Deck 3: Themes of Anthropology: Evolution

Question 1

Darwin's idea about the major process of evolution is called:

A) descent with modification
B) natural selection
C) inheritance of acquired characteristics
D) adaptation

Answer 1

natural selection

Question 2

The core of Mendel's ideas about inheritance is that:

A) genes undergo mutations
B) inheritance involves the passing on of "particles"
C) inheritance involves the blending of parental substances
D) genetics explains how evolution works

Answer 2

inheritance involves the passing on of "particles"

Question 3

An allele is:

A) a variant of a gene
B) the same as a gene
C) a mutated form of a normal gene
D) a recessive version of a gene

Answer 3

a variant of a gene

Question 4

The combination of genes in an individual is called the:

A) phenotype
B) genotype
C) allele
D) dominant

Question 5

The expression of a genetic combination is called the:

A) phenotype
B) genotype
C) allele
D) dominant

Question 6

Alleles that are both expressed in the phenotype are said to be:

A) dominant
B) homozygous
C) co-dominant
D) recessive

Question 7

In Mendelian genetics, a dominant allele is:

A) better fit
B) more common
C) the one that codes for the normal expression of a trait
D) the one that is expressed phenotypically over other alleles

Question 8

In Mendelian genetics, a recessive allele is:

A) uncommon
B) only expressed phenotypically if homozygous
C) less fit
D) the one that codes for abnormal traits

Question 9

Gametes are:

A) fertilized egg cells
B) individual genetic expressions that combine at fertilization
C) sex cells like sperms and eggs
D) another name for the genetic variants known as alleles

Question 10

Humans have approximately _________ genes.

A) 3 billion
B) 1 million
C) 500,000
D) 20,000

Question 11

A species is best defined as:

A) a kind of living organism
B) a group of organisms that looks completely different from others
C) a group of organisms with similar adaptations
D) a reproductively isolated group of organisms

Question 12

The study of environmental relationships is called:

A) evolution
B) ecology
C) adaptation
D) descent with modification

Question 13

The set of natural features to which an organism is adapted and the way in which it is adapted is known as its:

A) habitat
B) ecosystem
C) niche
D) environment

Question 14

A set of directly interacting habitats make up a(an):

A) society
B) ecosystem
C) niche
D) environment

Question 15

The study of how an animal is adapted should focus on its:

A) behavior
B) anatomy
C) physiology
D) communication system

Question 16

The "descent" part of descent with modification means that:

A) organisms are evolving toward more complex forms
B) older fossils are usually found in lower layers of rock
C) organisms are all closely related
D) existing species give rise to new species

Question 17

The "modification" part of descent with modification means that:

A) humans have learned how to modify living organisms and their genes
B) species can modify themselves to become better adapted
C) evolution has changed recently as a result of human intervention
D) species change through time as a result of a number of natural processes

Question 18

Which of the following supplies concrete evidence for the fact of evolution?

A) the universality of DNA among living organisms
B) the use of amino acids to build proteins among all organisms
C) the fossil record
D) the ecological relationships among organisms

Question 19

The stratigraphic record shows us which general relationship between layers and time?

A) the deeper the layer the older it is
B) layers closer to the surface are older
C) thicker layers are older than thinner ones
D) all layers were laid down at about the same time

Question 20

Which of the following evolutionary trends is NOT demonstrated by the fossil record?

A) increase in the range of diversity
B) increase in kinds of complex living things
C) evolution of one type of organism from another
D) general evolution of more and more humanlike characteristics

Question 21

The major process that explains descent with modification is:

A) adaptation
B) genetic inheritance
C) natural selection
D) evolution

Question 22

Artificial selection refers to:

A) hypothetical examples of selection
B) selection operating on human beings
C) processes that appear to be selection but are not
D) selection directed by human action

Question 23

The measure of success under natural selection is:

A) how many offspring are produced
B) whether an individual lives or dies
C) how well adapted an individual is
D) how well adapted the species is

Question 24

Selection that maintains the adaptive relationship between a species and its environment is:

A) directional selection
B) artificial selection
C) natural selection
D) stabilizing selection

Question 25

Selection that adapts a species to changed environmental circumstances is:

A) directional selection
B) artificial selection
C) natural selection
D) stabilizing selection

Question 26

Of all species that have ever existed:

A) most are still around
B) most are extinct
C) most look like they do when they first evolved
D) only those with humanlike characteristics survived

Question 27

When genes are exchanged or mixed between populations within a species, the process is called:

A) gene flow
B) genetic drift
C) fission
D) the founder effect

Question 28

The Hutterite practice of "branching out" is an example of:

A) gene flow
B) fission
C) gamete sampling
D) speciation

Question 29

Which of the following is NOT included under the heading of genetic drift?

A) gene flow
B) fission
C) gamete sampling
D) the founder effect

Question 30

The form of genetic change that involves genes not being sampled representatively when parents produce offspring is:

A) gene flow
B) fission
C) gamete sampling
D) the founder effect

Question 31

We may best picture the relationships among all species as:

A) a ladder of increasing complexity
B) a chain of species going from least to most perfect
C) a tree with a few branches
D) a dense bush with countless branches and twigs

Question 32

Prior to the late 1700s, what two assumptions about the earth and its inhabitants limited studies in biology?

Question 33

Describe Lamarck's mechanism for evolution. What parts do we acknowledge were correct? What parts do we know were wrong?

Question 34

Describe Darwin's mechanism for evolution by contrasting it with Lamarck's.

Question 35

Account for Darwin's delay of twenty years before publishing his idea of natural selection.

Question 36

What was the role of Alfred Russel Wallace in the history of evolutionary theory?

Question 37

What two things did Darwin acknowledge not understanding that would have completed his model for evolution?

Question 38

What were the two major conclusions of Mendel regarding inheritance?

Question 39

Define genotype and phenotype and explain the relationship between the two.

Question 40

Define dominant and recessive and explain the relationship between them. What do we mean by co-dominant?

Question 41

Define homozygous and heterozygous. How are these concepts related to those of dominance and recessiveness?

Question 42

Compare and contrast the ecological concepts of niche, habitat, and ecosystem.

Question 43

In what way is behavior central to the study of species' adaptations? Can this concept be applied to human cultural behavior?

Question 44

The concept of descent with modification, or evolution, has a great deal of evidence in its support. Indicate the major types of evidence.

Question 45

In what ways does the fossil record show us the evidence for evolution?

Question 46

Explain the difference between artificial selection and natural selection.

Question 47

If natural selection is so good at maintaining and even improving a species' adaptations, why do any species ever become extinct?

Question 48

Why is gene flow a particularly important process in human evolution?

Question 49

If most mutations are deleterious, why would there be no evolution without them?

Question 50

Explain why fission and the founder effect have been particularly important in human evolution.

Question 51

What is the role of isolation in the evolution of new species from existing ones?

Question 52

What are macromutations and what role can they play in the evolution of new species?

Question 53

Explain how evolution is fact, theory, and hypothesis.