Bio 11

How are adaptations beneficial to organisms?

Why was Darwin's acceptance of an ancient, continuously changing Earth so important in his development of his ideas about evolution

Which of the following is a true statement about Charles Darwin?

In Europe at the time Darwin voyaged on HMS Beagle, the popularly accepted explanation of the origin of Earth's plants and animals held that the various species __________.

What was significant to Darwin about the fauna and flora of the Galápagos Islands?

Which best describes the fossil record?

Which best summarizes the order of appearance of major life-forms (from earliest to most recent) and the time at which life first appeared as documented by the fossil record?

Which statement reflects a possible weakness of the fossil record?

The first tetrapods (four-legged animals) were amphibians, which evolved from a specialized group of lobed-fin fish. An unusual fossilized animal (named Tiktaalik) was recently found; this animal possessed a mixture of fish and amphibian characteristics. What is the term used to describe such an intermediate organism?

Whereas some modern whales possess a small and useless __________ pelvis, __________ linking modern whales to their four-legged evolutionary ancestors possess a larger and even functional pelvis.

If whales evolved from land-dwelling mammals, one would expect the fossil record to include intermediate forms, creatures more whale-like than land-dwelling mammals yet still possessing hind limbs and a pelvis lacking in modern whales. Such intermediates are termed __________.

The forelimbs of humans, cats, and bats have a number of detailed similarities in their construction. What best explains these similarities?

All known organisms use genetic information to produce protein molecules via the same genetic code. This finding strongly supports the hypothesis that __________.

An important challenge to traditional (pre-1860) ideas about species was the observation that seemingly dissimilar organisms, such as hummingbirds, humans, and whales, have similar skeletal structures. This most directly suggested to biologists that __________.

Which of the following is true of homologous structures?

Organisms that possess homologous structures probably __________.

Which option best describes the concept of an evolutionary tree diagram?

Which of the following list of assumptions was part of Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection?

German shorthaired pointers, Scottish terriers, and Beagles are capable of interbreeding and producing viable, fertile offspring. The diversity seen in these breeds of dogs is the result of _______

If members of a population have traits that are both heritable and variable among individuals, then _____.

in natural selection, _____ determine which phenotypes are successful.

In artificial selection, humans provide the selective pressure for species to change and shape the evolution of various breeds. What provides the selective pressure in natural selection?

A population of small fish lives in a lake with a sandy bottom. The major predator of these fish is a wading bird that hunts by sight. Most of the fish are light sandy brown, but about 10% are mottled. The color pattern is heritable. A construction company dumps a load of gravel in the bottom of the lake, giving it a mottled appearance. Which of these statements presents the most accurate prediction?

When they were first sold, certain insecticides were highly effective in killing mosquitoes. Today, dozens of mosquito generations later, a much smaller proportion of these insects die when sprayed with the same chemicals. Fewer insects are killed today because _____.

Experiments and observations indicate that natural selection acts _____.

Sometimes critics charge that evolution is based on mere speculation because it cannot be directly observed or experimentally induced. Is this true of evolution by natural selection?

Mutation plays a large role in the microevolution of bacterial populations. Why?

Sexual recombination occurs when chromosomes are shuffled in _____ and fertilization.

The original source of all genetic variation is _____.

Genetic variation in a population of animals or plants depends mainly on which of the following?

Of the choices listed below, which contributes the most to genetic variation among individuals in most prokaryote species?

Members of the same population _____.

The smallest unit that can evolve is a _____.

What is the term for a change in the relative frequencies of alleles in a population over several generations?

Of the scenarios below, which represents the occurrence of evolution at its smallest scale?

Consider a hypothetical insect population of 100 individuals. Two equally represented alleles (A and a) exist for a particular gene. Which scenario is an example of microevolution in this population?

Which of the following scenarios would most likely result in the microevolution of a population of humans?

Which of the following is the best example of gene flow?

Each of us is part of the ongoing evolution of the human species. Which of the following forms of microevolution is currently most important in human populations worldwide?

Genetic drift is _____.

The Illinois populations of the Greater Prairie Chicken benefited when managers brought in prairie chickens from other populations. This restored genetic variation to the Illinois populations through the process of __________.

Natural selection and evolution are two terms that are sometimes confused, even by freshman biology students. What is the relation between natural selection and evolution?

Which of the following most accurately and directly measures an organism's Darwinian fitness compared to other individuals in the same population?

Which of the following changes in the gene pool results in an adaptation to the environment?

Which person has the highest evolutionary fitness?

Blue poppies native to China are grown at a plant-breeding center in California, where those with the thickest leaves survive and reproduce best in the drier climate. This evolutionary adaptation of the poppies to their new environment is due to _____.

A geneticist studied a large grass population growing in an area of erratic rainfall and found that plants with alleles for curled leaves reproduced better in dry years, and plants with alleles for flat leaves reproduced better in wet years. This situation would __________.

A large population of mice is isolated on an island. There are two varieties of the mice, brown and gray. Their fur colors closely match the gray rock outcrops and brown soils of the island. Hawks are their main predators. This situation most likely reflects the outcome of __________.

This figure is an example of _____ because it shows _____.

Selection that acts, over evolutionary time, to enhance traits that increase an individual's ability to mate frequently or with quality partners is known as __________.

Which would be a good example of intrasexual selection?

What usually occurs during intersexual selection?

Certain bacterial strains have traits that allow them to resist the effects of antibiotic drugs. How do the resistance traits arise in a bacterial population, and under what circumstances will the resistance traits be most common?

Scientists have warned doctors of the danger of their increasing use of antibiotics for treating minor illnesses. They are concerned because __________.

By what means has the overuse of antibiotics in medicine and agriculture lead to the current global problem of antibiotic resistance?

Which example below presents a misconception about how antibiotic resistance develops?

Under some conditions, heterozygotes have greater reproductive success than homozygotes. What is this called?

Sickle-cell disease is a debilitating disease that results from being homozygous recessive for the "sickle-cell allele" of a hemoglobin gene. Why is the allele present and even common in many human populations?

Which genotype relative to the sickle-cell allele has the greatest reproductive success in regions where malaria is a common disease?

Which of the following statements best describes how the process of natural selection works?

Which of the following is a misconception regarding natural selection?

In the normal course of evolution and adaptation, what is the most likely way for wings to develop in a tetrapod (four-limbed organism)?

In a certain group of African people, 4% are born with sickle-cell disease (homozygous recessive). In this case, only homozygous recessive individuals have sickle-cell disease. Heterozygous individuals not only don't have sickle-cell disease, they are resistant to malaria. If this group is in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, what percentage of the population is heterozygous and resistant to malaria?

Approximately one out of every 2,500 Caucasians in the United States is born with the recessive genetic disorder cystic fibrosis. According to the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium equation, approximately how many people are carriers?

The frequency of a particular lethal recessive allele in a population is 0.02. Given this information, calculate the percentage of individuals who are carriers of the lethal recessive allele.