Evolution Quiz
Written by Eugene Fenster Science Expert
Last updated · 10 min play time
Evolution is the principle that unites all biology into a single coherent science. What do you know about this theory that unites earth life?
Evolution is the principle that unites all of biology into a single coherent science. What do you know about the theory that accounts for the diversity of life on Earth?
Quiz written by
Eugene FensterEvolution Quiz Questions
20 Questions · 2.8K Plays · No comments
Question 1
There is a genetic component to moth coloration. When trees are covered with soot, dark colored moths are less likely to be eaten by birds than lighter colored moths. The result is an increase in the number of dark colored moths through time. What is the general term for the process?
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AGenetic drift
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BThe founder effect
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CThe bottleneck effect
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DNatural selection
Natural selection
Natural selection is the result of individuals with certain genetic variants having greater reporductive success in a particular envrionment than other individuals.
Question 2
What is evolution?
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AThe theory that states that all life is composed of cells.
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BDescent with modification.
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CThe creation of species.
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DThe theory that healthier individuals leave more offspring than less healthy individuals.
Descent with modification.
Evolution results in changes in allelic (variants of a gene) frequencies (modification) from one generation to the next (descent).
Question 3
Genetic drift is the result of _____.
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Aoverpopulation
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Bchance
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Cdifferential reproductive success
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Denvironmental variation
chance
Genetic drift can be thought of evolution by sampling error. The smaller the sample (population) size the greater the role of chnace in the outcome.
Question 4
Which of the following is an example of stabilizing selection?
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AThe increase in antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria.
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BA catastrophe that wipes out nearly 99% of a population.
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CThe birth weight at which newborn humans are most likely to survive and the average weight of newborn humans are about the same.
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DIn different parts of Africa, a tasty butterfly species mimics different distasteful butterfly species.
The birth weight at which newborn humans are most likely to survive and the average weight of newborn humans are about the same.
Stabilizing selection is a type of natural selection which favors individuals who are at the mean of the distribution of a character. As a result, stabilizing selection often, but not always, reduces deviation from the mean.
Question 5
Which of the following is most likely to lead to the evolution of two different species?
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ADiversifying selection
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BStabilizing selection
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CDirectional selection
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DAnagenesis
Diversifying selection
Diversification means to increase variation. Diversifying selection is also referred to as disruptive selection.
Question 6
Which of the following is an example of directional selection?
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AThe increase in antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria.
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BIn different parts of Africa, a tasty butterfly species mimics different distasteful butterfly species.
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CThe birth weight at which newborn humans are most likely to survive and the average weight of newborn humans are about the same.
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DThe increase in the number of different breeds of dog.
The increase in antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria.
In directional selection individuals towards one end of the distribution of a character have greater reproductive success than individuals who are further away from that end of the distribution. For example, if people of less than average height left more offspring than those of average or greater than average height, then, through time, average height would become smaller (move in the direction of a lower height).
Question 7
After surviving a bottleneck a population recovers to the point where it consists of as many individuals as it did prior to the bottleneck. Which of the following statements is most likely to apply to this population?
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AThe post-bottleneck population has less of a chance of going extinct than did the pre-bottleneck population.
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BThe post-bottleneck population exhibits more genetic variation than the pre-bottleneck population.
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CThe post-bottleneck population exhibits less genetic variation than the pre-bottleneck population.
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DThe post-bottleneck population has the same probability of going extinct as did the pre-bottleneck population.
The post-bottleneck population exhibits less genetic variation than the pre-bottleneck population.
When a population goes through a bottleneck its numbers are greatly reduced before re-expanding. The smaller the number of individuals who go through the bottleneck the less of the pre-bottleneck genetic variation going through the bottleneck. Therefore, the post-bottleneck population will have less genetic variation than the pre-bottleneck population.
Question 8
Which of the following is the most likely explanation for the Amish having a higher incidence of polydactyly than the human population as a whole?
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ADiversifying selection
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BBottleneck effect
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CDirectional selection
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DFounder effect
Founder effect
A founder effect occurs when a small number of individuals become isolated from a larger population. Since the number of individuals in the founder population is significantly smaller than the number of individuals in the initial population, the genetic variation in the founder population will not match that of the population it split from.
Question 9
Your physician gives you a prescription for an antibiotic. You take the antibiotic until you are feeling better and decide to save the remaining doses for future use. What is the likely result of your behavior?
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AYou are making yourself immune to that antibiotic.
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BYou are saving yourself from having to pay money to renew the prescription when, at sometime in the future, you again need that antibiotic.
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CYou are contributing to that antibiotic being less effective the next time it is used.
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DBy using less of the antibiotic, you decrease the exposure of bacteria to that antibiotic and thus help to make sure that the antibiotic will remain effective when used in the future.
You are contributing to that antibiotic being less effective the next time it is used.
The misuse of antibiotics is responsible for one of the greatest health threats facing humanity. This misues has included people not taking antibiotics as directed, the overprescribing of antibiotics, and giving antibiotic to livestock as to product rapid growth.
Question 10
What type of reproductive isolating mechanism is described by a situation in which female fireflies only mate with males who emit light in a particular pattern?
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ATemporal isolation
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BMechanical isolation
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CBehavioral isolation
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DHybrid sterility
Behavioral isolation
A particular pattern of flashing is used to signal that an individual of the same species is ready to mate.
Question 11
The similarity of the embryos of fish, frogs, birds, and humans is evidence of _____.
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Agenetic drift
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Bcommon ancestry
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Cconvergent evolution
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Danalogy
common ancestry
Similarities in structure and function may be the result of common ancestry.
Question 12
Some species of Anopheles mosquitos live in brackish water, some in running fresh water, and others in stagnant water. What type of reproductive barrier is most obviously separating these different species?
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ATemporal isolation
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BPostzygotic isolation
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CBehavioral isolation
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DHabitat isolation
Habitat isolation
It is difficult to make with someone you are not in physical proximity to.
Question 13
Certain whale species were hunted to near extinction. With a moratorium on hunting them, their population sizes have expanded. Which of the following is true?
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AWhale species have a high reproductive rate.
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BHunting can "refresh" a whale species and increase its overall fitness.
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CThe populations may still be endangered because they may have little remaining genetic variation.
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DHunting is a form of stabilizing selection.
The populations may still be endangered because they may have little remaining genetic variation.
The reduction in genetic variation that results from a bottleneck puts the population in danger of extinction even after the size of the population increases topre-bottleneck numbers.
Question 14
A reproductive barrier that prevents individuals from mating is an example of _____.
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Ahybrid inviability
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Ba prezygotic barrier
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Chybrid sterility
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Dzygote mortality
a prezygotic barrier
The barrier is placed prior to the mating and formation of a zygote; therefore, the barrier is a prezygotic barrier.
Question 15
What does evolutionary fitness measure?
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AReproductive success
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BLongevity
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CPhysical health
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DPopulation size
Reproductive success
Evolution requires changes in allelic frequencies through time. The more successful an individual is at passing their genes to the next generation, the greater their fitness.
Question 16
Speciation requires _____.
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Agenetic isolation
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Ba mass extinction so that new environmental opportunities will be available to the survivors
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Cperiods of rapid evolutionary change
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Dgeographic isolation
genetic isolation
A shared gene pool unites a population/species. Thus, genetic isolation is a requirement for speciation.
Question 17
Horses and donkeys can mate and produce healthy offspring. Why do they remain separate species?
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AThe mating behavior of the offspring is not recognized as such by any other animal.
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BTheir offspring, while healthy may have a very short lifespan.
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CThey don't like the looks of the other.
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DTheir offspring are sterile.
Their offspring are sterile.
The offspring of a horse-donkey mating, while healthy, are sterile. Thie sterility of these offspring maintains the genetic isolation of the two species from one another.
Question 18
What term is used to describe the influence that insects and flowers have on each others evolution?
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ABievolution
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BConvergence
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CDievolution
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DCoevolution
Coevolution
Coevolution, evolving together, occurs when populations of two different species influence each others evolution. For example, hummingbirds, with their long tongues, obtain nectar from, and fertilize plants that have long tubular flowers.
Question 19
The elaborate tail feathers of peacocks arose as a result of _____.
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Adisruptive selection
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Bsexual selection
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Cstabilizing selection
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Dconvergent evolution
sexual selection
The elaborate tail feathers of males are a display used to attract mates. If a male has such an elaborate set of feathers he is probably healthy and has genes that allow him to survive even with such a gaudy handicap. This is a male whose genes a female would like to pass to her offspring so that her own genes will have an increased chance of being passed to the next generation.
Question 20
Which of the following terms applies to the genes (potentially) shared by all members of a population?
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AGenome
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BGene lake
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CGene ocean
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DGene pool
Gene pool
A gene pool is the sum of all of the alleles of all of the genes in a population.
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