Bio 322 EXAM 2026 UPDATE
QUESTIONS AND CORRECT VERIFIED
ANSWERS ALREADY GRADED A+
(BRAND NEW VISION)
Sickle cell disease results from a nonsynonymous point mutation of the HBB gene,
producing an altered beta chain of hemoglobin. Beta thalassemia is caused by a
mutation to the same gene, but instead of an altered beta chain, the final protein is
absent or incomplete. Which of these mutations is the most probable cause of beta
thalassemia in a patient without a family history of the disease?
a. A synonymous mutation in an exon
b. A nonsynonymous point mutation resulting in a premature stop codon
c. An inversion, in which several codons have their sequence reversed
d. Several successive nonsynonymous point mutations changing many codons that
code for glutamic acid to valine
e. A duplication of the HBB gene, creating too much protein product - ans-a. A
synonymous mutation in an exon
Humans have 23 chromosome pairs. Other members of the Hominidae, including
chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans, have 24. What could have caused this
difference?
a. Inversions
b. Fusions
c. Deletions
d. Frameshift mutations
e. Backmutation - ans-b. Fusions
A stretch of genome is known to have a constant mutation rate of 10-6
per generation within a group of species. Two different species within this group are
shown to have 16 differences in that stretch of genome. How long have their lineages
been separated?
a. 16 million generations
b. 8 million generations
c. 16 generations
d. 32 million generations
e. 0.000016 generations - ans-b. 8 million generations
,A mutation in DNA found in which type of cell would be found in descendants as well as
the individual in which the mutation occurred?
a. A guard cell in a leaf's stomata
b. A skin cell on a monkey's ear
c. A germ-line cell in an elephant's teste
d. A muscle-cell in a mouse's heart
e. A parenchyma cell in the soft tissue of a plant's fruit - ans-c. A germ-line cell in
an elephant's teste
When we say that mutation is random, we mean that
a. we cannot predict which gene copy will undergo a mutation, and environments do not
induce adaptive mutations.
b. all loci are equally mutable.
c. the chance that a mutation occurs is influenced by whether or not an organism is in
an environment in which that mutation would be advantageous.
d. environmental factors cannot affect mutation rates.
e. all conceivable mutations are equally likely to occur. - ans-a. we cannot predict
which gene copy will undergo a mutation, and environments do not induce
adaptive mutations.
Phenotypic differences that are not based on DNA sequence differences (for example,
DNA methylation) can be passed from parent to offspring. This phenomenon is called
a. genotype × environment interaction.
b. maternal effects.
c. epigenetic inheritance.
d. phenotypic plasticity.
e. norm of reaction. - ans-c. epigenetic inheritance.
Which of the following is the best example of the evolution of an adaptation?
a. Non-random survival and reproduction favors finches with broader beaks, increasing
the bill size in the next generation.
b. A predator eats snails with a striped shell at a higher rate than other snails. By
chance the pink snails in the population have a low rate of striping. In the next
generation, more pink-shelled snails are present.
c. A population of sticklebacks in a lake have low levels of armor. Migrants from the
ocean introduce genes for increased armor to the population.
d. Female bowerbirds choose to mate with males that have the bowers most elaborately
decorated with blue objects. Overtime the bowers become increasingly complex.
e. All of the above are examples of adaptive evolution. - ans-a. Non-random survival
and reproduction favors finches with broader beaks, increasing the bill size in the
next generation.
,Which trait cannot describe an adaptation?
a. A trait that appears to have been designed following engineering principles, like the
extendable jaws of a snake
b. A trait that promotes reproduction but does not affect survival, like floral scents
c. A heritable behavioral trait that does not involve physical morphology, like
cooperation
d. A trait that results in death of the individual exhibiting it but increases that individual's
total number of offspring, like the suicidal behavior of male redback spiders after mating
e. A trait that does not change the probability of survival or reproduction, like the color of
cave-dwelling fish - ans-e. A trait that does not change the probability of survival or
reproduction, like the color of cave-dwelling fish
Which of the following is not a well-documented example of adaptive evolution in
response to human activities?
a. The evolution of resistance to the antibiotic penicillin by pathogenic bacteria
b. Earlier maturation or maturation at a smaller size by commercially harvested fish
c. Changes in the ranges of European songbirds because of human-caused climate
change
d. Reduced genetic diversity in elephant seal populations because of overhunting in the
1890s
e. Decreasing antler size in deer because of hunters' preference for deer with larger
racks - ans-d. Reduced genetic diversity in elephant seal populations because of
overhunting in the 1890s
The fitness of a biological entity is
a. the variation in the number of offspring produced as a consequence of competition for
mates.
b. any consistent difference in reproductive success among phenotypically different
classes of organisms.
c. its survival rate.
d. its average per capita rate of increase in numbers.
e. its physiological condition. - ans-d. its average per capita rate of increase in
numbers.
Which term is defined as any consistent difference in fitness among phenotypically
different classes of biological entities as a consequence of competition for mates?
a. Reproductive success
b. Natural selection
c. Sexual selection
d. Individual selection
e. Meiotic drive - ans-c. Sexual selection
, Creationists criticize the idea of natural selection as a circular argument, or tautology,
claiming "The fittest are those that survive, and survival is how fitness is defined." Why
is our definition of natural selection not tautological?
a. Fitness also includes a reproduction component.
b. Natural selection is measured by contribution to the next generation, not simply
survival of an individual organism.
c. Creationists use religious definitions of these terms, not scientific ones.
d. Creationists do not realize that evolutionary biologists recognize other mechanisms of
evolution, including genetic drift.
e. This is a legitimate criticism of natural selection and even Darwin acknowledges it in
On the Origin of Species. - ans-b. Natural selection is measured by contribution to
the next generation, not simply survival of an individual organism.
Meiotic drive, or segregation distortion, is an example of
a. gametic selection.
b. kin selection.
c. group selection.
d. sexual selection.
e. inclusive fitness. - ans-a. gametic selection.
A feature that reduces the fitness of an individual but benefits the population or species
a. cannot evolve by individual selection.
b. can evolve by group selection.
c. will decline in frequency among other nonaltruistic phenotypes.
d. All of the above
e. None of the above - ans-d. All of the above
Which condition would most likely lead to an increase in the frequency of an altruistic
behavior in a population?
a. Groups that differ in terms of altruistic and selfish genotypes have differential
reproduction or survival.
b. The altruistic behavior benefits the population.
c. The rate of extinction of the selfish genotype is high.
d. There is a gene flow among populations.
e. The beneficiaries of the behavior are related to the individual performing it. - ans-e.
The beneficiaries of the behavior are related to the individual performing it.
Alarm calls by ground squirrels alert other ground squirrels to danger, but they also
draw attention to the caller and expose it to increased risk of predation. Such altruistic
behavior is best explained by the phenomenon of
QUESTIONS AND CORRECT VERIFIED
ANSWERS ALREADY GRADED A+
(BRAND NEW VISION)
Sickle cell disease results from a nonsynonymous point mutation of the HBB gene,
producing an altered beta chain of hemoglobin. Beta thalassemia is caused by a
mutation to the same gene, but instead of an altered beta chain, the final protein is
absent or incomplete. Which of these mutations is the most probable cause of beta
thalassemia in a patient without a family history of the disease?
a. A synonymous mutation in an exon
b. A nonsynonymous point mutation resulting in a premature stop codon
c. An inversion, in which several codons have their sequence reversed
d. Several successive nonsynonymous point mutations changing many codons that
code for glutamic acid to valine
e. A duplication of the HBB gene, creating too much protein product - ans-a. A
synonymous mutation in an exon
Humans have 23 chromosome pairs. Other members of the Hominidae, including
chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans, have 24. What could have caused this
difference?
a. Inversions
b. Fusions
c. Deletions
d. Frameshift mutations
e. Backmutation - ans-b. Fusions
A stretch of genome is known to have a constant mutation rate of 10-6
per generation within a group of species. Two different species within this group are
shown to have 16 differences in that stretch of genome. How long have their lineages
been separated?
a. 16 million generations
b. 8 million generations
c. 16 generations
d. 32 million generations
e. 0.000016 generations - ans-b. 8 million generations
,A mutation in DNA found in which type of cell would be found in descendants as well as
the individual in which the mutation occurred?
a. A guard cell in a leaf's stomata
b. A skin cell on a monkey's ear
c. A germ-line cell in an elephant's teste
d. A muscle-cell in a mouse's heart
e. A parenchyma cell in the soft tissue of a plant's fruit - ans-c. A germ-line cell in
an elephant's teste
When we say that mutation is random, we mean that
a. we cannot predict which gene copy will undergo a mutation, and environments do not
induce adaptive mutations.
b. all loci are equally mutable.
c. the chance that a mutation occurs is influenced by whether or not an organism is in
an environment in which that mutation would be advantageous.
d. environmental factors cannot affect mutation rates.
e. all conceivable mutations are equally likely to occur. - ans-a. we cannot predict
which gene copy will undergo a mutation, and environments do not induce
adaptive mutations.
Phenotypic differences that are not based on DNA sequence differences (for example,
DNA methylation) can be passed from parent to offspring. This phenomenon is called
a. genotype × environment interaction.
b. maternal effects.
c. epigenetic inheritance.
d. phenotypic plasticity.
e. norm of reaction. - ans-c. epigenetic inheritance.
Which of the following is the best example of the evolution of an adaptation?
a. Non-random survival and reproduction favors finches with broader beaks, increasing
the bill size in the next generation.
b. A predator eats snails with a striped shell at a higher rate than other snails. By
chance the pink snails in the population have a low rate of striping. In the next
generation, more pink-shelled snails are present.
c. A population of sticklebacks in a lake have low levels of armor. Migrants from the
ocean introduce genes for increased armor to the population.
d. Female bowerbirds choose to mate with males that have the bowers most elaborately
decorated with blue objects. Overtime the bowers become increasingly complex.
e. All of the above are examples of adaptive evolution. - ans-a. Non-random survival
and reproduction favors finches with broader beaks, increasing the bill size in the
next generation.
,Which trait cannot describe an adaptation?
a. A trait that appears to have been designed following engineering principles, like the
extendable jaws of a snake
b. A trait that promotes reproduction but does not affect survival, like floral scents
c. A heritable behavioral trait that does not involve physical morphology, like
cooperation
d. A trait that results in death of the individual exhibiting it but increases that individual's
total number of offspring, like the suicidal behavior of male redback spiders after mating
e. A trait that does not change the probability of survival or reproduction, like the color of
cave-dwelling fish - ans-e. A trait that does not change the probability of survival or
reproduction, like the color of cave-dwelling fish
Which of the following is not a well-documented example of adaptive evolution in
response to human activities?
a. The evolution of resistance to the antibiotic penicillin by pathogenic bacteria
b. Earlier maturation or maturation at a smaller size by commercially harvested fish
c. Changes in the ranges of European songbirds because of human-caused climate
change
d. Reduced genetic diversity in elephant seal populations because of overhunting in the
1890s
e. Decreasing antler size in deer because of hunters' preference for deer with larger
racks - ans-d. Reduced genetic diversity in elephant seal populations because of
overhunting in the 1890s
The fitness of a biological entity is
a. the variation in the number of offspring produced as a consequence of competition for
mates.
b. any consistent difference in reproductive success among phenotypically different
classes of organisms.
c. its survival rate.
d. its average per capita rate of increase in numbers.
e. its physiological condition. - ans-d. its average per capita rate of increase in
numbers.
Which term is defined as any consistent difference in fitness among phenotypically
different classes of biological entities as a consequence of competition for mates?
a. Reproductive success
b. Natural selection
c. Sexual selection
d. Individual selection
e. Meiotic drive - ans-c. Sexual selection
, Creationists criticize the idea of natural selection as a circular argument, or tautology,
claiming "The fittest are those that survive, and survival is how fitness is defined." Why
is our definition of natural selection not tautological?
a. Fitness also includes a reproduction component.
b. Natural selection is measured by contribution to the next generation, not simply
survival of an individual organism.
c. Creationists use religious definitions of these terms, not scientific ones.
d. Creationists do not realize that evolutionary biologists recognize other mechanisms of
evolution, including genetic drift.
e. This is a legitimate criticism of natural selection and even Darwin acknowledges it in
On the Origin of Species. - ans-b. Natural selection is measured by contribution to
the next generation, not simply survival of an individual organism.
Meiotic drive, or segregation distortion, is an example of
a. gametic selection.
b. kin selection.
c. group selection.
d. sexual selection.
e. inclusive fitness. - ans-a. gametic selection.
A feature that reduces the fitness of an individual but benefits the population or species
a. cannot evolve by individual selection.
b. can evolve by group selection.
c. will decline in frequency among other nonaltruistic phenotypes.
d. All of the above
e. None of the above - ans-d. All of the above
Which condition would most likely lead to an increase in the frequency of an altruistic
behavior in a population?
a. Groups that differ in terms of altruistic and selfish genotypes have differential
reproduction or survival.
b. The altruistic behavior benefits the population.
c. The rate of extinction of the selfish genotype is high.
d. There is a gene flow among populations.
e. The beneficiaries of the behavior are related to the individual performing it. - ans-e.
The beneficiaries of the behavior are related to the individual performing it.
Alarm calls by ground squirrels alert other ground squirrels to danger, but they also
draw attention to the caller and expose it to increased risk of predation. Such altruistic
behavior is best explained by the phenomenon of
