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48 Multiple Choice Questions on Evolutionary Biology with Answers | BIO 4113, Exams of Theory of Evolution

Mississippi State University (MSU)Theory of Evolution
Prof. Mark Welch

Material Type: Exam; Professor: Welch; Class: Evolution; Subject: Biological Sciences; University: Mississippi State University;

Typology: Exams

2011/2012

Uploaded on 02/09/2012

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Evolutionary Biology 2/2/2012
Name____________________
Student ID ___________________
1
Exam #1
Exam Instructions:
1) Please sign the mandatory honor code statement.
2) Bubble in last name, and first name.
3) Under “I.D. Number” bubble in 9-digit MSU I.D. # (If you do not know your MSU
I.D. #, bubble in a partial SSN, but make sure it is left-justified.)
4) Bubble in your answer to each question. If you change an answer, make sure you
erase thoroughly.
5) Extra instructions:
a. Make sure cell phones are turned off. After the question sheet is given out,
there will be NO touching your cell phone.
b. Absolutely NO electronic devices in ears.
c. All hoods and ball caps need to be removed.
d. sure all notes are out of sight during the exam.
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Download 48 Multiple Choice Questions on Evolutionary Biology with Answers | BIO 4113 and more Exams Theory of Evolution in PDF only on Docsity!

Name____________________ Student ID ___________________ Exam #

Exam Instructions:

  1. Please sign the mandatory honor code statement.
  2. Bubble in last name, and first name.
  3. Under “I.D. Number” bubble in 9-digit MSU I.D. # (If you do not know your MSU I.D. #, bubble in a partial SSN, but make sure it is left-justified.)
  4. Bubble in your answer to each question. If you change an answer, make sure you erase thoroughly.
  5. Extra instructions: a. Make sure cell phones are turned off. After the question sheet is given out, there will be NO touching your cell phone. b. Absolutely NO electronic devices in ears. c. All hoods and ball caps need to be removed. d. sure all notes are out of sight during the exam.

Name____________________ Student ID ___________________

  1. Which of the following statements is not consistent with the philosophy of science? a. The force of gravity is probably as strong today as it was 3.5 billion years ago b. We are capable of understanding the origins of life c. It should be possible to predict patterns of rainfall d. It is not possible to explain some occurrences through natural laws alone* e. Natural laws are knowable
  2. Which of the following is not a necessary assumption that must be made before scientific enquiry can begin? a. The universe is real b. All religions are false* c. Our senses are accurate d. The universe is governed by natural laws e. Natural laws are knowable and can allow us to predict future events
  3. Which of the following represents an example of applied research? a. The study of spore formation in plants b. The study of plant responses to parasite infections c. Systematic study of plant parasites d. Developing a mechanism to explain speciation e. Development of pesticides to prevent infestation in crop plants*
  4. What is the difference between laws and theories? a. Laws describe how things work, and theories tell us why* b. Theories are untested and laws are well established c. Theories describe how things work, and laws tell us why. d. After much time and experimentation theories may become laws e. Laws are more important than theories
  5. What observations led early thinkers to doubt essentialism? a. Fossils of extinct species b. Rapid change in domestic species c. Breakdown of the essence in hybrids d. Biogeographic distributions of species e. All of the above*
  6. What three criteria must be met for evolution by natural selection to occur? a. Genetics, presence of nervous fluids, mutations b. Variation, heritability, differential reproductive output* c. Genetics, mutations, differential reproductive output d. Variation, genetics, differential reproductive output e. Variation, mutations, heritability

Name____________________ Student ID ___________________

  1. During the period when evolution by natural selection was under scrutiny, several scientists proposed alternatives to natural selection to explain evolution. While all these attempts ultimately failed, which alternative was ultimately incorporated into modern evolutionary theory? a. Mutation theory* b. Ontogenesis c. Transformationalist theory d. Blending inheritance e. Spontaneous generation
  2. Sir R. A. Fisher developed the polygenic model to reconcile certain types of heritable traits with a specific theory. What were the traits and the theory? a. Discrete Traits with natural selection b. Continuous traits with natural selection c. Continuous traits with Mendelian genetics* d. Discrete traits with Mendelian genetics e. Blending inheritance with Mendelian genetics
  3. What were the two principle theories integrated during the Modern Synthesis? a. Transformationalist theory and gene theory b. Mutation theory and gene theory c. Natural selection and blending inheritance d. Natural selection and gene theory* e. Transformationalist theory and blending inheritance
  4. Which of the following was not associated with one or more of the 16 fundamentals agreed upon during the Modern Synthesis? a. Mutations provide the raw material for selection b. Genes are the basis for heritable traits c. Evolution results from changes in the population d. Environmental effects on phenotypes are heritable* e. Mutation rates alone are too low to explain evolution
  5. Who devised the basics of the taxonomic system still used today? a. Linnaeus* b. Lamarck c. Darwin d. Aristotle e. Mayr

Name____________________ Student ID ___________________

  1. Which taxonomic rank should include the fewest species? a. Order b. Phylum c. Genus* d. Family e. Class
  2. Traits like length that can be measured are _______ characters? a. Continuous* b. Meristic c. Discrete d. Polygenic e. Phylogenetically uninformative
  3. What type of ancestral or derived characters are the most phylogenetically informative? a. Autapomorphies b. Synapomorphies* c. Plesiomorphies d. Symplesiomorphies e. Autoplesiomorphies Use the data below to build a rooted tree based on the given sequence data using parsimony as a criterion. You may use the back of your exam as scratch paper. Do NOT use your scan-tron sheet as scratch paper. The first column designates taxa. Treat Aardvark as the outgroup. Numbers in the first row represent all of the substitutions identified in a specific DNA sequence. Make sure you place character state changes on your tree. You will need to know where character state changes occur to answer questions 20-23. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Aardvark A G G A T T Bison G G C A C T Chimp G G C A C T Dog G A G A C C Elephant G A G G C C
  4. Which characters are phylogenetically informative? a. All of them b. 1,4, and 5 c. Only 4 d. 1 and 5 e. 2,3, and 6*

Name____________________ Student ID ___________________

  1. Which statement is most parsimonious? a. Green is the ancestral character state* b. Blue is the ancestral character state c. Blue and has evolved from green on multiple occasions d. Green has evolved from blue on multiple occasions e. Both a. and c. are correct
  2. Based on the tree which statement is more likely to be true? a. More than one mutation event is required to explain the evolutionary history of color in this clade b. The common ancestor of E and B was Blue c. Blue has evolved from green on one occasion* d. Green has evolved from blue on one occasion e. The common ancestor of D and C was Green
  3. Which of the following is not found on phylogenetic trees? a. Nodes b. Leaves* c. Branches d. Roots e. Outgroups
  4. All of the primates share a single common ancestor that is not shared with any species that are not primates. What type of taxon do primates represent? a. Paraphyletic b. Polyphyletic c. Monophyletic* d. Peadomorphic e. Paramorphic
  5. All reptiles share a single common ancestor, but reptiles share this ancestor with birds. What type of taxon do reptiles represent? a. Monophyletic b. Paraphyletic* c. Polyphyletic d. Paramorphic e. Peadomorphic

Name____________________ Student ID ___________________

  1. If the presence and absence of wings were mapped onto a DNA sequence based phylogeny, we would conclude that wings must have evolved on at least three separate occasions within the vertebrates alone. What does this say about wings? a. They are a homoplasious character b. That all wings are homologous c. Wings are examples of convergence d. Evolutionary reversals have occurred e. Both a. and c. are correct*
  2. We typically assume that most morphological traits evolve gradually. What sources of evidence support this assumption? a. Similarities between related species b. The fossil record c. Punctuated equilibrium d. Punctuated gradualism e. Both a. and b. are correct*
  3. Evolution by natural selection progresses through the modification of existing genes, behaviors or morphological structures. If natural selection can only modify existing features, which of the following can help to explain the presence of entirely new structures? a. Mutations that result in duplications* b. Evolutionary reversals c. Allometry d. Heterochrony e. Ernst Haeckel’s biogenic law
  4. What key character is used by paleontologists as a synapomorphy to unite all birds both living and extinct? a. Feathers b. Keeled sternum c. Loss of tail d. Opposable 4 th toe* e. Scale
  5. Long tail feathers in peacocks have evolved in response to selection pressures associated with courtship behavior. In the adult male peacock, the tail feathers continue to grow well after the developmental programming of other related species of birds shuts down tail feather growth. This would be an example of... a. Paedomorphosis b. Paramorphosis* c. Allometry d. Phylogeny e. Convergence

Name____________________ Student ID ___________________

  1. What one character can be used to distinguish fossil Synapsids, Therapsids, Conodonts and Morganucodon from the other terrestrial vertebrate lineages? a. The dentary forms the entirety of the jaw b. The number and locations of temporal fenestra* c. Presence of hair and mammary glands d. Limb articulation e. The age of the fossils
  2. What concepts are associated with Gould and Eldredge’s concept of Punctuated Equilibrium? a. Speciation b. “Gaps” in the fossil record c. Short periods with relatively rapid evolutionary change d. Long periods of stability with little change e. All of the above*
  3. What is true of living species that is not true of species known from fossils alone? a. Species are defined by key characters b. Dentition is important in defining species c. There are obvious characters that distinguish most reptiles and mammals d. Species descriptions are based on variation observed in populations* e. The sex of a specimen can be determined
  4. Of the traits that distinguish humans from our closest living ancestors, which appears to have evolved first in the fossil record? a. Increased cranial capacity b. Straight finger bones c. Bipedalism* d. Short canines e. Short arms
  5. What is the most ancient hominin species showing evidence of increased intelligence? a. Australopithecus afracanis* b. Australopithecus afarensis c. Homo habilis d. Homo erectus e. Paranthropus boisei
  6. Aside from fossil bones, what evidence is there for bipedalism in Australopithecus? a. 3.5 million year old walking sticks b. Footprints preserved in ash* c. Cave paintings d. Clothes cut for an upright posture e. None of the above

Name____________________ Student ID ___________________

  1. What technology or culture is associated with the first hominin species found outside of Africa, and known to have used fire? a. Olduwan b. Aeschulian* c. Mousterian d. Haagendaz e. Albanian
  2. Over evolutionary time several Gastropod taxa exhibit reduction in number of shells or loss of coiling in shells. However, a few taxa have regained the ability to form a coiled shell. This could be considered a VIOLATION of … a. Dollo’s Law* b. Cope’s Rule c. Phyletic Gradualism d. Punctuated Equilibrium e. Punctuated Gradualism
  3. The fossil records of many marine phyla indicate an increase in average body size between the Cambrian and Permian eras. This could be used as evidence in support of … a. Dollo’s Law b. Cope’s Rule* c. Phyletic Gradualism d. Punctuated Equilibrium e. Punctuated Gradualism