Evolution Exam 1 questions and answers 100% verified.

Evolution Exam 1 questions and answers 100% verified. Define biological evolution A) Any process by which populations of organisms change over time. B) Any change in the inherited traits of a population that occurs from one generation to the next. C) Change within a lineage due to natural selection and other mechanisms. D) All of the above - correct answers.D What type of evidence has been used to infer that whales evolved from mammals that used to live on land (rather than from fishes, for example)? A) Whales share traits with other mammals, like needing to breather air and giving birth to live young that feed on milk. B) Whales still have developmental genes for traits they no longer have, like hind legs. C) Fossils of early whales display combinations of traits that reveal a gradual transition from terrestrial to aquatic life. D) All of the above. - correct answers.D Why do baleen whales still have genes for building teeth? A) These genes are now used to make baleen. B) Their ancestors had teeth, and they inherited these genes from them, even though the genes no longer function. C) Their descendants might need teeth, so evolution keeps the genes around. D) Evolution can't take aways genes, only add new ones. - correct answers.B What makes hemagglutinin important in the evolution of influenza virus? A) It allows a virus to attack the red blood cells of its host. B) It is the basic building block of virus cell walls. C) It allows the virus to bind to the cells of its host. D) All of the above. - correct answers.C Which of the following is a true statement? A) The ancestors of whales needed more food than could be found on land, so they evolved features that allowed them to survive in water. B) Whales and humans share a common ancestor. C) Mutations always cause the improvement of a trait. D) Viruses mutate because they want to have the best adapted hemagglutinin throughout their evolution. - correct answers.B Which of the following is NOT a place that scientists look for evidence of evolution? A) The fossil remains of extinct animals. B) Comparison of homologous traits in various species. C) Chance during an individual organisms lifetime. D) Change across generations in wild populations. - correct answers.C Which of these statements about phenotype is true? A) Individuals that adjust their phenotypes in response to their environment cannot be favored by natural selection. B) Natural selection does not act on phenotypes. C) An individuals behavior is not part of its phenotype. D) An individuals phenotype is a result of its genes and the environment in which it develops. - correct answers.D Why do scientists overwhelmingly accept the theory of evolution? A) Because the theory has overwhelming evidentiary support? B) Because the theory explains and predicts independent lines of evidence. C) Because scientists have tested and retested its predictions. D) All of the above. - correct answers.D Which of the following best describes natural selection? A) Natural selection is a mechanism that allows individuals to pass on to their offspring those traits that are favorable. B) Natural selection occurs when heritable characteristics cause some individuals to survive and reproduce more successfully than others. C) Natural selection is a mechanism that allows for greater reproductive success in all species within a given environment. D) All of the above. - correct answers.B Why is influenza a worldwide threat? A) Because influenza has the potential to kill millions of people from a single outbreak. B) Because mutations in the influenza virus can allow the virus to evade the human immune system. C) Because viral reassortment can result in the flu crossing over from another species to humans. D) All of the above. - correct answers.D Which of these statements is a concept found in Georges Buffon's ideas about evolution but not the way we understand evolution now? A) Populations can change over time. B) Life can be divided into a number of distinct types that are not related to each other. C) Living things are made of the same particles found in rocks and water. D) Life took more than a few thousand years to evolve. - correct answers.B What would Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and Charles Darwin have agreed on? a. One generation can pass on its traits to the next. b. Individual animals and plants can adapt to their environment. c. Life is driven from simplicity to complexity. d. Both a and b. - correct answers.A What is a correct definition of homology? A. Common traits due to shared inheritance from a common ancestor. B. Common function of traits due to similar usage. C. Structure of limbs that are common among all mammals. D. Traits in separate lineages that converged on a similar shape. - correct answers.A What set Darwin and Wallace's concept of natural selection apart from earlier ideas of evolution? A. Their concept explained why organisms were related to each other. B. Their concept depended on a process that is observable. C. Their concept depended on the inheritance of characteristics from one generation to the next. D. Their concept suggested that change was very gradual. - correct answers.B Darwin is generally given more credit than Wallace for discovering natural selection as a mechanism of evolution because A. Wallace already knew of Darwin's work, so he didn't arrive at the idea independently. B. Darwin was part of the academic establishment (a fellow of the Royal Society), whereas Wallace was not. C. Darwin's paper explained natural selection more effectively than Wallace's. D. Darwin's journals established that he had arrived at the idea many years earlier than Wallace. - correct answers.D Which of the following is not a reason Darwin's concept of descent with modification fits so well with Linnaeus's system of taxonomy classification? A. Linnaeus formulated his classification system to account for species changing gradually over time. B. Linnaeus's taxonomic groups (genus, family, order, class, phylum, kingdom) nest within each other in much the same way that branches converge on bigger branches and then trunks on Darwin's "tree of life." C. Linnaeus's groups are defined based on shared characteristics, which fits well with Darwin's idea that descendent species inherit homologous traits from their most recent common ancestor. D. Descent with modification can explain the patterns Linnaeus observed and the hierarchical classification system he formulated to describe them. - correct answers.A Lamarck's idea that organisms inherit their parents' acquired characteristics has experienced a recent resurgence in popularity because A. modern genomic studies cast doubt on traditional concepts of gene function and inheritance. B. phenotypic plasticity—changes in traits acquired during the lifetime of an organism in response to environmental conditions—is now a thriving field of research in biology. C. it has become clear that some acquired traits, such as physiological responses to stress, can be transmitted epigenetically to offspring (at least for a generation or two). D. phenotypic plasticity is now considered a form of biological evolution. - correct answers.C Why is Linnaeus considered the founder of modern taxonomy? A. Because his system of grouping organisms into a nested hierarchy is still in use today. B. Because the groupings of organisms within his original hierarchy are still supported today. C. Because he was the first to use stratigraphy as a method for reconstructing the past.