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

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

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