Anthropology Final Exam Review Questions
with Complete Solutions
Biological (Physical) anthropologists study... - Correct Answer All choices are correct
- genetics of ancient human pop's
- fossil record for human evolution
- behavior of monkeys and apes
- genetics of living human pop's
Darwin was unable to account for... - Correct Answer the origin of variation
Darwin was not the only person to develop the idea of natural selection. Who was the other person?
- Correct Answer Alfred Russell Wallace
Darwinian fitness refers to... - Correct Answer Relative reproductive success
Uniformitarianism is... - Correct Answer the theory that natural processes which occurred in the past
still occur today
The scientific method... - Correct Answer Requires a testable hypothesis
Match the prominent figure with their most notable scientific contribution:
A. Carl Linnaeus
B. Jean Baptiste Lamarck
C. Aristotle
D. Thomas Malthus
E. Ernst Haeckel
F. Georges Cuvier
G. Charles Lyell
H. John Ray - Correct Answer A. created a binomial nomenclature in Latin
B. believed in the inheritance of acquired characteristics
C. contributed to the development of "The Great Chain of Being" concept
D. struggle for existence
, E. invented the use of phylogeny
F. recognized that fossils can illuminate the past
G. developed Uniformitarianism
H. defined genus on the basis of similar features
What is a karyotype and what can we learn from one? - Correct Answer A karyotype is a visual
display of a person's chromosomes, which requires prior processing to isolate, stain, and examine the
chromosomes under a microscope. What we can learn from a karyotype includes the 23rd pair
indicating the genetic sex of an individual (such as XX or XY) and any possible trisomy (such as would
be present in Down's Syndrome on chromosome 21).
Given an example of natural selection and explain your answer. - Correct Answer My favorite
example of natural selection is the evolution of the Peppered Moth in England during the Industrial
Revolution. Due to factories burning coal as fuel, dark smoke and sooty residue covered the bark of
nearby trees which previously were light in color and covered in lichens. As a result, the natural
camouflage of lighter colored moths no longer helped them blend into the now-darkened trees so
they were predated upon more frequently while the mutation variants of darker moths survived
better, for longer, and reproduced their variation more often.
What are two subfields of anthropology and what can they tell us about humans? - Correct Answer
1. Archaeology. Can tell us about how ancient humans lived and help piece together what life in their
respective civilizations might have been like, based on inferences gathered from what physical
objects were left behind.
2. Linguistics. Can tell us about human migration patterns based on how similar languages diverge
over time and space.
What is catastrophism and why is it relevant for the theory of evolution? - Correct Answer
Catastrophism is the theory that violent geological events (like volcanoes, earthquakes, floods, etc)
are solely responsible for geologic changes across Earth's planetary history. This is relevant to the
theory of evolution because it was in stark contrast to the theory of Uniformitarianism which
proposed gradual changes as the underlying driver of overall changes across time.
True or False: the experimental method was proposed by Francis Bacon. - Correct Answer True
The binomial nomenclature of chimpanzees is... - Correct Answer Pan troglodytes
with Complete Solutions
Biological (Physical) anthropologists study... - Correct Answer All choices are correct
- genetics of ancient human pop's
- fossil record for human evolution
- behavior of monkeys and apes
- genetics of living human pop's
Darwin was unable to account for... - Correct Answer the origin of variation
Darwin was not the only person to develop the idea of natural selection. Who was the other person?
- Correct Answer Alfred Russell Wallace
Darwinian fitness refers to... - Correct Answer Relative reproductive success
Uniformitarianism is... - Correct Answer the theory that natural processes which occurred in the past
still occur today
The scientific method... - Correct Answer Requires a testable hypothesis
Match the prominent figure with their most notable scientific contribution:
A. Carl Linnaeus
B. Jean Baptiste Lamarck
C. Aristotle
D. Thomas Malthus
E. Ernst Haeckel
F. Georges Cuvier
G. Charles Lyell
H. John Ray - Correct Answer A. created a binomial nomenclature in Latin
B. believed in the inheritance of acquired characteristics
C. contributed to the development of "The Great Chain of Being" concept
D. struggle for existence
, E. invented the use of phylogeny
F. recognized that fossils can illuminate the past
G. developed Uniformitarianism
H. defined genus on the basis of similar features
What is a karyotype and what can we learn from one? - Correct Answer A karyotype is a visual
display of a person's chromosomes, which requires prior processing to isolate, stain, and examine the
chromosomes under a microscope. What we can learn from a karyotype includes the 23rd pair
indicating the genetic sex of an individual (such as XX or XY) and any possible trisomy (such as would
be present in Down's Syndrome on chromosome 21).
Given an example of natural selection and explain your answer. - Correct Answer My favorite
example of natural selection is the evolution of the Peppered Moth in England during the Industrial
Revolution. Due to factories burning coal as fuel, dark smoke and sooty residue covered the bark of
nearby trees which previously were light in color and covered in lichens. As a result, the natural
camouflage of lighter colored moths no longer helped them blend into the now-darkened trees so
they were predated upon more frequently while the mutation variants of darker moths survived
better, for longer, and reproduced their variation more often.
What are two subfields of anthropology and what can they tell us about humans? - Correct Answer
1. Archaeology. Can tell us about how ancient humans lived and help piece together what life in their
respective civilizations might have been like, based on inferences gathered from what physical
objects were left behind.
2. Linguistics. Can tell us about human migration patterns based on how similar languages diverge
over time and space.
What is catastrophism and why is it relevant for the theory of evolution? - Correct Answer
Catastrophism is the theory that violent geological events (like volcanoes, earthquakes, floods, etc)
are solely responsible for geologic changes across Earth's planetary history. This is relevant to the
theory of evolution because it was in stark contrast to the theory of Uniformitarianism which
proposed gradual changes as the underlying driver of overall changes across time.
True or False: the experimental method was proposed by Francis Bacon. - Correct Answer True
The binomial nomenclature of chimpanzees is... - Correct Answer Pan troglodytes
