Question 1

How many separate species, both extant and extinct, are depicted in this tree?

Accepted Answer

A)   two
B)   three
C)   four
D)   five
E)   sixF) A) and B)
G) B) and E)

Question 2

Logically, which of these should cast the most doubt on the relationships depicted by an evolutionary tree?

Accepted Answer

A)   None of the organisms depicted by the tree ate the same foods.
B)   Some of the organisms depicted by the tree had lived in different habitats.
C)   The skeletal remains of the organisms depicted by the tree were incomplete (in other words, some bones were missing) .
D)   Transitional fossils had not been found.
E)   Relationships between DNA sequences among the species did not match relationships between skeletal patterns.F) D) and E)
G) B) and C)

Question 3

Which of the five common ancestors, labeled V-Z, has been most successful in terms of the percent of its derived species that are extant?

Accepted Answer

A)   V
B)   W
C)   X
D)   Y
E)   ZF) C) and D)
G) None of the above

Question 4

What was the prevailing belief prior to the time of Lyell and Darwin?

Accepted Answer

A)   Earth is a few thousand years old, and populations are unchanging.
B)   Earth is a few thousand years old, and populations gradually change.
C)   Earth is millions of years old, and populations rapidly change.
D)   Earth is millions of years old, and populations are unchanging.
E)   Earth is millions of years old, and populations gradually change.F) A) and D)
G) B) and D)

Question 5

If two modern organisms are distantly related in an evolutionary sense, then one should expect that

Accepted Answer

A)   they live in very different habitats.
B)   they should share fewer homologous structures than two more closely related organisms.
C)   their chromosomes should be very similar.
D)   they shared a common ancestor relatively recently.
E)   they should be members of the same genus.F) A) and E)
G) A) and C)

Question 6

The following questions refer to Figure 19.1, which shows an outcrop of sedimentary rock whose strata are labeled A-D.
  Figure 19.1
-If x indicates the fossils of two closely related species, neither of which is extinct, then their remains may be found in how many of these strata?

Accepted Answer

A)   one stratum
B)   two strata
C)   three strata
D)   four strataE) A) and C)
F) All of the above

Question 7

A biologist studied a population of squirrels for 15 years. During that time, the population was never fewer than 30 squirrels and never more than 45. Her data showed that over half of the squirrels born did not survive to reproduce, because of both competition for food and predation. In a single generation, 90% of the squirrels that were born lived to reproduce, and the population increased to 80. Which inference(s)  about this population might be true?

Accepted Answer

A)   The amount of available food may have increased.
B)   The parental generation of squirrels developed better eyesight due to improved diet; the subsequent squirrel generation inherited better eyesight.
C)   The number of predators that prey upon squirrels may have decreased.
D)   A and C could be true.
E)   A, B, and C could be true.F) C) and D)
G) A) and D)

Question 8

Which of the following statements best describes theories?

Accepted Answer

A)   They are nearly the same things as hypotheses.
B)   They are supported by, and make sense of, many observations.
C)   They cannot be tested because the described events occurred only once.
D)   They are predictions of future events.E) C) and D)
F) None of the above

Question 9

About 13 different species of finches inhabit the Galápagos Islands today, all descendants of a common ancestor from the South American mainland that arrived a few million years ago. Genetically, there are four distinct lineages, but the 13 species are currently classified among three genera. The first lineage to diverge from the ancestral lineage was the warbler finch (genus Certhidea) . Next to diverge was the vegetarian finch (genus Camarhynchus) , followed by five tree finch species (also in genus Camarhynchus)  and six ground finch species (genus Geospiza) .
-If the six ground finch species have evolved most recently, then which of these is the most logical prediction?

Accepted Answer

A)   They should be limited to the six islands that most recently emerged from the sea.
B)   Their genomes should be more similar to each other than are the genomes of the five tree finch species.
C)   They should share fewer anatomical homologies with each other than they share with the tree finches.
D)   The chances of hybridization between two ground finch species should be less than the chances of hybridization between two tree finch species.E) B) and D)
F) C) and D)

Question 10

Two plant species live in the same biome but on different continents. Although the two species are not at all closely related, they may appear quite similar as a result of

Accepted Answer

A)   parallel evolution.
B)   convergent evolution.
C)   allopatric speciation.
D)   introgression.
E)   gene flow.F) A) and E)
G) A) and D)

Question 11

Which of the following is not an observation or inference on which natural selection is based?

Accepted Answer

A)   There is heritable variation among individuals.
B)   Poorly adapted individuals never produce offspring.
C)   Species produce more offspring than the environment can support.
D)   Individuals whose characteristics are best suited to the environment generally leave more offspring than those whose characteristics are less well suited.
E)   Only a fraction of an individual's offspring may survive.F) A) and E)
G) None of the above

Question 12

Which of the following pieces of evidence most strongly supports the common origin of all life on Earth?

Accepted Answer

A)   All organisms require energy.
B)   All organisms use essentially the same genetic code.
C)   All organisms reproduce.
D)   All organisms show heritable variation.
E)   All organisms have undergone evolution.F) A) and B)
G) B) and E)

Question 13

Ichthyosaurs were aquatic dinosaurs. Fossils show us that they had dorsal fins and tails, as do fish, even though their closest relatives were terrestrial reptiles that had neither dorsal fins nor aquatic tails. The dorsal fins and tails of ichthyosaurs and fish are

Accepted Answer

A)   homologous.
B)   examples of convergent evolution.
C)   adaptations to a common environment.
D)   Three of the responses above are correct.
E)   Two of the responses above are correct.F) B) and E)
G) A) and B)

Question 14

Structures as different as human arms, bat wings, and dolphin flippers contain many of the same bones, these bones having developed from very similar embryonic tissues. How do biologists interpret these similarities?

Accepted Answer

A)   by identifying the bones as being homologous structures
B)   by the principle of convergent evolution
C)   by proposing that humans, bats, and dolphins share a common ancestor
D)   Three of the statements above are correct.
E)   Two of the statements above are correct.F) None of the above
G) A) and D)

Question 15

Catastrophism, meaning the regular occurrence of geological or meteorological disturbances (catastrophes) , was Cuvier's attempt to explain the existence of

Accepted Answer

A)   evolution.
B)   the fossil record.
C)   uniformitarianism.
D)   the origin of new species.
E)   natural selection.F) A) and C)
G) B) and E)

Question 16

A high degree of endemism is most likely in environments that are

Accepted Answer

A)   easily reached and heterogeneous.
B)   isolated and heterogeneous.
C)   isolated and homogeneous.
D)   isolated and extremely cold.
E)   easily reached and homogeneous.F) A) and E)
G) C) and D)

Question 17

Both ancestral birds and ancestral mammals shared a common ancestor that was terrestrial. Today, penguins (which are birds)  and seals (which are mammals)  have forelimbs adapted for swimming. What term best describes the relationship of the bones in the forelimbs of penguins and seals, and what term best describes the flippers of penguins and seals?

Accepted Answer

A)   homologous; homologous
B)   analogous; homologous
C)   homologous; analogous
D)   analogous; analogousE) A) and B)
F) A) and C)

Question 18

Of the following anatomical structures, which is homologous to the bones in the wing of a bird?

Accepted Answer

A)   cartilage in the dorsal fin of a shark
B)   bones in the hind limb of a kangaroo
C)   chitinous struts in the wing of a butterfly
D)   bony rays in the tail fin of a flying fish
E)   bones in the flipper of a whaleF) A) and D)
G) D) and E)

Question 19

What must be true of any organ that is described as vestigial?

Accepted Answer

A)   It must be analogous to some feature in an ancestor.
B)   It must be homologous to some feature in an ancestor.
C)   It must be both homologous and analogous to some feature in an ancestor.
D)   It need be neither homologous nor analogous to some feature in an ancestor.E) B) and D)
F) A) and B)

Question 20

Evolutionary trees such as this are properly understood by scientists to be

Accepted Answer

A)   theories.
B)   hypotheses.
C)   guesses.
D)   dogmas.
E)   facts.F) B) and E)
G) B) and C)

Exam 19: Descent With Modification

Ichthyosaurs were aquatic dinosaurs. Fossils show us that they had dorsal fins and tails, as do fish, even though their closest relatives were terrestrial reptiles that had neither dorsal fins nor aquatic tails. The dorsal fins and tails of ichthyosaurs and fish are

Correct Answer
verified

Evolutionary trees such as this are properly understood by scientists to be

Correct Answer
verified

What was the prevailing belief prior to the time of Lyell and Darwin?

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Catastrophism, meaning the regular occurrence of geological or meteorological disturbances (catastrophes) , was Cuvier's attempt to explain the existence of

Correct Answer
verified

Logically, which of these should cast the most doubt on the relationships depicted by an evolutionary tree?

Correct Answer
verified

The following questions refer to Figure 19.1, which shows an outcrop of sedimentary rock whose strata are labeled A-D. Figure 19.1 -If x indicates the fossils of two closely related species, neither of which is extinct, then their remains may be found in how many of these strata?

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Structures as different as human arms, bat wings, and dolphin flippers contain many of the same bones, these bones having developed from very similar embryonic tissues. How do biologists interpret these similarities?

Correct Answer
verified

Which of the following statements best describes theories?

Correct Answer
verified

Which of the five common ancestors, labeled V-Z, has been most successful in terms of the percent of its derived species that are extant?

Correct Answer
verified

Of the following anatomical structures, which is homologous to the bones in the wing of a bird?

Correct Answer
verified

Which of the following is not an observation or inference on which natural selection is based?

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

How many separate species, both extant and extinct, are depicted in this tree?

Correct Answer
verified

What must be true of any organ that is described as vestigial?

Correct Answer
verified

Two plant species live in the same biome but on different continents. Although the two species are not at all closely related, they may appear quite similar as a result of

Correct Answer
verified

If two modern organisms are distantly related in an evolutionary sense, then one should expect that

Correct Answer
verified

A high degree of endemism is most likely in environments that are

Correct Answer
verified

Which of the following pieces of evidence most strongly supports the common origin of all life on Earth?

Correct Answer
verified

Exam 19: Descent With Modification

Ichthyosaurs were aquatic dinosaurs. Fossils show us that they had dorsal fins and tails, as do fish, even though their closest relatives were terrestrial reptiles that had neither dorsal fins nor aquatic tails. The dorsal fins and tails of ichthyosaurs and fish are

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Evolutionary trees such as this are properly understood by scientists to be

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

What was the prevailing belief prior to the time of Lyell and Darwin?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Catastrophism, meaning the regular occurrence of geological or meteorological disturbances (catastrophes) , was Cuvier's attempt to explain the existence of

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Logically, which of these should cast the most doubt on the relationships depicted by an evolutionary tree?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The following questions refer to Figure 19.1, which shows an outcrop of sedimentary rock whose strata are labeled A-D. Figure 19.1 -If x indicates the fossils of two closely related species, neither of which is extinct, then their remains may be found in how many of these strata?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Structures as different as human arms, bat wings, and dolphin flippers contain many of the same bones, these bones having developed from very similar embryonic tissues. How do biologists interpret these similarities?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following statements best describes theories?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the five common ancestors, labeled V-Z, has been most successful in terms of the percent of its derived species that are extant?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Of the following anatomical structures, which is homologous to the bones in the wing of a bird?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following is not an observation or inference on which natural selection is based?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

How many separate species, both extant and extinct, are depicted in this tree?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

What must be true of any organ that is described as vestigial?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Two plant species live in the same biome but on different continents. Although the two species are not at all closely related, they may appear quite similar as a result of

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

If two modern organisms are distantly related in an evolutionary sense, then one should expect that

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

A high degree of endemism is most likely in environments that are

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following pieces of evidence most strongly supports the common origin of all life on Earth?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Correct Answer
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