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.   spent two years in Africa where he developed the theory of natural selection
C.   received no formal education
D.   grew up in modest circumstances
Question #2
Reproductive success
A.   Never happens for smaller individuals
B.   Is measured as the total number of sex partners over the life span
C.   Was first observed in a species of frog that lays an average of 2,000 eggs
D.   Is the number of offspring who survive to an age at which they themselves can reproduce
Question #3
Differential reproductive success:
A.   Was first observed in a species of frog that lays an average of 2,000 eggs
B.   Is observed when an individual’s parents have different numbers of offspring
C.   Is differences in reproductive success between individuals of the same group
D.   Is differences in average reproductive success between species
Question #4
In formulating his theory of natural selection, Darwin did not
A.   apply his knowledge of domesticated species to undomesticated ones
B.   appreciate the fact that population size is limited by availability of food
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.   bigger organisms surviving at a higher rate than smaller organisms.
B.   the interaction of organisms with their environment.
C.   heritable variation in organisms.
D.   existing variation in organisms.
Question #6
The postulates that make up Darwin’s theory of adaptation include all of the following except
A.   variation affects the ability of individuals to survive and reproduce.
B.   any given environment can support only a certain number of individuals.
C.   variation is passed from parents to offspring.
D.   individuals always compete with each other physically.
Question #7
For natural selection to occur, variation must exist. This is true because without variation
A.   there is no competition among individuals.
B.   no form of a trait is more advantageous than another because all individuals have exactly the same form.
C.   the one trait that exists is always advantageous, and change is not necessary.
D.   traits are never inherited by offspring.
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.   Population size increases more rapidly than food supplies.
C.   Species are unchanging types, and individual variation within a species is not important.
D.   There is competition among individuals for resources.
Question #10
“Fitness,” in an evolutionary sense, refers to an individual’s
A.   reproductive success
B.   aggressiveness
C.   age at death
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.   species
B.   individuals
C.   families
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.   finch beak size had no effect on survival rates.
B.   many more small seeds were available for the finches to eat.
C.   more finches with deep beaks died than finches with shallow beaks.
D.   finches with shallow beaks were less likely to survive and reproduce than finches with deep 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.   All of these statements are correct
C.   Predation from lions is a powerful selective pressure
D.   Faster gazelles are more likely to escape predators and survive long enough to produce offspring
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.   Erasmus Darwin
B.   Charles Lyell
C.   Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
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 large depth.
B.   beaks with small depth.
C.   beaks with random depth.
D.   beaks with medium depth
Question #17
Why was natural selection difficult for Darwin to fully explain?
A.   Natural selection reduces variation in the trait.
B.   All of these statements are true.
C.   Natural selection acts by removing only variants of highest fitness.
D.   Natural selection does not actually remove any variants in real life.
Question #18
Why did Darwin’s contemporaries believe that natural selection could not move a population beyond its initial range of variation?
A.   Individuals can only change when they try to
B.   Because selection does not produce new variants of traits
C.   Because selection can only make traits larger, not smaller
D.   Because large changes are better than small increments of change when breeding by blending

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