Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the
statement or answers the question.
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1.
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A species is a group of similar organisms that
a. | can mate with each other and produce fertile offspring. | b. | can live together on
an island. | c. | can migrate to an island from the mainland. | d. | all have exactly the
same traits. |
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2.
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What did Darwin infer from his observations of organisms in South America and
the Galápagos Islands?
a. | The organisms on the Galápagos Islands were virtually identical to mainland
organisms. | b. | A small number of different plant and animal species had come to the mainland from
the Galápagos Islands. | c. | The organisms on the Galápagos Islands
were completely unrelated to mainland organisms. | d. | A small number of different plant and animal
species had come to the Galápagos Islands from the mainland. |
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3.
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What did Darwin observe about finches in the Galápagos Islands?
a. | Their feathers were adapted to match their environment. | b. | Their beaks were
adaptations related to the foods the finches ate. | c. | They had identical phenotypes in all
locations. | d. | They had identical genotypes in all locations. |
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4.
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A trait that helps an organism survive and reproduce is called a(n)
a. | mutation. | b. | selection. | c. | adaptation. | d. | variation. |
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5.
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The gradual change in a species over time is called
a. | mutation. | b. | evolution. | c. | migration. | d. | variation. |
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6.
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Darwin concluded that organisms on the Galápagos Islands
a. | had changed over time. | b. | had remained the same. | c. | were the result of
selective breeding. | d. | had no
variations. |
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7.
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Differences between members of the same species are called
a. | predators. | b. | selections. | c. | traits. | d. | variations. |
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8.
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What is the role of genes in evolution?
a. | Only genes can be acted on by natural selection. | b. | Parents with
recessive genes die from overproduction. | c. | The genes of most surviving parents have only
dominant alleles. | d. | Only traits that are controlled by genes can be
acted on by natural selection. |
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9.
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How does natural selection lead to evolution?
a. | Stronger offspring kill weaker members of the species. | b. | Helpful variations
accumulate among surviving members of the species. | c. | Overproduction provides food for stronger
members of the species. | d. | Environmental changes favor weaker members of
the species. |
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10.
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Which term refers to similar structures that related species have inherited from
a common ancestor?
a. | DNA sequences | b. | developmental organisms | c. | homologous
structures | d. | punctuated equilibria |
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11.
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How do most fossils form?
a. | An insect becomes trapped in amber. | b. | An entire organism becomes frozen in
ice. | c. | A dead organism becomes buried in sediment. | d. | A dead organism
becomes buried in tar. |
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12.
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How do remains become petrified fossils?
a. | A sedimentary rock becomes a cast. | b. | Molds and casts fill with
sediment. | c. | Minerals replace all or part of an organism. | d. | Sediment replaces
all or part of an organism. |
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13.
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Which of these is LEAST likely to be learned by studying animal fossils?
a. | the approximate age of the fossils | b. | how the animals changed over
time | c. | what type of skin the animals had when they were living | d. | whether the animals
were invertebrates or vertebrates |
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14.
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Which of these is one of the main ways that a new species forms?
a. | Cross-breeding occurs within the species. | b. | A group is separated
from the rest of the species. | c. | Competition occurs between members of the
species. | d. | Mutations occur in the alleles of members of the
species. |
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15.
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Scientists combine evidence from fossils, body structures, early development,
DNA, and protein structures to
a. | determine what bones an animal has in its forelimbs. | b. | determine the
evolutionary relationships among species. | c. | decide which fossils are older than
others. | d. | determine whether an organism will have gills during its early
development. |
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16.
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Why do scientists think related species have similar body structures and
development patterns?
a. | The species inherited many of the same genes from each other. | b. | The species
inherited many of the same proteins from each other. | c. | The species inherited all of the same genes
from a common ancestor. | d. | The species inherited many of the same genes
from a common ancestor. |
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17.
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Why do scientists organize living things into groups?
a. | so they can find them in the wild more easily | b. | so that the
organisms are easier to study | c. | so they can make sense of the variety of rocks
on Earth | d. | so products from living things can be easily found in
groceries |
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18.
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An organism’s scientific name consists of
a. | its class name and its family name. | b. | its kingdom name and its phylum
name. | c. | its genus name and its species name. | d. | its phylum name and its species
name. |
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19.
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The more classification levels that two organisms share,
a. | the closer together on Earth they live. | b. | the easier it is to
tell them apart. | c. | the more characteristics they have in common. | d. | the more distantly
related they are. |
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20.
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Which domain(s) include(s) only prokaryotes?
a. | Bacteria and Archaea | b. | Bacteria only | c. | Archaea
only | d. | Eukarya only |
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21.
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What are fossils?
a. | molds and casts of organisms that live today | b. | drawings of ancient
animals and other organisms | c. | footprints or burrows of small animals that
live today | d. | the preserved remains or traces of organisms that lived in the
past |
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22.
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The two most important factors contributing to the diversity of species
are a. | genetic diversity and different environments. | b. | genetic diversity
and extinction. | c. | punctuated equilibria and genetic
similarities. | d. | diverse DNA proteins and fossils. |
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23.
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Radioactive dating enables geologists to determine
a. | the age of the atoms in a rock. | b. | the half-life of a fossil
organism. | c. | the relative ages of rocks. | d. | the absolute ages of
rocks. |
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24.
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The geologic time scale is a record of
a. | the thickness of sedimentary rock layers. | b. | the rate of fossil
formation. | c. | the life forms and geologic events in Earth’s history. | d. | the time since the
evolution of dinosaurs. |
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25.
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What do most scientists think caused the mass extinction of dinosaurs and other
organisms at the end of the Cretaceous Period?
a. | Volcanic eruptions covered large areas with lava. | b. | An object from space
struck Earth. | c. | An ice age covered most of Earth with ice. | d. | The dinosaurs ate
too many other organisms and then starved. |
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