Question 1

Native Australians are closer genetically to tropical Africans than they are to Asians.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 2

The role of natural selection in producing variation in human skin color illustrates the explanatory approach to explaining human biological diversity.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 3

What does the relationship between genetic traits and the prevalence of diseases such as malaria and smallpox illustrate?

Accepted Answer

A)  how with technology, human biology is less important to human survival 
B)  the shortcomings of research that focuses on environmental variability but ignores populational genetics 
C)  how despite some evidence to the contrary some human races are better than others 
D)  the mechanisms of hominid evolution 
E)  the ways in which human biological diversity reflects adaptation to such environmental stresses as disease, diet, and climate 
A)  how with technology, human biology is less important to human survival 
B)  the shortcomings of research that focuses on environmental variability but ignores populational genetics 
C)  how despite some evidence to the contrary some human races are better than others 
D)  the mechanisms of hominid evolution 
E)  the ways in which human biological diversity reflects adaptation to such environmental stresses as disease, diet, and climate

Question 4

Human biological differences are evident only to individuals who wrongfully sustain the validity of human races.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 5

According to Allen's rule, the relative size of protruding body parts, including limbs, ears, tails, fingers, and toes,

Accepted Answer

A)  decreases with temperature. 
B)  increases with altitude. 
C)  decreases with altitude. 
D)  increases with temperature. 
E)  increases with humidity. 
A)  decreases with temperature. 
B)  increases with altitude. 
C)  decreases with altitude. 
D)  increases with temperature. 
E)  increases with humidity.

Question 6

What is a phenotypic adaptation, and what makes it possible?

Accepted Answer

A)  It is a genotypic adaptation that is expressed in the phenotype. It is made possible by the close relationship between our manifest biology and our genes. 
B)  It occurs when genetic changes occur during an individual's lifetime. It is made possible by human genetic plasticity. 
C)  It is a phenotypic adaptation made possible by culture's power over biology. 
D)  It happens when adaptive changes occur during an individual's lifetime. It is made possible by human biological plasticity, our ability to change in response to the environments we encounter as we grow. 
E)  It is a biological adaptation that occurs during an individual's lifetime and, if critical enough to survival, will actually modify the genotype. 
A)  It is a genotypic adaptation that is expressed in the phenotype. It is made possible by the close relationship between our manifest biology and our genes. 
B)  It occurs when genetic changes occur during an individual's lifetime. It is made possible by human genetic plasticity. 
C)  It is a phenotypic adaptation made possible by culture's power over biology. 
D)  It happens when adaptive changes occur during an individual's lifetime. It is made possible by human biological plasticity, our ability to change in response to the environments we encounter as we grow. 
E)  It is a biological adaptation that occurs during an individual's lifetime and, if critical enough to survival, will actually modify the genotype.

Question 7

In understanding the problems with attempts at human racial classification, why is it important to understand the difference between genotype and phenotype?

Accepted Answer

A)  Phenotypic traits typically used to classify humans into races go together as genetic units. 
B)  Phenotypic similarities and differences always have a genetic basis. 
C)  Attempts at human racial classification have typically used genotypic traits like blood type as markers of common ancestry, and these traits pass on from generation to generation in discrete bundles. 
D)  Although phenotypic characteristics may change, the genetic material of populations stays the same for a long time. 
E)  Attempts at human racial classification have typically used phenotypic traits like skin color as markers of common ancestry, but many such traits do not reflect shared genetic material. Instead, they are often the result of different populations biologically adapting to similar environmental stressors in similar ways. 
A)  Phenotypic traits typically used to classify humans into races go together as genetic units. 
B)  Phenotypic similarities and differences always have a genetic basis. 
C)  Attempts at human racial classification have typically used genotypic traits like blood type as markers of common ancestry, and these traits pass on from generation to generation in discrete bundles. 
D)  Although phenotypic characteristics may change, the genetic material of populations stays the same for a long time. 
E)  Attempts at human racial classification have typically used phenotypic traits like skin color as markers of common ancestry, but many such traits do not reflect shared genetic material. Instead, they are often the result of different populations biologically adapting to similar environmental stressors in similar ways.

Question 8

In the early twentieth century, anthropologist Franz Boas described changes in skull form among the children of Europeans who had migrated to North America. He found that the reason for these changes could not be explained by genetics. His findings underscore the fact that

Accepted Answer

A)  phenotypic similarities and differences don't necessarily have a genetic basis. 
B)  though the environment influences phenotype, genetics is a more powerful determinant of racial differences. 
C)  diet affects which genes get turned off and which on, resulting in a particular phenotypic characteristic. 
D)  describing changes in skull form is the most accurate way to study the impact of migration on traveling populations. 
E)  observing changes over one generation is not enough to make conclusions about changes in genotype and phenotype. 
A)  phenotypic similarities and differences don't necessarily have a genetic basis. 
B)  though the environment influences phenotype, genetics is a more powerful determinant of racial differences. 
C)  diet affects which genes get turned off and which on, resulting in a particular phenotypic characteristic. 
D)  describing changes in skull form is the most accurate way to study the impact of migration on traveling populations. 
E)  observing changes over one generation is not enough to make conclusions about changes in genotype and phenotype.

Question 9

Thanks to medical advances, genetic resistance to diseases no longer confers any selective advantage.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 10

Indigenous highlanders living in the Andean Altiplano in South America, in the Tibetan plateau in Asia, and at the highest elevations of the Ethiopian highlands in East Africa have all adapted to living in an environment of oxygen-thin air. Researchers have found that

Accepted Answer

A)  each population has evolved its own distinctly different biological adaptation to this environment. 
B)  these populations share the same mechanism of adaptation to hypoxic environments, proving that there was gene flow among these groups until very recently. 
C)  Andeans and Tibetans rely more on cultural means of adapting to hypoxic environments than highland Ethiopians do. 
D)  these populations illustrate humans' capacity to survive in extreme environments that have remained unchanged for more than 20,000 years. 
E)  cultural adaptations are more important than biological adaptations. 
A)  each population has evolved its own distinctly different biological adaptation to this environment. 
B)  these populations share the same mechanism of adaptation to hypoxic environments, proving that there was gene flow among these groups until very recently. 
C)  Andeans and Tibetans rely more on cultural means of adapting to hypoxic environments than highland Ethiopians do. 
D)  these populations illustrate humans' capacity to survive in extreme environments that have remained unchanged for more than 20,000 years. 
E)  cultural adaptations are more important than biological adaptations.

Question 11

The indigenous communities in the tropical regions of the Americas are not as dark skinned as populations living in other tropical regions, because the dense vegetation in this continent blocks out much of the sunlight.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Native Australians are closer genetically to tropical Africans than they are to Asians.

The role of natural selection in producing variation in human skin color illustrates the explanatory approach to explaining human biological diversity.

What does the relationship between genetic traits and the prevalence of diseases such as malaria and smallpox illustrate?

Human biological differences are evident only to individuals who wrongfully sustain the validity of human races.

According to Allen's rule, the relative size of protruding body parts, including limbs, ears, tails, fingers, and toes,

What is a phenotypic adaptation, and what makes it possible?

In understanding the problems with attempts at human racial classification, why is it important to understand the difference between genotype and phenotype?

In the early twentieth century, anthropologist Franz Boas described changes in skull form among the children of Europeans who had migrated to North America. He found that the reason for these changes could not be explained by genetics. His findings underscore the fact that

Thanks to medical advances, genetic resistance to diseases no longer confers any selective advantage.

Indigenous highlanders living in the Andean Altiplano in South America, in the Tibetan plateau in Asia, and at the highest elevations of the Ethiopian highlands in East Africa have all adapted to living in an environment of oxygen-thin air. Researchers have found that

The indigenous communities in the tropical regions of the Americas are not as dark skinned as populations living in other tropical regions, because the dense vegetation in this continent blocks out much of the sunlight.

What Is Anthropology

Culture

Applying Anthropology

Doing Archaeology and Biological Anthropology

Evolution and Genetics

The Primates

Early Hominins

Archaic Homo

The Origin and Spread of Modern Humans

The First Farmers

The First Cities and States

Method and Theory in Cultural Anthropology

Language and Communication

Ethnicity and Race

Making a Living

Political Systems

Gender

Families, Kinship, and Descent

Marriage

Religion

Arts, Media, and Sports

The World System and Colonialism

Anthropologys Role in a Globalizing World

Filters

Exam 6: Human Variation and Adaptation

Native Australians are closer genetically to tropical Africans than they are to Asians.

The role of natural selection in producing variation in human skin color illustrates the explanatory approach to explaining human biological diversity.

What does the relationship between genetic traits and the prevalence of diseases such as malaria and smallpox illustrate?

Human biological differences are evident only to individuals who wrongfully sustain the validity of human races.

According to Allen's rule, the relative size of protruding body parts, including limbs, ears, tails, fingers, and toes,

What is a phenotypic adaptation, and what makes it possible?

In understanding the problems with attempts at human racial classification, why is it important to understand the difference between genotype and phenotype?

In the early twentieth century, anthropologist Franz Boas described changes in skull form among the children of Europeans who had migrated to North America. He found that the reason for these changes could not be explained by genetics. His findings underscore the fact that

Thanks to medical advances, genetic resistance to diseases no longer confers any selective advantage.

Indigenous highlanders living in the Andean Altiplano in South America, in the Tibetan plateau in Asia, and at the highest elevations of the Ethiopian highlands in East Africa have all adapted to living in an environment of oxygen-thin air. Researchers have found that

The indigenous communities in the tropical regions of the Americas are not as dark skinned as populations living in other tropical regions, because the dense vegetation in this continent blocks out much of the sunlight.

What Is Anthropology

Culture

Applying Anthropology

Doing Archaeology and Biological Anthropology

Evolution and Genetics

The Primates

Early Hominins

Archaic Homo

The Origin and Spread of Modern Humans

The First Farmers

The First Cities and States

Method and Theory in Cultural Anthropology

Language and Communication

Ethnicity and Race

Making a Living

Political Systems

Gender

Families, Kinship, and Descent

Marriage

Religion

Arts, Media, and Sports

The World System and Colonialism

Anthropologys Role in a Globalizing World

Filters