Anthropology 101 - Human Biological Evolution » Fall 2020 » Ideas About Evolution Before Darwin Quiz

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Question #1
The belief that more complex species are better than simpler organisms is part of the idea known as:
A.   uniformitarianism
B.   stratigraphy
C.   fixity of species
D.   the Great Chain of Being
Question #2
The observation of a succession of types in the geological record meant that
A.   Life forms appeared to become more complex over time
B.   Living species are the descendants of older, fossilized species
C.   All of these statements are correct
D.   Some organisms are simply extinct
Question #3
What is the belief that species do not change but are the same as when first created known as?
A.   fixity of species
B.   the Great Chain of Being
C.   natural selection
D.   uniformitarianism
Question #4
The earliest scholar associated with the concept of fixity of species is:
A.   Aristotle
B.   Erasmus Darwin
C.   Socrates
D.   Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
Question #5
Aristotle thought that organisms:
A.   Changed slowly over time as environments changed
B.   Were imperfect, material shadows of perfect, spiritual forms
C.   Did not change over time because they were ideally suited to meet their needs in their environment
D.   Were named and categorized by Adam and had all been preserved by Noah in a catastrophic flood
Question #6
What is the view that the extinction and the subsequent appearance of more modern forms could be explained by a series of disasters and creations?
A.   descent with modification
B.   uniformitarianism
C.   natural selection
D.   catastrophism
Question #7
Who is scholar associated with the view that the extinction and the subsequent appearance of more modern forms could be explained by a series of disasters and creations?
A.   James Hutton
B.   Socrates
C.   Charles Lyell
D.   George Cuvier
Question #8
Which concept, proposed by Charles Lyell, had a profound effect on 19th century scientific thought?
A.   the role of catastrophic events in producing geological phenomena
B.   the immense age of the earth
C.   recent origins for earth
D.   natural selection
Question #9
The principle of uniformitarianism:
A.   was a problem for the development of evolutionary theories
B.   stated that the geological processes that operated in the past are still occurring in the present
C.   proposed that the earth was only a few thousand years old
D.   was the same as the theory of catastrophism
Question #10
Several observations had combined to alter Western Europeans’ ideas about the natural world by the 18th century. These did not include:
A.   Patterns of similarities and differences between organisms
B.   The discovery of Noah’s ark
C.   Vestigial traits
D.   The discovery of intermediate fossils
Question #11
The domestication of plants and animals seems to be in conflict with the idea of:
A.   Fixity of species
B.   All of these responses are correct
C.   Catastrophism
D.   Intentional design
Question #12
The idea that individuals must compete and sometimes, fight fiercely for food is called.
A.   The Ladder of Progression
B.   Catastrophism
C.   Transmutation
D.   The struggle for existence
Question #13
_________ was an 18th century thinker who believed that living forms changed in response to the environment yet still rejected the idea that one species could give rise to another.
A.   Erasmus Darwin
B.   Georges Cuvier
C.   Alfred Russel Wallace
D.   Comte (Georges-Louis Leclerk) de Buffon
Question #14
Which of the following is true about Erasmus Darwin
A.   Argued in favor of transmutation
B.   Did not have a clear explanation of how evolution occurred
C.   All of these statements are correct
D.   Grandfather of Charles Darwin
Question #15
Who was the first to actually attempt to explain the specific mechanisms by which species change over time?
A.   Charles Darwin
B.   Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
C.   Carolus Linnaeus
D.   Charles Lyell
Question #16
According to Lamarckian Evolution species change over time because:
A.   The use and disuse of parts
B.   Organisms strive to achieve things
C.   All of these statement are correct
D.   Acquired traits are passed to offspring
Question #17
The idea that the efforts of organisms could make them better and more complex than other species is called:
A.   Catastrophism
B.   All of these statement are correct
C.   Creation
D.   Ladder of Progression

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