EVOLUTION PRACTICE TEST UPDATED QUESTIONS AND
ANSWER
During a study session about evolution, one of your fellow students remarks, "The giraffe stretched its
neck while reaching for higher leaves; its offspring inherited longer necks as a result." Which statement
would you use to correct this student's misconception? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Characteristics
acquired during an organism's life are generally not passed on through genes.
Who was the naturalist who synthesized a concept of natural selection independently of Darwin? -
CORRECT ANSWER✅✅alfred wallace
Charles Darwin was the first to propose - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅a mechanism for evolution that was
supported by evidence
In evolutionary terms, the more closely related two different organisms are, the - CORRECT
ANSWER✅✅more recently they shared a common ancestor.
Evolution by natural selection is based on all of the following except - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅individuals
must adapt to their environment.
Which statement about natural selection is most correct? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Well-adapted
individuals leave more offspring, and thus contribute more to the gene pool, than poorly adapted
individuals.
To observe natural selection's effects on a population, what must be true? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅
During drought years on the Galapagos, small, easily eaten seeds become rare leaving only large, hard-
cased seeds that only birds with large beaks can eat. If a drought persists for several years, then what
should one expect to result from natural selection? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅More small-beaked birds
dying than the larger-beaked birds. The offspring produced in subsequent generations have a higher
percentage of birds with large beaks.
Which of the following statements is not an inference of natural selection? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅An
individual organism undergoes evolution over the course of its lifetime
, Which of the following must exist in a population before natural selection can act upon that population?
- CORRECT ANSWER✅✅genetic variation among individuals
A biologist studied a population of squirrels for 15 years. During that time, the population was never
fewer than 30 squirrels and never more than 45. Her data showed that over half of the squirrels born
did not survive to reproduce, because of competition for food and predation. In a single generation, 90%
of the squirrels that were born lived to reproduce, and the population increased to 80. What inferences
might you make about this population? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅A and B only
DDT was once considered a "silver bullet" that would permanently eradicate insect pests. Today,
instead, DDT is largely useless against many insects. What would need to be true for pest eradication
efforts to have been successful in the long run? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅All individual insects should
have possessed genomes that made them susceptible to DDT.
Structures as different as human arms, bat wings, and dolphin flippers contain many of the same bones,
these bones having developed from the same embryonic tissues. How do biologists interpret these
similarities? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅A and C only
Over evolutionary time, many cave-dwelling organisms have lost their eyes. Tapeworms have lost their
digestive systems. Whales have lost their hind limbs. How can natural selection account for these
losses? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Under particular circumstances that persisted for long periods, each of
these structures presented greater costs than benefits.
It has been observed that organisms on islands are different from, but closely related to, similar forms
found on the nearest continent. This is taken as evidence that - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅island forms and
mainland forms descended from common ancestors.
The theory of evolution is most accurately described as - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅an overarching
explanation, supported by much evidence, for how populations change over time
Which of the following is not an observation or inference on which natural selection is based? -
CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Poorly adapted individuals never produce offspring.
ANSWER
During a study session about evolution, one of your fellow students remarks, "The giraffe stretched its
neck while reaching for higher leaves; its offspring inherited longer necks as a result." Which statement
would you use to correct this student's misconception? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Characteristics
acquired during an organism's life are generally not passed on through genes.
Who was the naturalist who synthesized a concept of natural selection independently of Darwin? -
CORRECT ANSWER✅✅alfred wallace
Charles Darwin was the first to propose - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅a mechanism for evolution that was
supported by evidence
In evolutionary terms, the more closely related two different organisms are, the - CORRECT
ANSWER✅✅more recently they shared a common ancestor.
Evolution by natural selection is based on all of the following except - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅individuals
must adapt to their environment.
Which statement about natural selection is most correct? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Well-adapted
individuals leave more offspring, and thus contribute more to the gene pool, than poorly adapted
individuals.
To observe natural selection's effects on a population, what must be true? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅
During drought years on the Galapagos, small, easily eaten seeds become rare leaving only large, hard-
cased seeds that only birds with large beaks can eat. If a drought persists for several years, then what
should one expect to result from natural selection? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅More small-beaked birds
dying than the larger-beaked birds. The offspring produced in subsequent generations have a higher
percentage of birds with large beaks.
Which of the following statements is not an inference of natural selection? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅An
individual organism undergoes evolution over the course of its lifetime
, Which of the following must exist in a population before natural selection can act upon that population?
- CORRECT ANSWER✅✅genetic variation among individuals
A biologist studied a population of squirrels for 15 years. During that time, the population was never
fewer than 30 squirrels and never more than 45. Her data showed that over half of the squirrels born
did not survive to reproduce, because of competition for food and predation. In a single generation, 90%
of the squirrels that were born lived to reproduce, and the population increased to 80. What inferences
might you make about this population? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅A and B only
DDT was once considered a "silver bullet" that would permanently eradicate insect pests. Today,
instead, DDT is largely useless against many insects. What would need to be true for pest eradication
efforts to have been successful in the long run? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅All individual insects should
have possessed genomes that made them susceptible to DDT.
Structures as different as human arms, bat wings, and dolphin flippers contain many of the same bones,
these bones having developed from the same embryonic tissues. How do biologists interpret these
similarities? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅A and C only
Over evolutionary time, many cave-dwelling organisms have lost their eyes. Tapeworms have lost their
digestive systems. Whales have lost their hind limbs. How can natural selection account for these
losses? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Under particular circumstances that persisted for long periods, each of
these structures presented greater costs than benefits.
It has been observed that organisms on islands are different from, but closely related to, similar forms
found on the nearest continent. This is taken as evidence that - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅island forms and
mainland forms descended from common ancestors.
The theory of evolution is most accurately described as - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅an overarching
explanation, supported by much evidence, for how populations change over time
Which of the following is not an observation or inference on which natural selection is based? -
CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Poorly adapted individuals never produce offspring.
