Chapter 7: Evolution

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Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

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.

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.

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.

A trait that helps an organism survive and reproduce is called a(n)

a.	mutation.
b.	selection.
c.	adaptation.
d.	variation.

The gradual change in a species over time is called

a.	mutation.
b.	evolution.
c.	migration.
d.	variation.

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.

Differences between members of the same species are called

a.	predators.
b.	selections.
c.	traits.
d.	variations.

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.

The marbled murrelet, an endangered seabird in California, is dependent upon sequoia forests and trees for survival. What might happen to the marbled murrelet population if the sequoia population went extinct?

a.	The population of marbled murrelet would remain the same.
b.	The population of marbled murrelet would increase.
c.	The marbled murrelet would go extinct.
d.	The marbled murrelet would be placed on the threatened species list.

10.

Which term refers to a species creating more offspring than can possibly survive?

a.	natural selection
b.	overproduction
c.	evolution
d.	variation

11.

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.

12.

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

13.

If two organisms look very similar during their early stages of development, this is evidence that the organisms

a.	are not related.
b.	evolved from different ancestors.
c.	have exactly the same DNA.
d.	evolved from a common ancestor.

14.

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.

15.

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.

16.

Which of the following is most likely to become preserved as a fossil?

a.	a leaf
b.	a worm
c.	a jellyfish
d.	a clam shell

17.

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

18.

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.

19.

A branching tree is

a.	a diagram showing how scientists think different groups of organisms are related.
b.	a species of tree that is not closely related to other tree species.
c.	a drawing that shows where different animals live in a tree.
d.	a homologous structure that many plants have.

20.

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.

21.

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.

22.

What is taxonomy?

a.	the scientific study of how living things are classified
b.	the name of Aristotle’s classification system
c.	the process used by geologists to classify rocks
d.	the process of observing an organism’s behavior

23.

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

24.

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.

25.

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.

26.

Which group of organisms includes only multicellular heterotrophs?

a.	protists
b.	bacteria
c.	plants
d.	animals

27.

Which domain(s) include(s) only prokaryotes?

a.	Bacteria and Archaea
b.	Bacteria only
c.	Archaea only
d.	Eukarya only

28.

Which kingdoms include both unicellular and multicellular organisms?

a.	fungi and plants
b.	fungi and protists
c.	protists and animals
d.	protists and plants

29.

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

30.

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.

Modified True/False
Indicate whether the statement is true or false. If false, change the identified word or phrase to make the statement true.

31.

Gradual change in a species over time is called adaptation. _________________________

32.

Through natural selection, harmful variations gradually accumulate in a species. _________________________

33.

An empty space called a cast is formed when an organism buried in sediments dissolves. _________________________

34.

Fossils in lower layers of rock are usually older than fossils in higher layers. _________________________

35.

When some members of a species become isolated, they are less likely to form a new species. _________________________

36.

The more similar the DNA sequences of two species are, the more closely related the species are. _________________________

37.

If a disease were introduced into the cheetah population, it could threaten the survival of the species because they have genetic diversity. _________________________

38.

In the name Acer rubrum, the word rubrum designates the species. ___________________

39.

Each genus of organisms is divided into classes. _________________________

40.

Archaea and Bacteria are two domains of eukaryotes. _________________________

Completion
Complete each statement.

41.

Organisms belonging to the same ____________________ can usually mate and produce fertile offspring.

42.

The harmless viceroy butterfly looks like the poisonous monarch butterfly. This ________________ enables the viceroy butterfly to survive.

43.

A(n) ____________________ is a well-tested concept that explains a wide range of observations.

44.

In the process of natural selection, the organisms that are best suited to their environments are most likely to survive and _________________________.

45.

Natural selection is affected by ____________________, or traits that are different in members of the same species.

46.

The only traits that can be acted upon by natural selection are those that are controlled by ____________________.

47.

The forelimbs of a bird and a mammal are examples of ____________________ structures.

48.

Similarities in the early development of chickens and opossums suggest that these animals share a common ____________________.

49.

Most fossils are found in ____________________ rock.

50.

When minerals replace bone, a(n) _________________________ fossil forms.

51.

Proteins can be used to determine how closely related organisms are because amino acid sequences are determined by the ____________________ that makes up an organism’s genes.

52.

The process of grouping things based on similarities is called ____________________.

53.

The scientific names of the puma (Felis concolor), house cat (Felis domesticus), and marbled cat (Felis marmorata) indicate that they all belong to the same ________________.

54.

____________________ developed a naming system that grouped organisms on the basis of their observable features.

55.

In the modern classification system used by biologists, the broadest level of organization is called a(n) ____________________.

56.

An owl and a bat share the same kingdom and phylum; an owl and a robin share the same kingdom, phylum, and class. The owl and ____________________ have more characteristics in common.

57.

The ____________________ kingdom is the only kingdom of eukaryotes that contains both autotrophs and heterotrophs and both unicellular and multicellular organisms.

58.

A new ____________________ can form when a group of individuals become isolated from the main group.

59.

Scientists show how groups of organisms may be related by placing them on a diagram called a(n) ____________________.

60.

The theory of _________________________ states that species evolve quickly over a relatively short time.

Short Answer

Use the diagram to answer each question.

61.

Did birds evolve from the gliding reptiles called pterosaurs? Explain your reasoning.

62.

Are modern birds more closely related to Archaeopteryx or to the first reptiles?

63.

Would you expect the DNA of crocodilians to be more similar to the DNA of modern birds or the DNA of turtles? Explain your reasoning.

64.

Are pterosaurs more closely related to turtles or to crocodilians? Explain your answer.

65.

Name the common ancestor of pterosaurs and crocodilians.

66.

List two ancestors of Archaeopteryx.

Use the diagram to answer each question.
Table of Classification Labels

Classification Level	Aardwolf	Gray Wolf	Coyote	Lion	Blue Whale
Kingdom	Animalia	Animalia	Animalia	Animalia	Animalia
Phylum	Chordata	Chordata	Chordata	Chordata	Chordata
Class	Mammalia	Mammalia	Mammalia	Mammalia	Mammalia
Order	Carnivora	Carnivora	Carnivora	Carnivora	Cetacea
Family	Hyaenidae	Canidae	Canidae	Felidae	Balenopteridae
Genus	Proteles	Canis	Canis	Panthera	Balaenoptera
Species	Proteles cristatus	Canis lupus	Canis latrans	Panthera leo	Balaenoptera musculus

67.

What classification groups do all of the organisms in the table have in common?

68.

Which of the organisms in the table is least similar to the others? Explain.

69.

Which of the organisms in the table is (are) most similar to a tiger (Panthera tigris)? Explain.

70.

In what two ways are the organisms in the table similar to organisms in the plant kingdom?

71.

Based on their kingdoms, what are the shared characteristics of the organisms in the table?

72.

Which two species in this table are most similar to each other?

Essay

73.

A horse and a donkey can mate with each other. Their offspring, called a mule, is not fertile. Do horses and donkeys belong to the same species? Explain your answer.

74.

How did studying selective breeding help Darwin develop his theory of evolution?

75.

A scientist collects wild rabbits that live at sea level and moves them to the mountains. One year later, the scientist discovers that the same rabbits have larger lungs, which help them breathe the thin mountain air. The scientist returns the rabbits to sea level. Will the offspring of the rabbits have larger-than-normal lungs? Explain.

76.

Explain how a group of organisms that is separated from the rest of its species can evolve different traits.

77.

Species A and species B are shown on the same branch of a branching tree. Species C is shown on a separate branch. All three species came from a common ancestor. What can you state about the similarities of the DNA of species A, B, and C?

78.

Use an example to explain why the common names of organisms are sometimes confusing. How can using scientific names help avoid the confusion?

79.

A person tells you that two organisms belong to the same family but to different classes. Can that information be correct? Explain.

80.

Suppose a species lived in an environment that changed very little over millions of years. Which theory about how fast evolution occurs would most likely explain the evolution of that species? Explain your answer.