EVOLUTION MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS

1. All of the following statements about evolution are true EXCEPT

(A) evolution occurs more rapidly at some times than at others
(B) evolution is directed by changes in the environment
(C) evolution is not always from the simple to the complex but
may actin such a way that complex forms give rise to simpler
ones
(D) single organisms, as well as populations, do commonly evolve
(E) evolution is not always a slow, gradual process

2. According to the Hardy-Weinberg theory, which of the

followingrepresents a homozygous dominant individual?
(A) p
(B) q
(C) p2
(D) q2
(E) 2pq

3. All of the following are part of the Hardy-Weinberg theorem,

whichdescribes a stable, non-evolving population, EXCEPT
(A) natural selection exists
(B) mating must be random
(C) no mutations can occur in the population
(D) the population must be isolated from others
(E) the population must be large

4. Which of the following is a transition fossil?

(A) Reptiles
(B) Amphibians

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 (C) Archaeopteryx
(D) Fish
(E) Apes

5. All of the following are part of Darwin’s theory of natural

selectionEXCEPT
(A) populations tend to overpopulate
(B) in any population, there is unequal ability among
individuals tosurvive and to reproduce
(C) only the best-fit individuals survive and get to pass on their
genes
(D) overpopulation leads to a struggle for existence
(E) organisms change in response to a need in the environment

6. All the following are true of homologous structures EXCEPT

(A) they demonstrate common ancestry
(B) an example is the wing of the bat and a person’s arm
(C) an example is the wing of the bat and the wing of a fly
(D) they are not the same thing as analogous structures
(E) an example is the whale’s lateral fin and a person’s arm

Questions 7–12

Choose from the list of terms below.

(A) Charles Darwin
(B) Lamarck
(C) Stephen J. Gould and Niles Eldridge
(D) Oparin and Haldane
(E) Hardy-Weinberg

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 7. Inheritance of acquired traits

8. Use and disuse

9. Theory of punctuated equilibrium

10. Populations tend to overpopulate

11. Hypothesized that under conditions that existed in early Earth,

organicmolecules could form

12. Survival of the fittest

13. The age of Earth according to scientific evidence is closest to

(A) 4,000 years old
(B) 600 years old
(C) 6,000 years old
(D) 4 million years old
(E) 4 billion years old

14. Pangaea is a
(A) transition fossil
(B) molecule that is commonly analyzed and used to show
whichorganisms are related
(C) species of bacteria that is resistant to all antibiotics
(D) vestigial structure
(E) single supercontinent that existed 250 million years ago

15. Which of the following is an example of divergent evolution?

(A) Wildebeests separated from each other by a newly formed
river arenow separate species.
(B) Whales and fish have a streamlined appearance because
theyevolved in the same environment.

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 (C) Insects and the flowers they pollinate have evolved
together overmillions of years.
(D) Polydactyly, having extra fingers, is common in the
Amish ofPennsylvania.
(E) Change occurs in the gene pool due to chance.

Questions 16–20

Choose from the terms below.

(A) Geographic isolation
(B) Polyploidy
(C) Reproductive isolation
(D) Adaptive radiation
(E) Directional selection

16. Darwin discovered 14 species of finches on the Galapagos

Islands thatall evolved from one original species of finch
17. Having extra sets of chromosomes in every cell

18. The peppered moths are one example

19. Two populations of one species evolved into two separate

species afterbeing separated for millions of years by a canyon

20. A very small dog and a very large dog cannot mate because
of theenormous size difference of the two animals