9 Evolution Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) with Answers | Evolution Quiz

Evolution MCQs | Evolution Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) with Answers

Questions
1 Why is genetic variation important from an evolutionary standpoint?
A If all organisms were the same, the entire population would be vulnerable to particular pathogens, like viruses.
B All evolutionary adaptations (e.g. the origin of forelimbs) are the result of the gradual build up of genetic differences between organisms over geologic time.
C Evolution (at the population level) refers to changes in the frequencies of genes in the population over time.
D All of the above

Answer:All of the above
2 Which of the following is an example of genetic variation?
A Two children have different eye colors.
B One person is older than another.
C One person has a scar, but her friend does not.
D Tod eats meat, but his brother Rod is a vegetarian.

Answer: Two children have different eye colors.
3 Which of the following is an example of environmental variation?
A Apu is a tongue roller, but his brother Sanjay is not.
B Marge dyes her hair blue.
C Homer inherited baldness from his father's side of the family.
D Patti and Selma have hanging ear lobes.

Answer: Marge dyes her hair blue.
4 What's the difference between natural selection and sexual selection?
A Sexual selection occurs during sex.
B Natural selection is a type of sexual selection.
C Sexual selection is a type of natural selection.
D Sexual selection occurs within demes, natural selection does not.

Answer:Sexual selection is a type of natural selection.
5 What's the difference between genetic drift and change due to natural selection?
A Genetic drift does not require the presence of variation.
B Genetic drift does not involve competition between members of a species.
C Genetic drift never occurs in nature, natural selection does.
D There is no difference.

Answer: Genetic drift does not involve competition between members of a species.
6 According to our reading, how did George Cuvier account for extinctions in nature?
A Extinctions never occur--there are unexplored parts of the globe where organisms that appear to have gone extinct may still live.
B Extinctions occur when the slow adaptation of organisms over time to their environment is not quick enough to help them respond to changing conditions.
C Extinctions occur at random, they do not reflect God's will.
D Extinctions are due to catastrophic events.

Answer:Extinctions are due to catastrophic events.
7 Why, according to our reading, did Darwin take so long to publish the Origin of Species?
A Darwin wanted to share his theory as quickly as possible once he returned from his voyage on the Beagle.
B It took twenty years for Darwin to develop a theory.
C Darwin suffered from a number of illnesses.
D Darwin was concerned about the reaction of others to the implications of his theory.

Answer:Darwin was concerned about the reaction of others to the implications of his theory.
8 In which of the following ways is natural selection not analogous to artificial selection?
A With natural selection "picking" is due to the fit of an organism with its environment; whereas in artificial selection, the breeder "picks" which organisms will breed.
B Natural selection depends upon the presence of variation, artificial selection does not.
C Natural selection occurs within populations, artificial selection does not.
D There is a limit to how much change can be brought about by natural selection, no such limit exists for artificial selection.

Answer:With natural selection "picking" is due to the fit of an organism with its environment; whereas in artificial selection, the breeder "picks" which organisms will breed.
9 Why is the advent of reproductive isolation important from an evolutionary standpoint?
A When the organisms comprising two populations of a species can no longer interbreed, the flow of genetic material between them stops.
B It is not important from an evolutionary standpoint. The question is based on a false assumption.
C Reproductive isolation increases the mutation rate.
D Reproductive isolation may slow reproduction.

Answer:When the organisms comprising two populations of a species can no longer interbreed, the flow of genetic material between them stops.
10 If the theory of natural selection is the survival of the fitness, and the fittest are identified as those who survive, why isn't it regarded as a tautology (a statement that is true only because of the meaning of the terms)?
A The effect of traits on the fitness of an organism can be assessed independently of whether the organism indeed survives.
B It is regarded as a tautology - the question is based on a false assumption.
C There may be some statements in science that are useful even if they are not falsifiable or refutable in principle.
D All of the above

Answer: There may be some statements in science that are useful even if they are not falsifiable or refutable in principle.
11 The variation natural selection operates on is due to random mutations. What does this imply about natural selection?
A Natural selection is also a random process.
B Natural selection is nevertheless a directed process- the likelihood one variant will be favored in a given environment over another is predictable, even if the origin is not.
C There is no possibility God could be involved in this process.
D A, B and C.

Answer: Natural selection is nevertheless a directed process- the likelihood one variant will be favored in a given environment over another is predictable, even if the origin is not.
12 How was Mendel's work ultimately reconciled with Darwin's theory of natural selection during the evolutionary synthesis in the 1930s and 1940s?
A Scientists recognized that once one thinks about species as populations, rather than individuals, there is no incompatibility between them.
B Mendel's theory was replaced by the mutation theory.
C It was recognized much of the variation we observe in nature is due to recombination, rather than mutation.
D A and C

Answer: A and C
13 Which of the following is the evidence for Darwin's theory of common descent?
A There are patterns in the fossil record that suggest other species have diverged from a single ancestor species.
B There are biogeographic patterns in the distribution of species, for instance distinct bird species on an island tend to resemble one another, suggesting a common ancestor.
C There are common stages in the early embryological development of organisms representing several distinct vertebrate groups.
D All of above

Answer: All of above
14 What is the relationship between the wing of a bird and the wing of a bat?
A They are homologous because they represent modified forms of a trait present in a common ancestor (forelimbs).
B They are analogous because while each carries out the same function (flight), this trait has arisen independently as a result of convergence (i.e. the common ancestor of both did not have a forelimb that allowed it to fly).
C A and B.
D They represent derived homologies.

Answer:A and B.
15 Which of the following is not an example of a macro evolutionary process?
A One lion species splits to form two lion species over geological time.
B The same trait evolves independently in two different taxa (e.g. wings in birds and in insects).
C As a result of their activities, humans drive Dodos (a bird species) extinct.
D Over a short period of time, the frequency of a single gene declines from 10 to 8%.

Answer: Over a short period of time, the frequency of a single gene declines from 10 to 8%.
16 Which of the following is an example of an ancestral homology?
A Almost all modern reptiles, birds and mammals have forelimbs, a trait they also share with contemporary amphibians.
B The first birds and all their descendant species have feathers, a trait that is unknown in any other group.
C Humans and many insect species have eyes.
D All of the above.

Answer:Almost all modern reptiles, birds and mammals have forelimbs, a trait they also share with contemporary amphibians.
17 Which of the following is not an example of micro evolutionary change?
A The dark form of many moth species has increased in areas darkened by pollution.
B Penicillin resistant forms of bacteria have arisen since the introduction of antibiotics.
C The proportion of left and right bending moths in cichlid fish remains roughly 50:50.
D The last American eagle dies off, leading to the extinction of the species.

Answer:The last American eagle dies off, leading to the extinction of the species.
18 Which of the following are difficult to explain in terms of natural selection?
A Male peacocks evolve tail feathers that would appear to make them more rather than less vulnerable to predators.
B Male deer evolve antlers that are not used to defend themselves against predators.
C A bird issues a warning cry that puts it at greater risk of being noticed by a predator.
D Some traits appear to have no adaptive value.

Answer:Some traits appear to have no adaptive value.
19 Which of the following is not an example of a monophyletic taxon?
A The first fish species and every living organism that looks like a fish
B The first mammal species and all its descendants
C The first bird species and all its descendants
D All of the above

Answer:The first fish species and every living organism that looks like a fish
20 Which of the following are kingdoms?
A Monera
B Protista
C Animalae
D All of the above

Answer:All of the above
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