair in your population
B) determine if hair length is heritable
C) conclude that longer haired males survive better than their shorter haired counterparts
D) conclude that there is not enough variation in hair length for natural selection to act -
Answer✔B
Which of the following statements describes natural selection best?
A) Individuals with the most favorable alleles survive and reproduce.
B) Natural selection causes irreversible changes.
C) Selection causes changes of individuals that make them more likely to survive.
D) Natural selection is a random process that leads to more complex traits. - Answer✔A
Speciation occurs when populations become genetically isolated and then diverge due to
evolutionary mechanisms. Which of the following could be a dispersal event that would lead to
genetic isolation for populations in that habitat?
A) Some insects get blown in a storm to a new mountain range, where they lay eggs.
B) Radiation near a nuclear spill increases mutation rate, causing an increase in new alleles.
2|Page
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C) The level of water in a lake recedes, creating two lakes where there used to be one.
D) All of the above could be vicariance events for species in that habitat. - Answer✔A
Genetic drift occurs in a population. Which of the following statements might be true?
A) The population experiences a decrease in genetic variation.
B) Genetic drift increased the population's fitness.
C) Genetic drift decreased the population's fitness.
D) The population was relatively small.
E) Any of the statements can be true. - Answer✔E
Genetic variation ______.
A) must be present in a population before natural selection can act upon the population.
B) tends to be reduced when diploid organisms produce gametes.
C) is created by the direct action of natural selection.
D) arises in response to changes in the environment. - Answer✔A
Which of the following is the least likely to result in the formation of new species?
A) genetic drift
B) natural selection
C) gene flow
D) the founder effect - Answer✔C.
Most Swiss starlings produce four to five eggs in each clutch. Starlings producing fewer or more
than this have reduced fitness. Which of the following terms best describes this situation?
A) stabilizing selection
B) artificial selection
C) directional selection
3|Page
Biology 1500 Final Exam Questions And
Answers |Latest 2025 | Guaranteed Pass
Which of the following is the best modern definition of evolution?
A) inheritance of acquired characters
B) change in allele frequencies in a population over time
C) survival of the fittest
D) descent without modification - Answer✔B
Which of the following is not a correct version of one of Darwin's four postulates?
A) some of variability in traits in a population are heritable.
B) individuals with certain heritable traits are more likely to survive and reproduce.
C) in each generation, only as many offspring that can survive are produced.
D) individuals in a population vary in their traits. - Answer✔C
Evolution in a population island finches can be caused by the following agent(s):
A) genetic drift
B) natural selection
C) gene flow
D) all of the above
E) both natural selection and genetic drift - Answer✔D
1|Page
, ©THESTAR 2024/2025 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 1:27PM. A+
Biological fitness is best defined as:
A) similar reproductive success among individuals in a population
B) relative the ability of an individual to produce offspring that survive and reproduce
C) competition among individuals for resources that allow them to have more offspring
D) a heritable trait that increases the match of an individual to its environment
E) variability in the population for a trait that increases survival - Answer✔B
Cotton-topped tamarins are small primates with tufts of long white hair on their heads. While
studying these creatures, you notice that males with longer hair get more opportunities to
mate and father more offspring. You believe that having longer hair is adaptive to these males.
To prove that this is an adaptation, you next should ________.
A) conclude that natural selection will lead to males with longer hair in your population
B) determine if hair length is heritable
C) conclude that longer haired males survive better than their shorter haired counterparts
D) conclude that there is not enough variation in hair length for natural selection to act -
Answer✔B
Which of the following statements describes natural selection best?
A) Individuals with the most favorable alleles survive and reproduce.
B) Natural selection causes irreversible changes.
C) Selection causes changes of individuals that make them more likely to survive.
D) Natural selection is a random process that leads to more complex traits. - Answer✔A
Speciation occurs when populations become genetically isolated and then diverge due to
evolutionary mechanisms. Which of the following could be a dispersal event that would lead to
genetic isolation for populations in that habitat?
A) Some insects get blown in a storm to a new mountain range, where they lay eggs.
B) Radiation near a nuclear spill increases mutation rate, causing an increase in new alleles.
2|Page
, ©THESTAR 2024/2025 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 1:27PM. A+
C) The level of water in a lake recedes, creating two lakes where there used to be one.
D) All of the above could be vicariance events for species in that habitat. - Answer✔A
Genetic drift occurs in a population. Which of the following statements might be true?
A) The population experiences a decrease in genetic variation.
B) Genetic drift increased the population's fitness.
C) Genetic drift decreased the population's fitness.
D) The population was relatively small.
E) Any of the statements can be true. - Answer✔E
Genetic variation ______.
A) must be present in a population before natural selection can act upon the population.
B) tends to be reduced when diploid organisms produce gametes.
C) is created by the direct action of natural selection.
D) arises in response to changes in the environment. - Answer✔A
Which of the following is the least likely to result in the formation of new species?
A) genetic drift
B) natural selection
C) gene flow
D) the founder effect - Answer✔C.
Most Swiss starlings produce four to five eggs in each clutch. Starlings producing fewer or more
than this have reduced fitness. Which of the following terms best describes this situation?
A) stabilizing selection
B) artificial selection
C) directional selection
3|Page
