Biology Exam #1 (2015)

Question 1 of 44

1

The pitcher plant and Venus' flytrap use leaves to trap and digest insects. The cactus plant's leaves are modified into small spines, which reduce water loss and can protect the plant from plant-eaters. These 3 leaf types have different shapes and functions, but are derived from a common ancestral form. Therefore these 3 leaf types are _____________.

Select one of the following:

atavisms
analogous structures
homologous structures
uniformitarian structures

Explanation

Question 2 of 44

1

Studies of birth weight in humans have provided good examples of selection. Babies that are heavier or lighter than average did not survive as well as babies of average weight. Human birth weight is therefore an example of ____________.

Select one of the following:

directonial selection
stabilizing selection
artificial selection
an atavism

Explanation

Question 3 of 44

1

The structural similarities between the flipper of a dolphin and the arm of a human suggest that ______________.

Select one of the following:

early humans lived in the oceans
humans and dolphins have a common ancestor
dolphins are older than humans
dolphins evolved from early humans

Explanation

Question 4 of 44

1

Cliff swallows in Nebraska, depend on insects for their livelihood. Severe cold snaps totally devastated the population. When scientists analyzed all the dead birds, they determined that birds with a small wing span and asymmetrical wing shapes were disproportionately represented in the dead birds. Surviving birds were larger and more symmetrical. The type of natural selection for size and symmetry is ________________.

Select one of the following:

stabilizing selection
disruptive selection
directional selection
atavistic

Explanation

Question 5 of 44

1

In the Scrub Jay, older siblings usually remain near the nest and assis their parents in raising a new crop of young. This behavior promotes the reproduction of their own alleles, which are present in the new crop of young birds. This behavior is an example of ______________.

Select one of the following:

reciprocal altruism
kin selection
atavism
exaptation

Explanation

Question 6 of 44

1

DNA changes over time. From generation to generation, both genetic and epigenetic changes occur and are passed on. Therefore, according to the "left wall of minimal complexity" hypothesis shown below

Select one of the following:

natural selection can act only existing traits
natural selection acts on the phenotype
natural selection can not plan ahead for changes that will occur in the environment in the future
evolution can produce greater and greater complexity but cannot produce more and more simplicity

Explanation

Question 7 of 44

1

Which one of the following statements is false with regard to natural selection?

Select one of the following:

natural selection leads to adaptive evolutionary change
natural selection directs evolution by preserving traits acquired during an individual's lifetime
natural selection acts to preserve traits that increase survival and reproduction, and to eliminate traits that decrease survival and reproduction
natural selection depends on the genetic variability in a population, which arises through mutations

Explanation

Question 8 of 44

1

"Gradually, the gene pool changes in favor of the two extreme spine number types. __________________ works against those phenotypes that fall into the midrange of values."

What term is missing in the preceding sentence?

Select one of the following:

stabilizing selection
disruptive selection
directional selection
diversifying selection
two answers are correct

Explanation

Question 9 of 44

1

Biologists studied a population of lizards. They found that small lizards had trouble defending their territories and that large lizards were more likely than small or medium lizards to be preyed upon by owls. Which of the following graphs represents the most likely distribution for body size in this lizard population?

Select one of the following:

A
B
C
D

Explanation

Question 10 of 44

1

Fish embryos, human embryos, and chicken embryos all have pharyngeal arches (gill slits/pharyngeal pouches) and a post-anal tail. What best explains these similarities?

Select one of the following:

common biological needs of the adults
inheritance of acquired characteristics
descent from the same ancestor
convergent evolution
extinction of transitional species

Explanation

Question 11 of 44

1

The wings and body of this speckled emperor moth mimic the face of an animal. If a bird is sneaking up on this moth and is about to eat it, this mimicry of a possible predator that might eat the bird will startle the bird, and might give the moth a fraction of a second in which to escape. This mimicry is an example of a __________________.

Select one of the following:

homology
vestigial structure
example of kin selection
adaptation

Explanation

Question 12 of 44

1

In a certain insect species, body color varies from very light gray to very dark gray. These insects are eaten by birds that find their prey by sight. A brush fire occurs, blackening the ground where one population of this insect species lives. Which of the following is most likely to occur over the next few years?

Select one of the following:

The body color in the population will mutate to become black
The percentage of very dark gray individuals will increase
The distribution of body color in the population will not change
The very light gray individuals will learn how to reproduce at a later age
The individual insects will mutate to become fire-resistant

Explanation

Question 13 of 44

1

In order for the label "natural selection" to be correct for the illustration, there is a necessary condition that must be present in "1": ___________.

Select one of the following:

competition
limited resources
population with varied inherited traits
population that is reproducing sexually
population that is undergoing competition while reproducing sexually

Explanation

Question 14 of 44

1

Scientists measured the average body size in a bird population over time. One year, a period of cold weather killed many of the birds. A few generations later, the scientists observed that the average body size in the population was larger than it had been before the cold weather. The scientists concluded that the population had evolved through natural selection. Which one of the following would provide the best evidence to support the scientists' conclusion?

Select one of the following:

the size of the bird eggs also increased over time
the birds with the largest body size were the males
the frequency of alleles for body size changed in the bird population
the number of birds in the population decreased slightly

Explanation

Question 15 of 44

1

Which of the following is an example of Darwinian competition?

Select one of the following:

A
B
C
D
E

Explanation

Question 16 of 44

1

Darwin found several closely related species of this animal in the Galapagos Islands, and this discovery was eventually important to his thinking about evolution by means of natural selection.

Select one of the following:

A
B
C

Explanation

Question 17 of 44

1

How were strata dated in Charles Darwin's lifetime?

Select one of the following:

their position relative to each other
the minerals they contain
their color
their content of certain radioisotopes
their hardness

Explanation

Question 18 of 44

1

If 2 different species share a homologous structure, _______________.

Select one of the following:

the structure has the same function in the two species
the structure must be almost identical in size and shape in the 2 species
the 2 species have a shared ancestor
the structure is an atavism
the structure is vestigial

Explanation

Question 19 of 44

1

The adaptive radiation of the dozen or so species of Darwin's Finches in the Galapagos Islands (and nearby Cocos Islands), as illustrated here, is an example of ___________.

Select one of the following:

disruptive selection
artificial selection
stabilizing selection
natural selection
more than one is correct

Explanation

Question 20 of 44

1

Comparison of the anatomy of vertebrae forelimbs was important for Charles Darwin because the bones supported the hypothesis of _________.

Select one of the following:

extinction
natural selection
the ancient age of Earth
descent with modification from shared ancestors
uniformitarianism

Explanation

Question 21 of 44

1

In humans, cheetahs, whales, and bats, the forelimbs contain the same bones in the same relative positions, but the functions of the forelimbs of these animals are different. We say that these forelimbs are homologous structures and that their structural similarity is caused by the fact that _____________.

Select one of the following:

bats gave rise to whales, which gave rise to cheetahs, which gave rise to humans
humans, cheetahs, whales, and bats all share the same ancestor
organisms having forelimbs have evolved independently from organisms lacking forelimbs at least 4 different times
they have different functions

Explanation

Question 22 of 44

1

In some burrowing snakes the eyes are completely hidden beneath the scales and are useless for vision. Ancestors of these species had normal eyes used for vision. The hidden eyes of burrowing snakes are _____________.

Select one of the following:

atavisms
species extinctions
analogies
vestigial structures

Explanation

Question 23 of 44

1

The peppered moths in populations in England range from light-colored to dark-colored. During the Industrial Revolution, dark soot covered trees. Air pollution killed the light-colored lichens that had grown on the trees. Peppered moth populations became predominantly dark-colored, because these dark-colored moths were better able to avoid predation: they were camouflaged on the dark trees. This change in population composition of the moths was an example of ___________.

Select one of the following:

natural selection
gene flow
induced mutation
genetic drift

Explanation

Question 24 of 44

1

The main sources of genetic variation among humans is _______________.

Select one of the following:

new mutations that occurred in the preceding generation
genetic drift
the reshuffling of alleles in sexual reproduction
environmental effects

Explanation

Question 25 of 44

1

Why was the age of Earth important for Darwin's ideas about evolution?

Select one of the following:

He understood that mutations accumulated slowly in populations because of the inherently slow rate of mutation of DNA
Darwin knew that the potential for overpopulation required enormous amounts of time for sexual reproduction to be expressed in the form of high numbers of individuals
Darwin thought that evolution was a very slow process; great amounts of time were required to produce the great diversity of life that exists
He knew that many years would be required for extinction to eliminate the majority of species that existed in the past

Explanation

Question 26 of 44

1

Every now and then, news reports announce a new antibiotic that bacteria cannot become resistant to. What is the best attitude of a scientist to have regarding this type of news report.

Select one of the following:

Bacteria will not be able to develop resistance to the new antibiotic
Bacteria will definitely develop resistance
Bacteria will probably develop resistance
There is no way to predict the probability of development of resistance

Explanation

Question 27 of 44

1

The Galapagos Islands are home to more than a dozen species of closely related finches, some found only on a single island. The most striking differences among them are _, which are __. Understanding this phenomenon was important for Charles Darwin's thinking about evolution and how evolution came about.

Select one of the following:

their beaks/adapted for specific diets
the colors of their feathers/adapted for camouflage on sands of different colors
their body weights/the results of different caloric amounts of foods on the different islands
their body weights/the results of differences in the mineral composition of the foods on the different islands

Explanation

Question 28 of 44

1

The passage from Charles Darwin's "Origin of Species" read in discussion was _________________.

Select one of the following:

highly mathematical
filled with technical jargon from chemistry
accessible to any literate person
in Latin

Explanation

Question 29 of 44

1

We know that Darwin was greatly influenced by the geologist Lyell, and also by the 3 geology volumes that Lyell published. A major idea championed by Lyell and used by Darwin was that _____________.

Select one of the following:

plants and animals on islands are more similar to plants and animals on faraway islands than they are to species on nearby continental land masses
fossil species in lower strata are larger than fossil species in younger strata, because fossils in lower strata have been compressed by high pressure
plants at lower elevations are larger than plants at higher elevations
large changes can occur in nature by small changes occurring over a long period of time

Explanation

Question 30 of 44

1

The theory of blending inheritance ___________________.

Select one of the following:

did not mislead Charles Darwin because by the time he published the final edition of "The Origin of Species" he was able to incorporate Mendel's ideas of independent assortment and segregation
did not confuse Darwin because he used T.H. Morgan's discovery of mutations to explain the apparent contradictions of theory of blending inheritance
led to rapid acceptance of Darwin's theory of evolution by means of natural selection
delayed acceptance of Darwin's theory of evolution by means of natural selection

Explanation

Question 31 of 44

1

How can the Darwinian concept of descent with modification explain the evolution of such complex structures as the vertebrate eye?

Select one of the following:

Organisms have an intrinsic drive toward a particular phenotype; once a trend has started, organisms in each generation will strive to continue to improve within the constraints of that trend
According to the concept of exaptation, structures evolve in anticipation of future use, with natural selection predicting the future usefulness of a structure: the principle of prescience
complex structures do not evolve all at once, but in increments, with natural selection selecting for adaptive variants of the earlier versions
none are correct

Explanation

Question 32 of 44

1

It is incorrect to say "evolution inevitably leads to increased complexity." For example, there are many examples of organisms that are simpler (less complex) than their ancestors. Examples include _______________.

Select one of the following:

most plants
many parasites
humans
most insects

Explanation

Question 33 of 44

1

In a famous experiment, Weismann cut off the tails of 1500 rats over 20 generations, and never got rats born without tails as a result of this mutilation. His experiment supports the conclusion that _______________.

Select one of the following:

evolution by means of natural selection is an error
Lamarckism is an error
life cannot arise from non-life
transmutation does not occur in animals

Explanation

Question 34 of 44

1

In a population in which a trait is exposed to stabilizing selection over time, ______________.

Select one of the following:

neither the average nor the variation for the trait changes
both the average value and the variation for the trait increase
the average value increases or decreases, and the variation for the trait decreases
the average value for the trait stays approximately the same, and the variation for the trait decreases

Explanation

Question 35 of 44

1

Charles Darwin's 4 Postulates can be summarized succinctly as __________________.

Select one of the following:

variation, inheritance, overpopulation, differential survival and reproduction
mutation, reproduction, competition, chance
stasis, recombination, antagonism, random survival and reproduction
plants, animals, microorganisms, protists

Explanation

Question 36 of 44

1

Which one of the following statements about human races is/are correct, according to what was taught in this course?

Select one of the following:

genetic variation among individuals within each human race is far greater than the variation between races
it is possible for 2 people of different races to be more related genetically to each other than they are to some people from their own respective race
a "white" person from Denmark may be more similar genetically to a "black" person from Sudan than to another "white" dane.
all are correct
none are correct

Explanation

Question 37 of 44

1

Radiometric dating is sometimes wrong by _______________.

Select one of the following:

1 or 2 percent
millions of years
billions of years
2 of the above are correct

Explanation

Question 38 of 44

1

Why is 14C never used to date the extinction of dinosaurs?

Select one of the following:

anything containing that isotope would have rotted away long ago
the half life of that isotope is too short
the carbon atom is much smaller than the uranium atom
argon is a gas

Explanation

Question 39 of 44

1

Evolutionary biologists apply evolution theories to the study of religion and morals. As demonstrated in lecture, this application of evolution theories is especially likely to involve the _______________.

Select one of the following:

controversy over whether or not microevolution can produce macroevolution
Lamarckism/neo-Lamarckism distinction
group selection/individual selection debate
genetics/epigenetics distinction

Explanation

Question 40 of 44

1

Is it possible for an individual to have a mutation that increases its relative fitness but does not result in an increase in the number of offspring the individual produces?

Select one of the following:

yes, if the individual's environment remains constant, unchanged
yes, if the environment changes and individuals lacking the mutation reproduce less
yes, if the mutation has no effect on the individual's phenotype
no

Explanation

Question 41 of 44

1

Paleobiologist George Simpson's famous analogy of ____________ is a hat containing several sets of the 26 letters of the English alphabet written on slips of paper, on letter per slip of paper. If you were to draw out letters at random, chances are poor that they would sell C, A, and T in that order. But if each time you picked a slip, you threw it away if it was not C, A, or T and returned it to the hat if it was one of those 3 letters, soon you would have mostly Cs, As, and Ts in the hat. Your chances of pulling C-A-T (in that order) would keep improving, until eventually you would draw them in the proper order

Select one of the following:

Lamarckism
exaptation
evolution by means of natural selection

Explanation

Question 42 of 44

1

According to ______________, the natural habits of a creature would inevitably lead to a modification of its anatomical structure. By wading in shallow water, a bird would stretch its legs in order to keep its body above the surface, and automatically acquire longer legs. Once this addition was acquired, it would be passed on to the next generation. The lack of use of a structure would automatically lead to its shrinkage, and this too would be inherited by the successors.

Select one of the following:

Mendel
Lyell
Lamarck

Explanation

Question 43 of 44

1

Which one is Dobzhansky's famous and controversial quotation about evolution that is so popular among scientists?

Select one of the following:

"Darwin was right, we'll probably figure it out in a couple million years"
"The theory of evolution by cumulative natural selection is the only theory we know of that is in principle capable of explaining the existence of organized complexity"
"Natural selection teaches use that there are many ways to die, far fewer ways to live"
"Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution"

Explanation

Question 44 of 44

1

There are many different parent-daughter combinations of isotopes that can be used for radiometric dating. Also, different radioisotopes decay in different ways: alpha particles, beta particles, gamma rays, etc. When the same specimen is tested using different parent-daughter combinations of isotopes, including those which decay in different ways, the results are the same. This supports _____________

Select one of the following:

uniformitarianism as applied to the constancy of half-lives
exaptation regarding different sources of energy, whether particles or rays
the hypothesis that macroevolution can produce microevolution
the hypothesis that daughter isotopes have 2 and only 2 parents

	Created by Haley Kim over 8 years ago

Bachelors Biology (Exam #1) Quiz on Biology Exam #1 (2015), created by Haley Kim on 24/04/2016.

Biology Exam #1 (2015)

Question 1 of 44

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 2 of 44

Studies of birth weight in humans have provided good examples of selection. Babies that are heavier or lighter than average did not survive as well as babies of average weight. Human birth weight is therefore an example of ____________.

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 3 of 44

The structural similarities between the flipper of a dolphin and the arm of a human suggest that ______________.

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 4 of 44

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 5 of 44

In the Scrub Jay, older siblings usually remain near the nest and assis their parents in raising a new crop of young. This behavior promotes the reproduction of their own alleles, which are present in the new crop of young birds. This behavior is an example of ______________.

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 6 of 44

DNA changes over time. From generation to generation, both genetic and epigenetic changes occur and are passed on. Therefore, according to the "left wall of minimal complexity" hypothesis shown below

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 7 of 44

Which one of the following statements is false with regard to natural selection?

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 8 of 44

"Gradually, the gene pool changes in favor of the two extreme spine number types. __________________ works against those phenotypes that fall into the midrange of values." What term is missing in the preceding sentence?

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 9 of 44

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 10 of 44

Fish embryos, human embryos, and chicken embryos all have pharyngeal arches (gill slits/pharyngeal pouches) and a post-anal tail. What best explains these similarities?

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 11 of 44

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 12 of 44

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 13 of 44

In order for the label "natural selection" to be correct for the illustration, there is a necessary condition that must be present in "1": ___________.

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 14 of 44

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 15 of 44

Which of the following is an example of Darwinian competition?

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 16 of 44

Darwin found several closely related species of this animal in the Galapagos Islands, and this discovery was eventually important to his thinking about evolution by means of natural selection.

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 17 of 44

How were strata dated in Charles Darwin's lifetime?

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 18 of 44

If 2 different species share a homologous structure, _______________.

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 19 of 44

The adaptive radiation of the dozen or so species of Darwin's Finches in the Galapagos Islands (and nearby Cocos Islands), as illustrated here, is an example of ___________.

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 20 of 44

Comparison of the anatomy of vertebrae forelimbs was important for Charles Darwin because the bones supported the hypothesis of _________.

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 21 of 44

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 22 of 44

"Gradually, the gene pool changes in favor of the two extreme spine number types. __________________ works against those phenotypes that fall into the midrange of values."

What term is missing in the preceding sentence?