Deck 13: Legacies of Human Evolutionary History: Effects on the Individual

Question 1

Infectious diseases have their greatest effect on growth and development during which life phase?

A) adulthood
B) menopause
C) the postreproductive years
D) childhood
E) senescence

Answer 1

childhood

Question 2

Facts about sexual dimorphism in humans include all of the following except

A) Slight evidence between boys and girls at birth
B) Evidence between boys and girls greatest at puberty
C) Refers to differences in body measures between males and females
D) Adolescent growth spurts occur two years earlier in girls than in boys
E) Rate of growth continues and increases as adult stature is achieved in late teens

Answer 2

Rate of growth continues and increases as adult stature is achieved in late teens

Question 3

Which of the following is not true about human childhood?

A) Humans have unusually long childhoods.
B) Childhood is key to the learning in humans.
C) It is defined as the time between weaning and puberty.
D) It is an extremely short stage of human life.
E) It is a vulnerable stage of human development.

Answer 3

It is an extremely short stage of human life.

Question 4

Chimpanzees that are orphaned before they are weaned

A) usually have the longest life-spans
B) have increased reproductive success
C) are emotionally dependant on their mothers
D) are not affected
E) usually die

Question 5

What is the term for a female's first menstruation?

A) menopause
B) menarche
C) andropause
D) andrenarche
E) cyclopause

Question 6

Human milk, like that of other primates, is

A) high in fats
B) high in nutrients
C) low in antibodies
D) low in fats
E) low in supply, hence frequent nursing is required

Question 7

Which hormone is among those important in growth?

A) insulin
B) hemoglobin
C) gluten
D) lactose
E) hormones are not important in growth

Question 8

Approximately how long do chimpanzees, gorillas, and women in foraging societies nurse their infants?

A) ½ year
B) 1 to 2 years
C) 2 to 3 years
D) 3 to 4 years
E) 6 to 7 years

Question 9

The human preagricultural diet was

A) high in fats and low in carbohydrates
B) high in fats and animal proteins
C) low in fats and high in animal proteins
D) low in complex carbohydrates and calcium
E) high in salt and low in fiber

Question 10

The adolescence stage is present in which of the following?

A) all mammals
B) all primates
C) humans only
D) monkeys, apes, and humans
E) all nonhuman primates except orangutans

Question 11

When does the adolescent growth spurt approximately occur?

A) two years later in girls than in boys
B) at the same time for girls and boys
C) two years earlier in girls than in boys
D) four years earlier in girls than in boys
E) as an early adult

Question 12

Infectious diseases can delay growth, particularly when coupled with

A) Parasitic infection
B) too much protein consumption
C) adequate vitamin D
D) humidity
E) technologies introduced by western culture

Question 13

One primary way in which genes have an effect on growth and development is through

A) nerves
B) the chromosomes
C) hormones
D) DNA replication
E) mitosis

Question 14

What is a present day disorder that is clearly linked to dietary and lifestyle behaviors, such as decreased activity levels and increased consumption of fats and refined carbohydrates?

A) HIV
B) SIV
C) malaria
D) small pox
E) diabetes

Question 15

The human brain reaches 95 percent of its adult size by what age?

A) 3 years
B) 5 years
C) 10 years
D) 15 years
E) 21 years

Question 16

At birth, the human brain is approximately what percent of its adult size?

A) 15 percent
B) 25 percent
C) 50 percent
D) 75 percent
E) 100 percent

Question 17

Life history theory

A) does not seek to answer why humans have long periods of infancy and childhood
B) does not have an evolutionary perspective
C) seeks to understand the impact of natural selection on life cycles
D) allows us to predict the timing of reproduction under less than favorable conditions
E) suggests that the life course is not a series of trade offs

Question 18

A long period of female postreproductive time is found in which of the following?

A) chimpanzees
B) gorillas
C) all monkeys
D) lemurs
E) humans

Question 19

Environmental factors

A) have no effect on growth and development
B) have not been studied in regards to their effects on growth and development
C) definitely have effects on growth and development
D) always have negative effects on growth
E) call into question any effect of hormone glands

Question 20

Information concerning the genetic and environmental effects on growth comes from studies of which of the following?

A) Old World monkeys
B) lemurs
C) identical twins
D) pleiotropic genes
E) interviews of elderly

Question 21

The language centers of the human brain develop in the first three years of life.

Question 22

Both nutritional deficiencies and excesses can cause health problems and interfere with childhood growth.

Question 23

The contemporary diet typical of industrialized societies is basically unchanged from preagricultural diets.

Question 24

According to the text, people are increasingly turning to environmental cues derived from sights, sounds, smells, and tactile sensations.

Question 25

Before the AIDS epidemic in Africa, Botswanans had a life expectancy of 65 years. At the height of the epidemic it was about ______ years.

A) 15
B) 40
C) 60
D) 75
E) 85

Question 26

The prenatal life cycle phase begins with conception and ends at weaning.

Question 27

Far more important than genes in the aging process are lifestyle factors.

Question 28

Throughout the world, women have

A) higher life expectancies than men
B) lower life expectancies than men
C) the same life expectancies as men
D) been incorrectly represented in statistical data on aging

Question 29

The age of onset of menarche is affected by all of the following except

A) genetic patterns
B) nutrition
C) stress
D) disease
E) telomerase

Question 30

In the United States, old age is usually associated with all of the following except

A) physical ailments
B) decreased activity
C) a well-defined concept
D) negativity
E) unwelcome attitudes

Question 31

What is the term for the period following the last menstrual cycle in human women?

A) menarche
B) menopause
C) adrenarche
D) egg-pause
E) cyclopause

Question 32

One hypothesis that proposes to explain senescence notes that cells that divide throughout the life course have shortened DNA sequences at the end of the chromosomes. This is referred to as the ________ hypothesis.

A) hadromere
B) carsonomere
C) telomere
D) intron
E) old age

Question 33

Most anthropologists agree that human populations are not evolving anymore.

Question 34

Biological events that mark the transition to adolescence include all of the following except

A) increase in body size
B) hormonal changes
C) changes in body shape
D) decrease in stature
E) increased development and enlargement of breasts and penises

Question 35

_______ genes have multiple effects at different times in the life span or under different conditions.

A) Ontogenetic
B) Telomere
C) Pleiotropic
D) Hidden
E) Dominant

Question 36

Our ability to store fat was adaptive in the past but is maladaptive in industrialized societies.

Question 37

Humans have unusually short childhoods, reflecting the importance of learning in our species.

Question 38

What does the "grandmother hypothesis" propose to explain?

A) the age of onset of menopause
B) the age of puberty for males
C) the age of onset of menarche
D) the existence of menopause
E) the existence of estrogen production

Question 39

Birth is an event that is celebrated with ritual only in the United States and Europe.

Question 40

The enzyme telomerase is characterized by all of the following except

A) codes for an enzyme that can lengthen telomeres
B) can make cells young again
C) has been called the "immortalizing gene"
D) allows for the cell to cease to divide
E) can contribute to understanding cellular function and cancer

Question 41

List and briefly define the difference between life cycle stages of humans and other primates.

Question 42

Describe the pattern of human brain growth. What is the importance of delayed brain growth in humans?

Question 43

Explain the way a woman's diet during pregnancy can have an impact on her future child and grandchildren.

Question 44

Compare the hypothesized preagricultural diet with the diet consumed by most Americans today.

Question 45

Define senescence. Discuss one hypothesis that attempts to explain senescence.

Question 46

What are the consequences of the tremendous changes in the environment, some of which you have seen in your own lifetime?

Question 47

What are essential amino acids and what do the specific amount we need of these nutrients suggest for modern societies?

Question 48

What are some of the explanations for the recent trend toward a lower age of menarche?

Question 49

Discuss the genetic, hormonal, and environmental factors influencing human growth and development.

Question 50

Define the term adolescent growth spurt.

Question 51

What are pleiotropic genes and what do they help us to understand?

Question 52

Answer the question, "Are We Still Evolving?," highlighting socioeconomic and political concerns.