Anthropology 101 - Human Biological Evolution » Fall 2020 » Natural Selection Quiz

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Question #1
Charles Darwin:
A.   spent two years in Africa where he developed the theory of natural selection
B.   grew up in modest circumstances
C.   received no formal education
D.   began to doubt the fixity of species during a voyage around the world in the 1830s
Question #2
Reproductive success
A.   Is measured as the total number of sex partners over the life span
B.   Was first observed in a species of frog that lays an average of 2,000 eggs
C.   Never happens for smaller individuals
D.   Is the number of offspring who survive to an age at which they themselves can reproduce
Question #3
Differential reproductive success:
A.   Is differences in reproductive success between individuals of the same group
B.   Was first observed in a species of frog that lays an average of 2,000 eggs
C.   Is differences in average reproductive success between species
D.   Is observed when an individual’s parents have different numbers of offspring
Question #4
In formulating his theory of natural selection, Darwin did not
A.   claim that favorable variations would tend to be destroyed, unfavorable ones be preserved
B.   appreciate the fact that population size is limited by availability of food
C.   recognize the importance of biological variation within a population
D.   apply his knowledge of domesticated species to undomesticated ones
Question #5
Natural selection is the result of all of the following except
A.   existing variation in organisms.
B.   heritable variation in organisms.
C.   bigger organisms surviving at a higher rate than smaller organisms.
D.   the interaction of organisms with their environment.
Question #6
The postulates that make up Darwin’s theory of adaptation include all of the following except
A.   individuals always compete with each other physically.
B.   variation affects the ability of individuals to survive and reproduce.
C.   any given environment can support only a certain number of individuals.
D.   variation is passed from parents to offspring.
Question #7
For natural selection to occur, variation must exist. This is true because without variation
A.   there is no competition among individuals.
B.   traits are never inherited by offspring.
C.   the one trait that exists is always advantageous, and change is not necessary.
D.   no form of a trait is more advantageous than another because all individuals have exactly the same form.
Question #8
The fact that individuals who possess favorable traits are more likely to survive and reproduce than those who possess less favorable traits is the basis for which theory?
A.   the inheritance of acquired characteristics
B.   uniformitarianism
C.   catastrophism
D.   natural selection
Question #9
Which of the following concepts did not influence Darwin in developing his theory of evolution?
A.   Favorable variations are passed on and accumulate in populations over time.
B.   There is competition among individuals for resources.
C.   Species are unchanging types, and individual variation within a species is not important.
D.   Population size increases more rapidly than food supplies.
Question #10
“Fitness,” in an evolutionary sense, refers to an individual’s
A.   age at death
B.   aggressiveness
C.   reproductive success
D.   strength
Question #11
Darwin's theory states that ____________ who are more well-suited to their environment will be more likely to survive and reproduce.
A.   groups
B.   families
C.   individuals
D.   species
Question #12
During 1976 on the Galápagos Island of Daphne Major, Peter and Rosemary Grant found evidence of natural selection by adaptation when they observed that
A.   many more small seeds were available for the finches to eat.
B.   finches with shallow beaks were less likely to survive and reproduce than finches with deep beaks.
C.   finch beak size had no effect on survival rates.
D.   more finches with deep beaks died than finches with shallow beaks.
Question #13
Lions chase and try to eat gazelles. Natural selection favors the ability for gazelles to run fast because:
A.   The ability to run fast is passed from gazelles to their offspring
B.   Faster gazelles are more likely to escape predators and survive long enough to produce offspring
C.   All of these statements are correct
D.   Predation from lions is a powerful selective pressure
Question #14
Darwin
A.   was not concerned with public opinion and did not mind if his theories were criticized
B.   published his theories as soon as he returned from his voyage on the Beagle
C.   was reluctant to publish his theories
D.   all of these statements are true
Question #15
Which contemporary of Charles Darwin also developed a theory of evolution by means of natural selection?
A.   Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
B.   Erasmus Darwin
C.   Charles Lyell
D.   Alfred Russel Wallace
Question #16
Based on blending inheritance, if a finch with a large beak depth mates with a finch with a small beak depth, then the offspring will have
A.   beaks with small depth.
B.   beaks with large depth.
C.   beaks with medium depth
D.   beaks with random depth.
Question #17
Why was natural selection difficult for Darwin to fully explain?
A.   Natural selection acts by removing only variants of highest fitness.
B.   Natural selection does not actually remove any variants in real life.
C.   Natural selection reduces variation in the trait.
D.   All of these statements are true.
Question #18
Why did Darwin’s contemporaries believe that natural selection could not move a population beyond its initial range of variation?
A.   Because large changes are better than small increments of change when breeding by blending
B.   Because selection can only make traits larger, not smaller
C.   Because selection does not produce new variants of traits
D.   Individuals can only change when they try to

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