Question 1

Which type of snail would be best suited to hide from predators if this population existed in a variable (mixed patches of light and dark areas) environment?

Accepted Answer

Multicolored (variable) snails would be best suited to hide from predators in a variable environment because their varied coloration would allow them to blend into both light and dark patches, reducing their visibility to predators.

Question 2

What do transitional fossils illustrate?

Accepted Answer

Transitional fossils illustrate shared ancestral traits by showing intermediate forms between different groups, providing evidence of evolutionary change over time.

Question 3

Monkeys in the New World (the Americas) have prehensile tails, strong flexible tails that grip branches and operate much like another hand. Old World (Africa and Asia) monkeys do not have such a tail. The explanation for this is

Accepted Answer

The prehensile tail evolved in New World monkeys after the Americas separated from Africa and Asia, leading to different evolutionary paths and adaptations in the two regions.

Question 4

Interpreting this figure, which of the following is a similarity between Lamarck's proposal for evolution and Darwin's proposal?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Interpreting this figure, which of the following...

Question 5

Natural selection results in

Accepted Answer

Natural selection is a process where organisms that are better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring. This means that over time, the traits that make organisms more successful in their current environment become more common in the population, leading to offspring that are better adapted to their current environment.

Question 6

Which one of the following statements is true?

Accepted Answer

Natural selection operates on existing genetic variation within a population. It cannot create new traits on demand but can select for traits that are advantageous, leading to changes in the population over time.

Question 7

Why are Australian mammals all marsupial while mammals on other continents are mostly placental?

Accepted Answer

C) When the continents separated from one another, marsupials in Australia did not have the placental competitors that were present in the Americas.

Question 8

Many people refer to Alfred Russel Wallace as the "father of biogeography." Which of the following contributions led Wallace to achieve this title?

Accepted Answer

Wallace is credited with identifying the "Wallace Line," a boundary that separates the ecozones of Asia and Australia, highlighting the distinct species on either side, which is a significant contribution to biogeography.

Question 9

As you hike up a mountain, you realize that the plants and animals present at the base are not the same as those at the top. This observation is the basis of

Accepted Answer

Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species and ecosystems in geographic space and through geological time. The observation that different plants and animals are found at different elevations on a mountain is directly related to biogeography, as it involves the geographical distribution of organisms.

Question 10

The wing of a penguin and the wing of an eagle are

Accepted Answer

Homologous structures are those that are similar in origin and structure but may differ in function, like the wings of penguins and eagles, which evolved from the same ancestral limb but have adapted to different functions (flight in eagles, swimming in penguins).

Question 11

The molecule cytochrome c supports the theory of evolution as biochemical evidence. Which of the following is part of that evidence?

Accepted Answer

Cytochrome c is a molecule that supports the theory of evolution through biochemical evidence because it is conserved across different species (indicating a common ancestry), has the same critical survival function in various organisms, and its genetic code shows variations among species that can trace evolutionary relationships.

Question 12

Many species of finches, tortoises, cacti, and iguanas are found on the Galápagos Islands and nowhere else in the world. Which physical attribute of these islands has played a role in permitting such unique life forms to evolve?

Accepted Answer

The Galápagos Islands' geographic isolation, the presence of multiple islands, their relatively small size, and the unique environment of each island have all contributed to the evolution of unique life forms by reducing gene flow with mainland populations, allowing for varied adaptations to different niches, and promoting speciation through isolation and environmental pressures.

Question 13

The presence of vestigial organs supports evidence of evolution because

Accepted Answer

Vestigial organs are remnants of organs that had a function in ancestral species but are now reduced or non-functional in the current species. Their presence supports the idea of evolution because they indicate a common ancestry with species in which the organ is still functional. This shows a historical connection and evolutionary change over time.

Question 14

When hiking high in the mountains, you find fossil marine shells lying about. This provides evidence that

Accepted Answer

The presence of fossil marine shells high in the mountains is evidence that the area was once under the ocean and has since been uplifted due to geological processes such as plate tectonics.

Question 15

What influence did the writings of Thomas Malthus have on Darwin's ideas of natural selection?

Accepted Answer

Thomas Malthus's ideas on population growth and the struggle for resources influenced Darwin's concept of natural selection, where organisms compete for limited resources, and only the fittest survive and reproduce.

Question 16

Broccoli, kohlrabi, Brussels sprouts, Chinese cabbage, and cauliflower were all derived from the single wild species. This diversity is a result of

Accepted Answer

These vegetables were all derived from the single wild species Brassica oleracea through the process of artificial selection, where humans selectively bred plants for specific traits over many generations.

Question 17

In the context of natural selection, fitness refers to

Accepted Answer

Fitness, in the context of natural selection, refers to an organism's reproductive success, or its ability to pass on its genes to the next generation.

Question 18

A finch population with heritable variation in beak size arrives on an island where only large seeds are available as a food source. Describe the process of natural selection that would follow.

Accepted Answer

Finches with larger beaks are better adapted to the available food source (large seeds) and are more likely to survive and reproduce, passing on the trait for larger beaks to their offspring. This leads to an increase in the frequency of the trait for larger beaks in the population over time, illustrating natural selection.

Question 19

Which of the following is a step specific to the process of artificial selection?

Accepted Answer

Artificial selection is characterized by human intervention in the selection of breeding individuals, unlike natural selection where environmental pressures determine which individuals survive and reproduce.

Question 20

When comparing chick and pig embryos, the similar eyes, pharyngeal pouches, and postanal tails are evidence of

Accepted Answer

The similar features observed in chick and pig embryos, such as eyes, pharyngeal pouches, and postanal tails, suggest a common ancestry. These similarities are indicative of shared evolutionary origins, rather than convergent evolution, analogy, biogeographical distribution, or the result of artificial selection.

Quiz 14: Darwin and Evolution