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.   Is the number of offspring who survive to an age at which they themselves can reproduce
D.   Never happens for smaller individuals
Question #3
Differential reproductive success:
A.   Was first observed in a species of frog that lays an average of 2,000 eggs
B.   Is differences in reproductive success between individuals of the same group
C.   Is observed when an individual’s parents have different numbers of offspring
D.   Is differences in average reproductive success between species
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.   claim that favorable variations would tend to be destroyed, unfavorable ones be preserved
C.   apply his knowledge of domesticated species to undomesticated ones
D.   recognize the importance of biological variation within a population
Question #5
Natural selection is the result of all of the following except
A.   the interaction of organisms with their environment.
B.   heritable variation in organisms.
C.   existing variation in organisms.
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.   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.   no form of a trait is more advantageous than another because all individuals have exactly the same form.
B.   the one trait that exists is always advantageous, and change is not necessary.
C.   traits are never inherited by offspring.
D.   there is no competition among individuals.
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.   natural selection
B.   uniformitarianism
C.   the inheritance of acquired characteristics
D.   catastrophism
Question #9
Which of the following concepts did not influence Darwin in developing his theory of evolution?
A.   Species are unchanging types, and individual variation within a species is not important.
B.   There is competition among individuals for resources.
C.   Population size increases more rapidly than food supplies.
D.   Favorable variations are passed on and accumulate in populations over time.
Question #10
“Fitness,” in an evolutionary sense, refers to an individual’s
A.   age at death
B.   strength
C.   aggressiveness
D.   reproductive success
Question #11
Darwin's theory states that ____________ who are more well-suited to their environment will be more likely to survive and reproduce.
A.   individuals
B.   groups
C.   species
D.   families
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.   more finches with deep beaks died than finches with shallow beaks.
B.   finch beak size had no effect on survival rates.
C.   many more small seeds were available for the finches to eat.
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.   Faster gazelles are more likely to escape predators and survive long enough to produce offspring
D.   Predation from lions is a powerful selective pressure
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.   was not concerned with public opinion and did not mind if his theories were criticized
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.   Alfred Russel Wallace
B.   Erasmus Darwin
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 medium depth
B.   beaks with large depth.
C.   beaks with small 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 reduces variation in the trait.
C.   Natural selection does not actually remove any variants in real life.
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 selection does not produce new variants of traits
B.   Because selection can only make traits larger, not smaller
C.   Individuals can only change when they try to
D.   Because large changes are better than small increments of change when breeding by blending

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