Question 1

Genetic evolution involves changes in gene frequencies between generations within a given breeding population.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False  True

Question 2

The intelligent design (ID)movement asserts that life forms are too complex to have been formed by natural processes and must therefore have been created by a higher intelligence.Attempts have been made to teach ID as an alternative theory to Darwinian evolution in biology classes in several states in the United States; however,

Accepted Answer

A)  as a federal district judge ruled in a 2005 Pennsylvania case, ID violates the ground rules of science by invoking supernatural causation and making assertions that cannot be tested or falsified, and thus ID does not belong in a school's science curriculum. 
B)  ID should be taught as a hypothesis of human origins, not a theory. 
C)  ID should not be taught in schools, since it lacks a research and testing program and is unsupported by peer-reviewed research. 
D)  the teaching of ID should be restricted to extracurricular activities, since it holds no scientific or cultural value. 
E)  these attempts have always failed, because ID's proponents argue that it should be taught in place of Darwinian evolution. 
A)  as a federal district judge ruled in a 2005 Pennsylvania case, ID violates the ground rules of science by invoking supernatural causation and making assertions that cannot be tested or falsified, and thus ID does not belong in a school's science curriculum. 
B)  ID should be taught as a hypothesis of human origins, not a theory. 
C)  ID should not be taught in schools, since it lacks a research and testing program and is unsupported by peer-reviewed research. 
D)  the teaching of ID should be restricted to extracurricular activities, since it holds no scientific or cultural value. 
E)  these attempts have always failed, because ID's proponents argue that it should be taught in place of Darwinian evolution. A

Question 3

What does the term gene flow refer to?

Accepted Answer

A)  the random loss of genes through sampling error 
B)  the genetic mutations that occur during meiosis 
C)  the movement of alleles from one chromosome to another 
D)  the exchange of genetic material between populations of the same species 
E)  a random pattern of chromosome mutations 
A)  the random loss of genes through sampling error 
B)  the genetic mutations that occur during meiosis 
C)  the movement of alleles from one chromosome to another 
D)  the exchange of genetic material between populations of the same species 
E)  a random pattern of chromosome mutations D

Question 4

Any factor that contributes to the change in allele frequency in a breeding population from generation to generation is considered a mechanism of genetic evolution.Those mechanisms are

Accepted Answer

A)  sexual selection, mutation, and human biological plasticity. 
B)  independent assortment, recombination, and mutation. 
C)  random genetic drift and random gene flow. 
D)  phenotypic straining through the organism's development and mutations across the generations. 
E)  natural selection, mutation, random genetic drift, and gene flow. 
A)  sexual selection, mutation, and human biological plasticity. 
B)  independent assortment, recombination, and mutation. 
C)  random genetic drift and random gene flow. 
D)  phenotypic straining through the organism's development and mutations across the generations. 
E)  natural selection, mutation, random genetic drift, and gene flow.

Question 5

Gregor Mendel's work with hereditary traits of pea plants

Accepted Answer

A)  confirmed the paint-pot theory of inheritance. 
B)  was the basis for Darwin's theory of evolution. 
C)  led to the formulation of the law of independent assortment. 
D)  discredited the phenomenon of balanced polymorphism. 
E)  proved that natural selection operates on genotypes. 
A)  confirmed the paint-pot theory of inheritance. 
B)  was the basis for Darwin's theory of evolution. 
C)  led to the formulation of the law of independent assortment. 
D)  discredited the phenomenon of balanced polymorphism. 
E)  proved that natural selection operates on genotypes.

Question 6

The study of sickle-cell anemia and its relation to malarial environments demonstrates that

Accepted Answer

A)  homozygotes lack the capacity to digest lactose. 
B)  changes in cultural adaptation can result in changes in the selective pressures on a human population. 
C)  selection removes recessive alleles from the gene pool faster than it does dominant alleles. 
D)  heterozygotes are not as selectively fit as are dominant homozygotes. 
E)  natural selection improves a gene pool by wiping out deleterious alleles. 
A)  homozygotes lack the capacity to digest lactose. 
B)  changes in cultural adaptation can result in changes in the selective pressures on a human population. 
C)  selection removes recessive alleles from the gene pool faster than it does dominant alleles. 
D)  heterozygotes are not as selectively fit as are dominant homozygotes. 
E)  natural selection improves a gene pool by wiping out deleterious alleles.

Question 7

In the debate of how speciation occurs,advocates of punctuated equilibrium

Accepted Answer

A)  describe macroevolution as the gradual accumulation of evolutionary changes over time. 
B)  agree with the advocates of intelligent design on views about the flaws in fossil-dating techniques. 
C)  define species the same way creationists and gradualists do. 
D)  have revived Darwin's classic description of change over time. 
E)  suggest that long periods of stasis (stability), during which species change little, are interrupted by evolutionary leaps. 
A)  describe macroevolution as the gradual accumulation of evolutionary changes over time. 
B)  agree with the advocates of intelligent design on views about the flaws in fossil-dating techniques. 
C)  define species the same way creationists and gradualists do. 
D)  have revived Darwin's classic description of change over time. 
E)  suggest that long periods of stasis (stability), during which species change little, are interrupted by evolutionary leaps.

Question 8

Mitosis is the special process by which sex cells are produced.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 9

Microevolution refers to small-scale change in allele frequencies over generations without speciation.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 10

We have learned that reliance on culture has increased in the course of human history.Yet the fact and mechanisms of evolution remain a key part of our human present and future because

Accepted Answer

A)  the pace of evolution has been continuously increasing, since human cultural solutions have not been able to keep up with environmental changes such as global warming. 
B)  they determine, at the genetic level, our phenotype. 
C)  they provide the clues to building a better human race by promoting directed speciation. 
D)  people haven't stopped adapting biologically. 
E)  they continue to justify anthropology's biocultural perspective. 
A)  the pace of evolution has been continuously increasing, since human cultural solutions have not been able to keep up with environmental changes such as global warming. 
B)  they determine, at the genetic level, our phenotype. 
C)  they provide the clues to building a better human race by promoting directed speciation. 
D)  people haven't stopped adapting biologically. 
E)  they continue to justify anthropology's biocultural perspective.

Question 11

Sir Charles Lyell,the father of geology,influenced Darwin with his principle of catastrophism,the view that extinct species were destroyed by fires,floods,and other catastrophes.His geological research was also critical in Darwin's own formulations because it

Accepted Answer

A)  set the foundations for molecular dating techniques. 
B)  confirmed that the world was only 6,000 years old. 
C)  influenced the work of Darwin's own grandfather, who would eventually set young Darwin on the path of scientific research. 
D)  confirmed Linnaeus's comprehensive and still influential taxonomic system, which was key to formulating a mechanism that drives evolution. 
E)  cast serious doubt on the belief that the world was only 6,000 years old, allowing for a much broader time span for the gradual biological changes to take place as seen in the fossil record. 
A)  set the foundations for molecular dating techniques. 
B)  confirmed that the world was only 6,000 years old. 
C)  influenced the work of Darwin's own grandfather, who would eventually set young Darwin on the path of scientific research. 
D)  confirmed Linnaeus's comprehensive and still influential taxonomic system, which was key to formulating a mechanism that drives evolution. 
E)  cast serious doubt on the belief that the world was only 6,000 years old, allowing for a much broader time span for the gradual biological changes to take place as seen in the fossil record.

Question 12

Natural selection operates directly on the genotype of an organism.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 13

Natural selection is the process by which the forms most fit to survive and reproduce in a given environment do so in greater numbers than others in the same population.But more than survival of the fittest,natural selection is the natural process that leads to

Accepted Answer

A)  the toughest members of their population having the longest life span. 
B)  differential reproductive success. 
C)  the most fit members collecting the most resources from the environment. 
D)  the survival of those members of their population that practice true altruism. 
E)  survival success in any environment. 
A)  the toughest members of their population having the longest life span. 
B)  differential reproductive success. 
C)  the most fit members collecting the most resources from the environment. 
D)  the survival of those members of their population that practice true altruism. 
E)  survival success in any environment.

Question 14

What is the term for the belief that explanations for past events should be sought in ordinary forces that are at work today?

Accepted Answer

A)  uniformitarianism 
B)  speciation 
C)  creationism 
D)  recombination 
E)  catastrophism 
A)  uniformitarianism 
B)  speciation 
C)  creationism 
D)  recombination 
E)  catastrophism

Question 15

Intelligent design explains some biological facts that evolution cannot explain.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 16

Mendel's concept of independent assortment is based on the fact that individual traits are inherited independently of one another.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 17

What does gene flow act against?

Accepted Answer

A)  migration 
B)  speciation 
C)  natural selection 
D)  mutations 
E)  balanced polymorphisms 
A)  migration 
B)  speciation 
C)  natural selection 
D)  mutations 
E)  balanced polymorphisms

Question 18

This chapter describes the case of giraffes' long necks to illustrate how natural selection works on variety within a population.This explanation contrasts with the incorrect alternative of the inheritance of acquired characteristics,which suggests that

Accepted Answer

A)  in each generation, individual giraffes strain their necks to reach food just a bit higher, and that this straining somehow modifies their genetic material. 
B)  in each generation, individual giraffes mate with giraffes having longer necks because they are better at getting food, and their offspring's neck size results in an average of the parents' neck sizes. 
C)  a need for a longer neck activates the long-neck gene throughout development. 
D)  natural selection works on the genotype, not the phenotype. 
E)  the presence of variety among a population works against the advantages of natural selection. 
A)  in each generation, individual giraffes strain their necks to reach food just a bit higher, and that this straining somehow modifies their genetic material. 
B)  in each generation, individual giraffes mate with giraffes having longer necks because they are better at getting food, and their offspring's neck size results in an average of the parents' neck sizes. 
C)  a need for a longer neck activates the long-neck gene throughout development. 
D)  natural selection works on the genotype, not the phenotype. 
E)  the presence of variety among a population works against the advantages of natural selection.

Question 19

How have modern-day creationists sometimes misunderstood the contrast between microevolution and macroevolution to comment on evolution?

Accepted Answer

A)  by noting that no degree of phenotypical difference is implied by the term macroevolution 
B)  by suggesting that macroevolution, in contrast to microevolution, cannot be demonstrated based on the fossil record 
C)  by suggesting that speciation occurs after intense competition 
D)  by avoiding the sharp contrast between microevolution and macroevolution 
E)  by arguing that the fossil record supports macroevolution but not microevolution 
A)  by noting that no degree of phenotypical difference is implied by the term macroevolution 
B)  by suggesting that macroevolution, in contrast to microevolution, cannot be demonstrated based on the fossil record 
C)  by suggesting that speciation occurs after intense competition 
D)  by avoiding the sharp contrast between microevolution and macroevolution 
E)  by arguing that the fossil record supports macroevolution but not microevolution

Question 20

Early on in this chapter,we learned that evolution refers to descent with modification over generations.Geneticists,however,have an even more specific definition of evolution:

Accepted Answer

A)  directional selection of the fittest alleles in a breeding population. 
B)  a change in gene frequency; that is, in the frequency of alleles in a breeding population from generation to generation. 
C)  a change in the gene frequency within the DNA of a single individual organism. 
D)  the survival of the chemically fittest allele in the gene pool. 
E)  a change in gene frequency caused by either chromosomal rearrangement or recombination. 
A)  directional selection of the fittest alleles in a breeding population. 
B)  a change in gene frequency; that is, in the frequency of alleles in a breeding population from generation to generation. 
C)  a change in the gene frequency within the DNA of a single individual organism. 
D)  the survival of the chemically fittest allele in the gene pool. 
E)  a change in gene frequency caused by either chromosomal rearrangement or recombination.

Exam 5: Evolution and Genetics

Genetic evolution involves changes in gene frequencies between generations within a given breeding population.

What does the term gene flow refer to?

Any factor that contributes to the change in allele frequency in a breeding population from generation to generation is considered a mechanism of genetic evolution.Those mechanisms are

Gregor Mendel's work with hereditary traits of pea plants

The study of sickle-cell anemia and its relation to malarial environments demonstrates that

In the debate of how speciation occurs,advocates of punctuated equilibrium

Mitosis is the special process by which sex cells are produced.

Microevolution refers to small-scale change in allele frequencies over generations without speciation.

We have learned that reliance on culture has increased in the course of human history.Yet the fact and mechanisms of evolution remain a key part of our human present and future because

Sir Charles Lyell,the father of geology,influenced Darwin with his principle of catastrophism,the view that extinct species were destroyed by fires,floods,and other catastrophes.His geological research was also critical in Darwin's own formulations because it

Natural selection operates directly on the genotype of an organism.

Natural selection is the process by which the forms most fit to survive and reproduce in a given environment do so in greater numbers than others in the same population.But more than survival of the fittest,natural selection is the natural process that leads to

What is the term for the belief that explanations for past events should be sought in ordinary forces that are at work today?

Intelligent design explains some biological facts that evolution cannot explain.

Mendel's concept of independent assortment is based on the fact that individual traits are inherited independently of one another.

What does gene flow act against?

This chapter describes the case of giraffes' long necks to illustrate how natural selection works on variety within a population.This explanation contrasts with the incorrect alternative of the inheritance of acquired characteristics,which suggests that

How have modern-day creationists sometimes misunderstood the contrast between microevolution and macroevolution to comment on evolution?

Early on in this chapter,we learned that evolution refers to descent with modification over generations.Geneticists,however,have an even more specific definition of evolution:

What Is Anthropology

Culture

Applying Anthropology

Doing Archaeology and Biological Anthropology

Human Variation and Adaptation

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