Q: A population of 500 wildflowers has 320 red (CRCR), 160 pink (CRCW), and 20 white (CWCW) individuals. What is the frequency of the CR allele in this population?

$$p = \frac{(320 \times 2) + 160}{1000} = 0.8$$

Q: A population of 1,000 individuals has two alleles at a locus: A and a. If the frequency of A is 0.7, what is the expected frequency of heterozygotes under Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium?

$$2pq = 2 \times 0.7 \times 0.3 = 0.42$$

Question 1

Which of the following best describes the concept of 'descent with modification' as proposed by Darwin?

Accepted Answer

All organisms are related by descent from a common ancestor, and accumulate differences as they adapt to different environments.

Question 2

Which of the following is NOT a key feature of natural selection?

Accepted Answer

Natural selection can only act on traits that are acquired during an organism's lifetime.

Question 3

A population of 500 wildflowers has 320 red (CRCR), 160 pink (CRCW), and 20 white (CWCW) individuals. What is the frequency of the CR allele in this population?

Accepted Answer

$$p = \frac{(320 	imes 2) + 160}{1000} = 0.8$$

Question 4

Which of the following is an example of artificial selection?

Accepted Answer

Humans breeding only cows that produce the most milk.

Question 5

Which of the following statements about genetic drift is correct?

Accepted Answer

Genetic drift can lead to the random loss of alleles and is significant in small populations.

Question 6

Which Hardy-Weinberg equation correctly represents the expected genotype frequencies for a locus with two alleles, p and q?

Accepted Answer

$$p^2 + 2pq$$ + $$q^2 = 1$

Question 7

Which of the following is a postzygotic barrier to reproduction?

Accepted Answer

Reduced hybrid fertility

Question 8

A population of water snakes on an island is mostly unbanded, which provides camouflage. However, banded snakes from the mainland continue to migrate to the island, maintaining the banded allele. This is an example of:

Accepted Answer

Gene flow

Question 9

Which of the following best illustrates convergent evolution?

Accepted Answer

The wings of bats and the wings of insects, which evolved independently for flight.

Question 10

Which of the following is a limitation of the biological species concept?

Accepted Answer

It cannot be applied to asexual organisms.

Question 11

Which of the following is an example of heterozygote advantage?

Accepted Answer

Individuals with one sickle-cell allele and one normal allele are more likely to survive malaria than either homozygote.

Question 12

Which of the following is NOT a condition required for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium?

Accepted Answer

Small population size

Question 13

Which of the following best describes allopatric speciation?

Accepted Answer

Speciation occurs when gene flow is interrupted by geographic isolation.

Question 14

A population of 1,000 individuals has two alleles at a locus: A and a. If the frequency of A is 0.7, what is the expected frequency of heterozygotes under Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium?

Accepted Answer

$$2pq = 2 	imes 0.7 	imes 0.3 = 0.42$$

Question 15

Which of the following is an example of a prezygotic reproductive barrier?

Accepted Answer

Temporal isolation

Question 16

Which of the following is a real-world example of directional selection?

Accepted Answer

Soapberry bugs evolving shorter beaks to feed on introduced plants.

Question 17

Which of the following statements about the fossil record is correct?

Accepted Answer

The fossil record shows that cetaceans are closely related to even-toed ungulates.

Question 18

Which of the following is an example of frequency-dependent selection?

Accepted Answer

The fitness of a phenotype depends on how common it is in the population, such as right- and left-mouthed scale-eating fish.

Question 19

Which of the following best describes the difference between microevolution and macroevolution?

Accepted Answer

Microevolution refers to changes in allele frequencies within a population, while macroevolution refers to broad patterns of evolutionary change above the species level.

Descent with Modification, Evolution of Populations, and Speciation: Study Notes

Study Guide - Practice Questions

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