Question 1

Which of the following is the correct definition of a clade in biological taxonomy?

Accepted Answer

A group of species that includes an ancestral species and all its descendants.

Question 2

Which process is NOT a characteristic shared by all living things?

Accepted Answer

Organisms make their own food out of inorganic compounds.

Question 3

A scientific theory is best described as:

Accepted Answer

An explanation for a general class of phenomena that is supported by a wide body of evidence.

Question 4

Which of the following is a requirement for a controlled experiment?

Accepted Answer

It must include at least two groups, one of which does not receive the experimental treatment.

Question 5

A friend claims that the car will not start because the battery is dead. What is the next step in the scientific method?

Accepted Answer

State a hypothesis and use that hypothesis to make a testable prediction.

Question 6

Which of the following best describes variation observed in traits within populations?

Accepted Answer

Variation observed in traits within populations was trivial deviation from perfect 'types'.

Question 7

Lamarck's hypothesis about inheritance of acquired characteristics suggested that:

Accepted Answer

As an individual develops, its phenotype changes in response to challenges posed by the environment, and it passes on these phenotypic changes to offspring.

Question 8

Which of the following is an example of a vestigial trait?

Accepted Answer

The presence of wings in flightless birds.

Question 9

In Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, which equation is used to find the allele frequencies in a population?

Accepted Answer

$p + q = 1$

Question 10

A population of flowering plants shows 9% of individuals with the recessive phenotype. What is the frequency of the recessive allele?

Accepted Answer

$0.3$

Question 11

Which of the following is the best example of stabilizing selection?

Accepted Answer

Gall size in flies is intermediate because small galls are eaten by parasitoids and large galls attract birds.

Question 12

Genetic drift occurs more often in ______ populations.

Accepted Answer

small

Question 13

Which of the following is an example of assortative mating?

Accepted Answer

Tall giraffes tend to mate with tall giraffes and short giraffes with short giraffes.

Question 14

Which of the following best describes the concept of an ecological niche?

Accepted Answer

The range of ecological resources a species can use and the range of conditions it can tolerate.

Question 15

Which evolutionary phenomenon is illustrated by the production of seedless fruits such as grapes and bananas?

Accepted Answer

polyploidy

Question 16

Which of the following is the primary criterion for determining species boundaries according to the biological species concept?

Accepted Answer

Reproductive isolation

Question 17

Which of the following is the best definition of an allele?

Accepted Answer

A version of a gene, such as 'brown' or 'blue' for eye color.

Question 18

In the Hardy-Weinberg equations, the variable $q$ represents the ______.

Accepted Answer

frequency of the recessive allele

Question 19

Which of the following is a misconception about evolution?

Accepted Answer

Goal-oriented thinking

Question 20

Which of the following is the best example of convergent evolution?

Accepted Answer

Streamlined bodies, fins, and flippers are homoplasious traits in dolphins and ichthyosaurs.

General Biology: Evolution, Genetics, and Natural Selection Study Guide

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