Question 1

Which of the following best describes the concept of phylogeny in biology?

Accepted Answer

The evolutionary history of a species or group of related species.

Question 2

In the Linnaean system of classification, which taxonomic rank is broader than 'Family' but narrower than 'Phylum'?

Accepted Answer

Order

Question 3

Which of the following statements about phylogenetic trees is TRUE?

Accepted Answer

They show patterns of descent, not necessarily phenotypic similarity.

Question 4

A biologist is comparing the DNA sequences of two species to infer their evolutionary relationship. Which principle is most useful for constructing the simplest possible phylogenetic tree?

Accepted Answer

Minimum parsimony

Question 5

Which of the following is an example of a monophyletic group?

Accepted Answer

A group containing all descendants of a common ancestor and that ancestor.

Question 6

What is the main difference between homologous and analogous structures?

Accepted Answer

Homologous structures share a common evolutionary origin, while analogous structures do not.

Question 7

Which of the following best describes a shared derived character?

Accepted Answer

A trait that is unique to a particular clade and not found in distant ancestors.

Question 8

In a cladistic analysis, what is the role of an outgroup?

Accepted Answer

To help differentiate between shared ancestral and shared derived characters.

Question 9

Which of the following statements about molecular clocks is correct?

Accepted Answer

Molecular clocks use the constant rate of nucleotide substitutions to estimate evolutionary divergence times.

Question 10

A scientist is studying the evolutionary history of HIV using molecular clock analysis. What is the most likely reason for using this method?

Accepted Answer

To estimate the time when HIV first spread to humans.

Question 11

Which of the following is a correct statement about orthologous and paralogous genes?

Accepted Answer

Paralogous genes are found within the same species and result from gene duplication.

Question 12

Which of the following best explains why horizontal gene transfer complicates the construction of the tree of life?

Accepted Answer

It allows genes to move between distantly related organisms, blurring evolutionary relationships.

Question 13

If the mutation rate for a particular gene is $$1 	imes 10$$^{-8}$$ mutations per base pair per year, how many mutations would you expect in a gene of 1,000 base pairs over 1 million years?

Accepted Answer

$$10$$ mutations

Question 14

Which of the following is NOT a reason why molecular clocks may not run smoothly?

Accepted Answer

All mutations are always neutral and accumulate at a constant rate.

Question 15

Which domain includes organisms with peptidoglycan in their cell walls?

Accepted Answer

Bacteria

Question 16

A researcher finds that two species share a similar structure used for locomotion, but the underlying anatomy is different. What is the most likely explanation?

Accepted Answer

The structure is analogous and resulted from convergent evolution.

Question 17

Which of the following best describes the three-domain system of classification?

Accepted Answer

It divides all life into Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya.

Question 18

Which of the following is a real-world example of phylogenetic bracketing?

Accepted Answer

Predicting that dinosaurs laid eggs because both birds and crocodiles do.

Question 19

If a phylogenetic tree shows that humans and mice diverged about 75 million years ago, what type of evidence is most likely used to estimate this divergence?

Accepted Answer

Molecular clock analysis of orthologous genes

Phylogeny and the Tree of Life – General Biology II Study Notes

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