Evolution Exam – Multiple Choice Questions – Practice Test & Revision
Guide
Your friend remarks, "The giraffe stretched its neck while reaching for higher leaves; as a result,
its offspring inherited longer necks" Which statement is the best response to correct your
friend's misconception?
a. Overproduction of offspring leads to a struggle for survival.
b. Only favorable adaptations have survival value.
c. Characteristics acquired during an organism's life are generally not passed on through genes
to its offspring.
d. Disuse of an organ may lead to its eventual disappearance. - correct answer
✔✔Characteristics acquired during an organism's life are generally not passed on through genes
to its offspring.
Which of the following principles is NOT part of Darwin's original theory of evolution by natural
selection?
a. Evolution is a gradual process that occurs over long periods of time.
b. Variation occurs among individuals in a population.
c. Mutations are the ultimate source of genetic variation.
d. More individuals are born than will survive.
e. Individuals that possess the most favorable variations have the best chance of reproducing -
correct answer ✔✔Mutations are the ultimate source of genetic variation.
The more closely related two different organisms are, the
a. more similar their habitats are
b. less similar their DNA sequences are
c. more recently they shared a common ancestor
, d. less likely they are to have the same genes in common - correct answer ✔✔more recently
they shared a common ancestor
For a population in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, the frequency of the recessive allele
a. increases with each generation until it reaches 50%
b. decreases with each generation until it reaches 25%
c. remains the same in every generation
d. decreases due to negative selection pressure on homozygous recessive individuals
e. increases due to the occurrence of new mutations - correct answer ✔✔remains the same in
every generation
For a given population that contains genetic variation and is under the influence of natural
selection, what is the correct sequence of the following events?
1. Well-adapted individuals leave more offspring
2. A change occurs in the environment.
3. Genetic frequencies within the population change
4. Poorly adapted individuals do not survive
a. 2 -> 4 -> 1 -> 3
b. 2 -> 4 -> 3 -> 1
c. 4 -> 1 -> 2 -> 3
d. 4 -> 2 -> 3 -> 1 - correct answer ✔✔2 -> 4 -> 1 -> 3
The Grant's studies of Darwin's finches provided evidence that beak size:
a. adjusted within a given year depending on nutrition status
b. differences were the result of inherited changes in response to environmental selective
pressures
c. were completely random and no pattern was determined
Guide
Your friend remarks, "The giraffe stretched its neck while reaching for higher leaves; as a result,
its offspring inherited longer necks" Which statement is the best response to correct your
friend's misconception?
a. Overproduction of offspring leads to a struggle for survival.
b. Only favorable adaptations have survival value.
c. Characteristics acquired during an organism's life are generally not passed on through genes
to its offspring.
d. Disuse of an organ may lead to its eventual disappearance. - correct answer
✔✔Characteristics acquired during an organism's life are generally not passed on through genes
to its offspring.
Which of the following principles is NOT part of Darwin's original theory of evolution by natural
selection?
a. Evolution is a gradual process that occurs over long periods of time.
b. Variation occurs among individuals in a population.
c. Mutations are the ultimate source of genetic variation.
d. More individuals are born than will survive.
e. Individuals that possess the most favorable variations have the best chance of reproducing -
correct answer ✔✔Mutations are the ultimate source of genetic variation.
The more closely related two different organisms are, the
a. more similar their habitats are
b. less similar their DNA sequences are
c. more recently they shared a common ancestor
, d. less likely they are to have the same genes in common - correct answer ✔✔more recently
they shared a common ancestor
For a population in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, the frequency of the recessive allele
a. increases with each generation until it reaches 50%
b. decreases with each generation until it reaches 25%
c. remains the same in every generation
d. decreases due to negative selection pressure on homozygous recessive individuals
e. increases due to the occurrence of new mutations - correct answer ✔✔remains the same in
every generation
For a given population that contains genetic variation and is under the influence of natural
selection, what is the correct sequence of the following events?
1. Well-adapted individuals leave more offspring
2. A change occurs in the environment.
3. Genetic frequencies within the population change
4. Poorly adapted individuals do not survive
a. 2 -> 4 -> 1 -> 3
b. 2 -> 4 -> 3 -> 1
c. 4 -> 1 -> 2 -> 3
d. 4 -> 2 -> 3 -> 1 - correct answer ✔✔2 -> 4 -> 1 -> 3
The Grant's studies of Darwin's finches provided evidence that beak size:
a. adjusted within a given year depending on nutrition status
b. differences were the result of inherited changes in response to environmental selective
pressures
c. were completely random and no pattern was determined
