Question 1

Which of the following best describes evolution?

Accepted Answer

A change over time

Question 2

Darwin was born in which year?

Accepted Answer

1809

Question 3

Darwin went on what was supposed to be a 2 to 3 year expedition on the HMS Beagle. How long did this expedition actually last?

Accepted Answer

5 years

Question 4

A major purpose of the voyage of the Beagle was to:

Accepted Answer

Take Darwin on an exploratory trip to discover new species of animals, plants, and fossils

Question 5

Before the voyage of the Beagle, Darwin believed that:

Accepted Answer

Species were fixed and immutable

Question 6

The idea that weak forces acting over long periods of time could produce large geologic changes is known as:

Accepted Answer

Uniformitarianism

Question 7

Which of the following best describes the islands that were most important to Darwin's studies of evolution?

Accepted Answer

Both B and C

Question 8

Who proposed natural selection as a mechanism of evolution around the same time Darwin did?

Accepted Answer

Alfred Russel Wallace

Question 9

Evolution by natural selection produces the traits that are needed for survival and reproduction when they are needed.

Accepted Answer

False

Question 10

Which of the following was NOT a main idea that Darwin advanced in his works?

Accepted Answer

New species arise by inheritance of acquired characteristics

Question 11

Which of the following is NOT part of Darwin's theory of natural selection?

Accepted Answer

Organisms compete for unlimited resources

Question 12

Malthus's essay led Darwin to which of the following generalizations?

Accepted Answer

All organisms produce more offspring than their environment can support

Question 13

Fossils form by which of the following processes?

Accepted Answer

All of the choices are correct

Question 14

Older sedimentary strata are found:

Accepted Answer

Below younger strata

Question 15

Which of the following provides evidence that vertebrates evolved from a common ancestor?

Accepted Answer

All of the choices are correct

Question 16

Which of the following represents two structures that are homologous?

Accepted Answer

The wing of a bat and the flipper of a whale

Question 17

A population of 1,000 birds exists on a small Pacific island. Some of the birds are yellow, a characteristic determined by a recessive allele. The others are green, a characteristic determined by a dominant allele. A hurricane on the island kills most of the birds from this population. Only ten remain, and those birds all have yellow feathers. Which of the following statements is true?

Accepted Answer

The ten remaining birds contain only the yellow allele, and mutations occur, future generations of the population will contain both green and yellow birds

Question 18

Tay-Sachs is inherited as an autosomal recessive allele. Homozygous individuals die within the first few years of life. However, there is some evidence that heterozygous individuals are more resistant to tuberculosis. Which of the following statements is true?

Accepted Answer

This situation is an example of heterozygote advantage

Question 19

A rabbit population consists of animals that are either very dark on top or very light on top. When examining them closely, biologists were surprised to find no rabbits with a medium darkness, intermediate to the two extremes. This is an example of:

Accepted Answer

Disruptive selection

Question 20

The ability of natural selection to generate perfectly adapted organisms is limited by all of the following EXCEPT:

Accepted Answer

Organisms with the greatest fitness often don't reproduce

Evolution and Natural Selection: Study Guide for General Biology

Study Guide - Practice Questions

Study Guide - Flashcards