Biology Questions

Which of the following is an example of stabilizing selection? A) the birth weight at which newborn humans are most likely to survive and the average weight of newborn humans are about the same B) garter snakes with different coloration patterns behave differently when threatened C) there is an increase in antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria D) there is an increase in the number of different breeds of dog

Which of the following is a population? A) the termites infesting your house along with the microorganisms living in their guts B) all of the termites that have every lived C) the termites infesting your house D) all organisms living in your house

Which of the following is most likely to decrease genetic variation? A) diversifying selection B) mutation C) stabilizing selection D) direcitonal selection

The similarity of the embryos of fish, frogs, birds, and humans is evidence of ___. A) common ancestry B) genetic drift C) convergent evolution D) analogy

Which of the following is a characteristic of a population at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium? A) genetic drift is coming B) gene flow in and out of the population occurs C) the population is subject to natural selection D) the population is not evolving

Which of the following is an example of directional selection? A) garter snakes with different coloration patterns behave differently when threatened B) the birth weight at which newborn humans are most likely to survive and the average weight of newborn humans are about the same C) there is an increase in antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria D) there is an increase in the number of different breeds of dog

The type of reproductive barrier that occurs when two species mate but produce sterile hybrids is referred to as ___. A) temporal isolation B) postzygomatic barrier C) behavioral isolation D) mechanical isolation

The biological species concept cannot be applied to ___. A) animal that use asexual and sexual reproduction B) fungi that live on land C) complex plants that have flowers D) bacteria that only reproduce asexually

After surviving a bottleneck, a population recovers to the point where it consists of as many individuals as it did prior to the bottleneck. Which of the following statements is most likely to apply to this population? A) the bottleneck subjected the population to stabilizing selection B) the postbottleneck population has less of a chance of going extinct that did the prebottleneck population C) the postbottleneck population exhibits less genetic variation than the prebottleneck population D) the postbottleneck population exhibits more genetic variation than the prebottleneck

Which of the following is the most likely explanation for a particular human population with a higher incidence of polydactyly than the human population as a whole? A) diversifying selection B) bottleneck effect C) founder effect D) directional selection

Which of the following statement is true? A) natural selection works on variation already present in a population B) organisms evolve structures that they need C) natural selection works on non-heritable traits D) individuals evolve through natural selection

The original source of genetic variation that serves as the raw material for natural selection is A) sexual recombination B) mutation C) gene flow D) random fertilization

Which of the following are homologous? A) the mouth of a mosquito and the beak of a hummingbird B) the forelimb of a dog and the hindlimb of a cat C) the forelimb of a dog and the forelimb of a cat D) wings of a butterfly and wings of a sparrow

Which of the following is an example of disruptive selection? A) there is an increase in the number of different breeds of dog B) garter snakes with different coloration patterns behave differently when threatened C) there is an increase in antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria D) the birth weight at which newborn humans are most likely to survive and the average weight of newborn humans are about the same

Genetic drift is the result of ___ A) environmental variation B) chance C) a large gene pool D) natural selection

Which of the following statements about the voyage of the Beagle is true? A) It turned into a tremendous opportunity for Darwin to collect fossils, plants, and animals B) its purpose was to identify the fastest route from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean C) it ended with the sinking of the ship off of the coast of Australia, almost four years into its journey D) it lasted almost 2 years

While on the Beagle, Darwin was influenced by a book by Charles Lyell that suggested that Earth was ___ and sculpted by geologic process that ___ today. A) young... continue B) old... no longer occur C) old... continue D) young... no longer occur

The oldest known fossils are from about ___ years ago. A) 3.5 billion B) 1.0 billion C) 4.0 million D) 6,000

Homology is evidence of ___. A) biogeography B) natural selection C) convergent evolution D) common ancestry

Natural selection ___. A) prepares organisms for future changes in the enviornment B) does not affect allelic frequencies C) results in evolutionary adaptation (relies upon variation among individuals in a population)D) is a very rare phenomenon