Deck 5: Human Variation and Adaptation

Question 1

An abnormality of the red blood cells is known as

A) sickle-cell anemia.
B) Hodgkin's disease.
C) Alzheimer's.
D) fecundity.

Answer 1

sickle-cell anemia.

Question 2

________________ are the ultimate source of all genetic variation.

A) Mutations
B) Gene frequencies
C) DNA molecules
D) Alleles

Answer 2

Mutations

Question 3

It can be concluded that ______________ is related to height.

A) weight
B) nutrition
C) genetic makeup
D) all of the above

Answer 3

all of the above

Question 4

The amount of melanin in the skin seems to be related to the ___________ where a person lives.

A) weather
B) climate
C) rainfall
D) moon

Question 5

_____________ results in more favorable genes becoming more frequent in a population over time.

A) Mutation
B) Natural selection
C) Luck
D) Planning

Question 6

_________________describes what seems to be a general relationship between body size and temperature.

A) Robert's rule
B) Darwin's principle
C) Bergmann's rule
D) Boas' rule

Question 7

_________________ involves physiological adjustments in individuals to environmental conditions.

A) Climate
B) Weather
C) Acclimatization
D) Mutation

Question 8

In 1994, __________________ published The Bell Curve, a book arguing that there is a causal link between race and intelligence.

A) Sapir and Whorf
B) Boas and Weber
C) Herrnstein and Murray
D) Ember and Ember

Question 9

The first large-scale intelligence testing in the United States began with its entry into

A) World War I.
B) World War II.
C) The Korean War.
D) The Vietnam War.

Question 10

A major reason for the European domination of colonized peoples was

A) susceptibility of colonized people to infectious disease.
B) cultural superiority of Europeans.
C) cultural inferiority of Africans, Asians, and Native Americans.
D) God willed it.

Question 11

Regarding human beings, race is a _________ category.

A) scientific
B) religious
C) social
D) accurate

Question 12

How adaptive a gene or trait is depends on the

A) weather.
B) environment.
C) climate.
D) temperature.

Question 13

J. Philippe Rushton has argued that race has

A) a causal effect on behavior.
B) no relationship to behavior.
C) no basis in scientific thinking.
D) all of the above.

Question 14

_______________ are genetic changes that give their carriers a better chance of survival and reproduction than individuals without the genetic change who live in the same environment.

A) Mutations
B) Gene frequencies
C) Alleles
D) Adaptations

Question 15

An advantage of light skin is greater absorption of Vitamin

A) A.
B) B.
C) C.
D) D.

Question 16

Variation between human populations may be the result of

A) differences in genes.
B) growing up in a particular environment.
C) interaction between genes and environment.
D) all of the above

Question 17

The color of a person's skin depends on both the amount of blood in the small blood vessels of the skin and the amount of ________________ in the skin.

A) planktin
B) riboflavin
C) melanin
D) pores

Question 18

Racism is the belief that

A) there are variations in human populations.
B) some races are innately inferior to others.
C) variations between human populations are noticeable.
D) all races are equal.

Question 19

The most notable physical variations among human populations are those that are

A) internal.
B) external.
C) transitional.
D) none of the above

Question 20

_____________ are changes in the structure of genes.

A) Mutations
B) Gene frequencies
C) DNA molecules
D) Alleles

Question 21

Discuss the processes involved in susceptibility to infectious diseases.

Question 22

What factors-genetic, cultural and environmental-account for variations in height?

Question 23

The connection between "race" and intelligence is weak because

A) we do not have a perfect way of measuring intelligence.
B) most of the studies in the past ignored environmental issues, such as access to educational opportunities.
C) there are variances within "races."
D) all the above.

Question 24

Which of the following is an acclimatization?

A) all of the above
B) tanning among light-skinned people
C) shivering
D) increased metabolic rates

Question 25

Discuss two of the myths of racism. Why are these myths important?

Question 26

There is discussion lately of creating the "perfect human." One major problem with this is

A) such a "perfect human" might be detrimental to the human species.
B) we have a consensus of what "perfect" is, but we do not know how to get there.
C) we have different ideas of what "perfect" is, but we are sure we can create it.
D) no one has ever talked about the ethical issues.

Question 27

Race is a highly controversial topic when applied to human differences. Why is it so controversial?

Question 28

Which do you judge to be better for the future of humankind and why? The perpetuation of human variability or the creation of an invariable "perfect" human.

Question 29

Adaptation occurs because

A) natural selection results in more favorable genes becoming more frequent.
B) it does not depend on the environment the population lives in.
C) modern industrialization requires it.
D) there are so many plants and animals that ultimately it does not occur any longer.

Question 30

Height, in a population, is determined by two major influences,

A) emotions and heredity.
B) heredity and environment.
C) where one lives and interpersonal contacts.
D) social class and interpersonal contacts.

Question 31

The authors of the textbook do not support the belief that it is scientifically useful to connect human "races" and behavior because

A) this is something you cannot research.
B) their research concluded that most behaviors showed no difference between supposed "racial" groups.
C) there is not enough cultures available to get a good sample to work with.
D) it makes more sense to connect "races" with emotions.

Question 32

Skin color has often been considered an indicator of "race." However, there are problems with this because

A) we see variations of skin color throughout the world in populations that are not related to each other.
B) the color of skin seems to be related to the climate in which a person lives and this is environmental.
C) while there are variations of skin color, some is subjective as well.
D) all of the above.

Question 33

What factors affect fecundity? Discuss their importance.

Question 34

What do differences in IQ scores really mean?

Question 35

Some people use the word "race" as an explanation of the quality of a culture. Their argument is

A) the "developed" nations are "white," while the "underdeveloped" nations are not.
B) the "underdeveloped" nations are white, while the "developed" nations are not.
C) that throughout history "inferior races" had "inferior cultures."
D) that the quality of a culture is very hard to measure.

Question 36

In 1969, ______________argued that "blacks" were less intelligent than "whites."

A) Arthur Goldberg
B) Arthur Ashe
C) Art Garfunkel
D) Arthur Jensen

Question 37

The exact reproduction of an individual from cellular tissue is called

A) reproduction.
B) transplanting.
C) cloning.
D) mutation.

Question 38

Racism is a belief that some "races" are inferior to others and develops when

A) skin color no longer becomes important.
B) anthropologists discuss the fact that there is no biological basis for race.
C) a population sees themselves as better than another population.
D) society rejects racist philosophies.

Question 39

A population can develop inherited resistances to diseases because

A) they can completely avoid infectious populations.
B) they use ancient medical techniques to immunize themselves.
C) past exposure to the disease now genetically reduces the effects of the disease.
D) it happens automatically whether you are exposed to the disease or not.

Question 40

Humans are influenced by their environment, but at the same time humans can dramatically change their environment. Examples of this include

A) living in houses.
B) harnessing energy to create heat.
C) wearing clothing.
D) all of the above.

Question 41

Compare the significance of various processes in human variation and adaptation.

Question 42

Skin color has come to represent for many people a clear "racial" marking. What do we know about the reasons for differences in skin color?

Question 43

What are the most significant things about human variation in your judgment? Explain why you think the items you chose are the most significant.