Deck 19: Systematics: Seeking Order Amid Diversity

Question 1

Canis latrans, Canis lupus, and Canis familiaris are all members of the same

A) race.
B) species.
C) genus.
D) family.
E) subspecies.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The science of reconstructing the evolutionary history of life is called

A) systematics.
B) biology.
C) gradualism.
D) taxidermy.
E) pre-adaptation.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which of the following groups contains the fewest number of species?

A) Kingdom
B) Phylum
C) Class
D) Domain
E) Order

Answer 3

E

Question 4

Which of the following is the correct way to write the scientific name of the wolf?

A) Canis Lupus
B) Canis lupus
C) canis lupus
D) canis Lupus
E) Canis lupus

Question 5

Which of the following is the largest or most inclusive group?

A) Phylum
B) Class
C) Order
D) Family
E) Genus

Question 6

Comparing the chromosomes of chimpanzees and humans has revealed that the two species

A) should be classified in the same genus.
B) are closely related.
C) are only distantly related.
D) should not be classified in the same family.
E) should be classified in the same species.

Question 7

Historically, in the field of taxonomy, what characteristic was most commonly used for determining species relationships?

A) Anatomical similarity
B) Geographic proximity
C) DNA sequence similarity
D) Capability of interbreeding
E) Chromosomal similarity

Question 8

If two organisms are members of the same phylum, then they must also be members of the same

A) family.
B) genus.
C) class.
D) domain.
E) species.

Question 9

A house cat has the scientific name Felis catus. The term catus is the

A) species.
B) genus.
C) kingdom.
D) order.
E) family.

Question 10

A major difficulty facing systematists is

A) distinguishing similar features due to common ancestry from those due to convergent evolution.
B) placing specimens into the predefined taxonomic categories of species and genus.
C) distinguishing anatomy from physiology in plant evolution.
D) understanding the sequence of cell divisions in the early embryology of plants and animals.
E) sequencing DNA.

Question 11

What is the main reason scientists use Latin scientific names?

A) All scientists speak Latin.
B) Scientific publications are usually in Latin.
C) Linnaeus was from Italy, so he spoke Latin.
D) Latin names are recognized worldwide, overcoming language barriers.
E) Common names donʹt sound professional.

Question 12

In the scientific name of humans, Homo sapiens, the term Homo is the

A) species.
B) family.
C) class.
D) order.
E) genus.

Question 13

Who was the Swedish naturalist who established the modern system for classifying organisms?

A) Aristotle
B) Linnaeus
C) Whittaker
D) Woese
E) Darwin

Question 14

The most powerful way to infer evolutionary relationships relies on which type of evidence?

A) Comparative anatomy
B) Comparison of DNA base sequences
C) Behavioral similarities
D) The ability to mate and produce fertile offspring

Question 15

What is the second of the two names in an organismʹs scientific name?

A) Species
B) Genus
C) Kingdom
D) Order
E) Family

Question 16

A mountain lion, or puma, has the scientific name Felis concolor. The term Felis is the

A) species.
B) genus.
C) kingdom.
D) order.
E) family.

Question 17

Which of the following is the smallest or least inclusive group?

A) Order
B) Genus
C) Class
D) Species
E) Kingdom

Question 18

DNA analysis reveals that two species of birds appear to have evolved from a common ancestor. These two species belong to the same

A) gene pool.
B) species.
C) nest group.
D) breeding group.
E) clade.

Question 19

Which of the following is the smallest or least inclusive group?

A) Family
B) Kingdom
C) Genus
D) Domain
E) Class

Question 20

The Asian elephant has the scientific name Elephas maximus. The term Elephas is the

A) species.
B) genus.
C) kingdom.
D) order.
E) family.

Question 21

Which of the following groups is composed of eukaryotic organisms?

A) Protists
B) Bacteria
C) Monera
D) Archaea

Question 22

Genetics studies of human populations have revealed that

A) all humans are virtually identical.
B) it is nearly impossible to determine the relatedness of human populations.
C) human populations vary tremendously at the level of DNA sequences.
D) humans have very little genetic variation compared to other mammals.
E) Homo sapiens probably did not evolve from primates.

Question 23

Based on evolutionary lineage, fungi and animals belong to the same

A) genus.
B) clade.
C) family.
D) species.
E) order.

Question 24

Which of the following groups is composed of eukaryotic organisms?

A) Monera
B) Archaea
C) Fungi
D) Bacteria

Question 25

An organism with a nucleus would be placed in which domain?

A) Fungi
B) Animalia
C) Eukarya
D) Bacteria
E) Archaea

Question 26

Which group contains mostly unicellular, eukaryotic organisms?

A) Bacteria
B) Fungi
C) Plantae
D) Protists
E) Animalia

Question 27

Before 1970, what was the basis for the biological classification system?

A) Five kingdoms: Monera, Protista, Fungi, Animalia, and Plantae
B) Three kingdoms: Bacteria, Animalia, and Plantae
C) Two kingdoms: Bacteria and Eukarya
D) Two kingdoms: Monera and Animalia
E) Two kingdoms: Animalia and Plantae

Question 28

The greatest genetic diversity among humans is found between some ___________populations.

A) African
B) Asian
C) North American
D) European
E) Australian

Question 29

What should biologists do when two similar organisms that were originally thought to be separate species are found to interbreed freely and produce normal offspring whenever they live in the same habitat?

A) Develop a new name for the hybrids.
B) Separate the two groups until they become dissimilar enough to prevent interbreeding.
C) Consider both types to be a single species.
D) Retain the two speciesʹ names if the organisms have very different appearances.

Question 30

Which biologist first proposed that all organisms share a common ancestry?

A) Aristotle
B) Linnaeus
C) Whittaker
D) Woese
E) Darwin

Question 31

If genetic studies reveal that a population has genetic sequences in common with two closely related species but has no unique sequences of its own, then

A) all three should be assigned to the same species.
B) all three should be considered subspecies within the same species.
C) it should be considered a hybrid of the two species.
D) it should be assigned separate species status.
E) it should be assigned to the species with which it shares more sequences.

Question 32

Systematics reassigns phylogenetic placement based on

A) reproduction.
B) new information about genetic relationships.
C) seed formation.
D) physical features.
E) behaviors.

Question 33

Evolutionary relationships among organisms are most likely to be revised at the ___________level.

A) species
B) domain
C) genus
D) order
E) kingdom

Question 34

A modern system of classification gives the category name domain to

A) Fungi.
B) Hominidae.
C) Prokaryota.
D) Eukarya.
E) insects.

Question 35

Who introduced the ʺtwo-partʺ system (genus and species) that biologists use to name organisms?

A) Aristotle
B) Linnaeus
C) Whittaker
D) Woese
E) Darwin

Question 36

Which of the following is prokaryotic?

A) Archaea
B) Plantae
C) humans
D) Animalia
E) Fungi

Question 37

Which of the following is NOT a monophyletic group?

A) You, your parents, and your siblings
B) The class Mammalia, which includes all mammals
C) Turtles and lizards
D) The family Semionotidae, which includes fish that may not share a common ancestor
E) The kingdom Animalia, which includes all animals

Question 38

Modern systematics constructs clades and evolutionary relationships on the basis of

A) mating behaviors.
B) whether or not an organism reproduces sexually.
C) fossils.
D) anatomical similarities.
E) genetic similarities.

Question 39

Which of the following is a prokaryote?

A) Porifera
B) Vibrio cholerae
C) Blechnum nudum
D) Homo sapiens
E) Troglodytes gorilla

Question 40

Why do some biologists NOT consider reptiles to be a monophyletic group?

A) Reptiles evolved independently at several different times in the past and from several different ancestral species.
B) Reptiles, birds, amphibians, and fish appeared in the fossil record at approximately the same time.
C) All reptiles do not reproduce sexually.
D) The ancestors of reptiles are the class Amphibia.
E) Birds are the direct descendants of some reptiles.

Question 41

Research indicates that HIV developed from a bird virus.

Question 42

Scientists currently identify three domains: plants, animals, and bacteria.

Question 43

Modern systematics is based on___________ similarities.

Question 44

The virus most closely related to HIV infects monkeys.

Question 45

___________is a term that refers to the ?evolutionary history? of an organism.

Question 46

A phylogenetic species is defined as the smallest diagnosable group that contains all the descendants of a single common ancestor.

Question 47

The number and variety of species in an area is the

A) clade.
B) synapomorphy.
C) taxonomy.
D) biodiversity.
E) domain.

Question 48

___________evolution results in similar anatomical features between unrelated organisms that may be misleading in determining species relationships.

Question 49

Once an organism is placed in a specific species, the designation cannot be changed.

Question 50

Historically, most classification has been based on___________ similarity.

Question 51

Systematics holds that the more similar the DNA of two organisms, the more closely related they are.

Question 52

The science of reconstructing an organismʹs evolutionary history is called systematics.

Question 53

The total number of named species is about

A) 1.6 million.
B) 1.6 billion.
C) 160,000.
D) 1,600.
E) 160.

Question 54

Monophyletic groups contain all the species that evolved from a common ancestor.

Question 55

All organisms that are derived from a single common ancestor make up a clade.

Question 56

Systematists use synapomorphies to build phylogenetic trees.

Question 57

Based on taxonomic ranks, each order is divided into___________ .

Question 58

Current research indicates that the temperate forest has the greatest biodiversity.

Question 59

The second of the two names in an organism?s scientific name is the___________ .

Question 60

Each class can be split into several kingdoms.

Question 61

How did Darwinʹs evolutionary theory change the significance of the taxonomic categories of organisms?

Question 62

Dogs, wolves, foxes, and coyotes are genetically similar and form a group called a___________.

Question 63

Why can organisms that look physically similar belong to different clades?

Question 64

___________groups are groups in which all members are descendants of a common ancestor.

Question 65

Why are Archaea and Bacteria, which are both prokaryotes, different domains?

Question 66

Explain how systematics and Linnaean taxonomy differ.

Question 67

Two butterflies have identical wing patterns, but in one the pigment is blue and in the other the pigment is yellow. The original ancestor had green wing pigments. The wing pigment is an example of a(n)___________ .

Question 68

Based on current hypotheses, the prokaryotic group that gave rise to eukaryotes is the___________.

Question 69

How do Archaea and Bacteria differ?

Question 70

List the following taxonomic categories from the most specific to the most general: genus, domain, family, phylum, order.

Question 71

Briefly explain why the adoption of a standard, two-part scientific naming system is helpful to biologists.

Question 72

Organisms that reproduce___________ do not meet the standard criterion of a species.

Question 73

Fungi and animals belong to the domain___________ .

Question 74

How can DNA tell you how closely related two organisms are?

Question 75

HIV appears to have developed from a(n)___________ .

Question 76

Sponges and worms belong to the domain___________.

Question 77

The smallest diagnosable group that contains all the descendants of a single common ancestor is a(n) ___________.

Question 78

___________groups contain only some of the descendants of a common ancestor.

Question 79

Ferns and flowering plants belong to the clade___________ .

Question 80

Eukaryotes that are not plants, animals, or fungi are classified as___________ .