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.   Some organisms are simply extinct
C.   Living species are the descendants of older, fossilized species
D.   All of these statements are correct
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.   uniformitarianism
C.   the Great Chain of Being
D.   natural selection
Question #4
The earliest scholar associated with the concept of fixity of species is:
A.   Socrates
B.   Erasmus Darwin
C.   Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
D.   Aristotle
Question #5
Aristotle thought that organisms:
A.   Did not change over time because they were ideally suited to meet their needs in their environment
B.   Changed slowly over time as environments changed
C.   Were imperfect, material shadows of perfect, spiritual forms
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.   natural selection
B.   descent with modification
C.   catastrophism
D.   uniformitarianism
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.   George Cuvier
B.   James Hutton
C.   Socrates
D.   Charles Lyell
Question #8
Which concept, proposed by Charles Lyell, had a profound effect on 19th century scientific thought?
A.   natural selection
B.   the role of catastrophic events in producing geological phenomena
C.   recent origins for earth
D.   the immense age of the earth
Question #9
The principle of uniformitarianism:
A.   stated that the geological processes that operated in the past are still occurring in the present
B.   proposed that the earth was only a few thousand years old
C.   was a problem for the development of evolutionary theories
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.   The discovery of Noah’s ark
B.   Patterns of similarities and differences between organisms
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.   Intentional design
B.   Fixity of species
C.   Catastrophism
D.   All of these responses are correct
Question #12
The idea that individuals must compete and sometimes, fight fiercely for food is called.
A.   The struggle for existence
B.   Catastrophism
C.   The Ladder of Progression
D.   Transmutation
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.   All of these statements are correct
B.   Grandfather of Charles Darwin
C.   Argued in favor of transmutation
D.   Did not have a clear explanation of how evolution occurred
Question #15
Who was the first to actually attempt to explain the specific mechanisms by which species change over time?
A.   Charles Lyell
B.   Carolus Linnaeus
C.   Charles Darwin
D.   Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
Question #16
According to Lamarckian Evolution species change over time because:
A.   Organisms strive to achieve things
B.   The use and disuse of parts
C.   Acquired traits are passed to offspring
D.   All of these statement are correct
Question #17
The idea that the efforts of organisms could make them better and more complex than other species is called:
A.   Ladder of Progression
B.   Catastrophism
C.   Creation
D.   All of these statement are correct

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