1. Try to answer each question on your own before looking at the answer 2. When you get to the end, redo the practice test, OVER and OVER again, the more.

1. Try to answer each question on your own before looking at the answer

2. When you get to the end, redo the practice test, OVER and OVER again, the more the better

3. Practice makes perfect!

Evolution Practice Test

What kind of evolutionary pattern goes for long periods without change, followed by rapid periods of change?Punctuated Equilibrium

What evolutionary pattern happens slowly and steadily?Gradualism

Why does the horseshoe crab show punctuated equilibrium?It has changed very little so it must be in a

state of equilibrium

When many species disappear rapidly.Mass Extinction

Slow and steady extinctions due to natural selectionBackground extinctions

How does the environment help determine the success of a speciesIF the environment changes species can

adapt will survive, those that cannot will go extinct

Are extinctions always bad?No Often when some organisms become

extinct it provides opportunities for new life to form

What kind of reproduction resulted in increase of biodiversity?SexualThis reproduction involves combining DNA

from 2 different organisms leading to different types of life

Asexual reproduction only reproduces clones (exact copies of the same DNA)

Conditions that lead to Natural SelectionMore offspring are produced than can

surviveVariation in traitsFitness

Explain why the following would lead to natural selection: more offspring are produced than can surviveIt would cause change in a population

because it creates competition for food, space, and other resources.

The population would change to make the successful competitors more common and the less successful competitors less common.

Why does the following lead to natural selection: Variation in inheritable traits• If there was only one trait there would be no changeExample: If there are only green beetles that exist

the population could not evolve to be orange because there are no orange beetles to reproduce orange color.

When there is a variety, the organisms with the version of the trait that helps them survive and reproduce will increase and be more common while the organisms with the version that is less helpful will decrease and become more rare.

Why does the following lead to natural selection: FitnessBecause individuals with higher fitness will

be more successful at survival and reproduction

Populations will change because there will be an increase in the individuals who are more fit and a decrease in the individuals who are less fit

Explain why and how the peppered moth population changed before the industrial revolution and after.

Before the industrial revolution trees were lighter in color and not darkened by pollution

The peppered moths were more common because they blended in with the trees and avoided getting eaten by birds

After the industrial revolution the population changed so that the darker moths were more common because at this point they were the ones that could blend in with the darker polluted trees and avoid getting eaten by birds

True or False: the moths changed their color from peppered to dark after pollution.FalsePeppered moths did not change their color,

most of them died, while most of the dark moths survived.

This lead to the population becoming increasingly dark and less light

The color in moths in genetic and organisms cannot change their DNA

Define Artificial SelectionAnswer: when you breed for traits you want

Give an example of Artificial SelectionBreeding specific dogs for certain traitsBreeding fruits for the sweetest and

biggestBreeding flowers for certain traits

What is natural selection?Answer: traits that help an organism

survive its environment (adaptations) will be reproduced, and traits that do not help organisms to survive will not be reproduced because they will most likely die first

Which of the following is an example of natural selection?

A. a farmer breeding red roses because he sells red roses

B. a tiger with sharp teeth survives and reproduces more tigers with sharp teethAnswer: B

What kind of evidence for evolution is this example: a 1000 year old tortoise’s remains are compared to a modern day tortoise and it shows changes in the structure of the shell.Answer: Fossil Evidence for Evolution

How do fossils show evidence of evolution?Answer: they give a concrete example of

how species have changed over a long period of time.

Give an example of a structural adaptationThe beak of a humming birdThe thumb on our handThe color of polar bear furWhat ever else is physical part of the

organism that helps it to survive its environment or reproduce

Give an example of a physiological adaptationInk of a squidVenom of a snakeVenom of a spiderOdor of a skunkAnything that can be considered a

chemical that is produced by the animal to help it survive or reproduce

Give an example of a behavioral adaptationMating dances of birdsHibernationMigrationScavengingHuntingAny behavior (something it does) that

allows the organism to survive or reproduce

When 2 distantly related organism, evolve to have similar traits.Convergent Evolution

When a species begins to evolve different traits then one anotherDivergent evolution

When species do not interbreed because of a physical barrier like an ocean, a river, or a mountain.Geographic isolationExample: squirrels separated by the grand

canyon

When species do not interbreed because they mate at different times of the year.Temporal IsolationExample: skunks who have different mating

seasons

When species do no interbreed because they develop different behaviors; Behavioral IsolationExample: lightning bugs with different

blinking patters.

Why does reproductive isolation lead to speciation?Because changes in one gene pool will not

happen in the otherOver time they develop so many

differences that they become separate species each with their own specific trains