Question 1

A node on an evolutionary tree represents ___________.

Accepted Answer

A)   the most immediate ancestor that all lineages share
B)   the interrelationships of all individuals within a single species
C)   the divergence of an ancestral group into two separate lineages
D)   the genetic relationship between individuals of all species C

Question 2

The most recent mass extinction,which occurred during the Cretaceous period,may have been caused by ______________.

Accepted Answer

A)   extra heat from the sun
B)   the pull of the moon on Earth
C)   the dinosaurs
D)   an asteroid hitting Earth D

Question 3

For insects,could there be a connection between being the first organism to fly and being the most diverse terrestrial organism today?

Accepted Answer

A)   Probably not;terrestrial insects are only so diverse because they have been around so much longer than other animals and have,therefore,had more time to evolve.
B)   Yes;the ability to fly between populations decreases gene flow,resulting in rapid speciation.
C)   No;only environmental changes can lead to adaptive radiation of a group as large as insects.
D)   Maybe;because insects were the first in the air,they had a variety of habitats to explore without competition,which often leads to adaptive radiation. D

Question 4

The genes that once encoded the development of the human tail may still be present in the human genome.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 5

About 220 million years ago,mammals evolved from ____________________.

Accepted Answer

The answer of About 220 million years ago,mammals evolved from...

Question 6

Which of the following statements about continental drift is true?

Accepted Answer

A)   It is the slow movement of the continents over time.
B)   It encourages gene flow.
C)   It no longer occurs.
D)   It has had no effect on speciation.

Question 7

The construction of evolutionary trees that illustrate the patterns of species evolution is known as ____________.

Accepted Answer

A)   psychogenetics
B)   phylotaxonomy
C)   evolutionary developmental biology
D)   phylogenetics

Question 8

Which of the following is NOT a taxon?

Accepted Answer

A)   Panthera tigris
B)   Carnivora
C)   Felidae
D)   Cat

Question 9

Despite differing significantly in form,chimpanzees and humans have genomes that are nearly identical,since they differ by ____________.

Accepted Answer

A)   1%
B)   only 400 genes
C)   2%
D)   22%

Question 10

Why did evolutionary biologists rely exclusively on the concept of geologic time to explain macroevolutionary change for such a long time?

Accepted Answer

A)   Large timescales prevent speciation from occurring.
B)   Large timescales can accelerate the mutation rate,leading to greater changes.
C)   Large timescales actually lead to increasing stability of the genetic material and more consistent gene expression.
D)   The large span of Earth's history allows time for large changes in body form to occur;also,biologists were unaware of the underlying genetic mechanisms that can produce rapid change.

Question 11

The Cambrian explosion ___________.

Accepted Answer

A)   caused a lack of air in Earth's atmosphere
B)   was caused by an increase in volcanic activity
C)   was volcanic in nature
D)   increased the diversity of animal life on Earth

Question 12

In an evolutionary tree,a node represents the point in time when two species merged into one species.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 13

Which of the following has NOT been proposed as a possible cause of mass extinctions?

Accepted Answer

A)   climate change
B)   a very large earthquake
C)   massive volcanic eruptions
D)   changes in sea levels

Question 14

Scientists can determine the approximate age of a fossil by using an unstable form of the element uranium,Uranium-235,which has a half-life of 700 million years.Such an unstable form of an element is called a ______________.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Scientists can determine the approximate age of...

Question 15

The Permian explosion gave rise to all the modern animal phyla (and many that no longer exist).

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 16

Why did it take so long for eukaryotes to evolve after photosynthetic prokaryotes began releasing O2 into the atmosphere?

Accepted Answer

A)   O2 moves slowly through larger cells,making it hard for them to gather O2;thus,higher O2 concentrations had to accumulate before eukaryotic cells could be efficiently supported.
B)   The ability to use O2 had to evolve before cells could survive in an O2-rich atmosphere.
C)   The ability to break down the waste products of O2 use had to evolve before cells could use it to create energy.
D)   Enough prokaryotes had to become extinct to provide eukaryotes with a niche to occupy before they could evolve.

Question 17

If a gene from the coelacanth that drives the development of limbs in the coelacanth embryo was inserted into rats,what would the result likely be?

Accepted Answer

A)   It would likely drive the production of a lobed fin in the rat.
B)   It would likely drive production of a limb that is a cross between a normal rat limb and a lobed fin.
C)   It would likely drive the production of an almost normal rat limb.
D)   It would likely drive the production of no limb in the rat embryo.

Question 18

North America and Europe are slowly,but surely,drifting away from one another.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 19

Scientists use existing fossils to predict what the transitional forms between organisms might look like.Why is it so hard for scientists to find fossils of these transitional forms?

Accepted Answer

A)   Scientists have no way to determine how deep in a rock to look for a transitional fossil,so they just have to dig and dig until they find the right fossil.
B)   Because of continental drift,the exact location of where a transitional fossil should be found cannot be determined.Looking for a particular fossil that could be anywhere on the planet is like looking for a needle in a haystack.
C)   Fossils of transitional species may have never formed due to environmental conditions,or if they did form,natural processes such as erosion may have destroyed them.
D)   The transitional form of any organism is only hypothetical in nature;it never truly existed on the planet and,therefore,could never become a fossil.

Question 20

Continental drift has played a role in all of the following except ________.

Accepted Answer

A)   changing regional climate
B)   extinctions
C)   reduction of mutation rates in all organisms
D)   promoting speciation

Exam 16: The Evolution of Biodiversity

A node on an evolutionary tree represents ___________.

The most recent mass extinction,which occurred during the Cretaceous period,may have been caused by ______________.

For insects,could there be a connection between being the first organism to fly and being the most diverse terrestrial organism today?

The genes that once encoded the development of the human tail may still be present in the human genome.

About 220 million years ago,mammals evolved from ____________________.

Which of the following statements about continental drift is true?

The construction of evolutionary trees that illustrate the patterns of species evolution is known as ____________.

Which of the following is NOT a taxon?

Despite differing significantly in form,chimpanzees and humans have genomes that are nearly identical,since they differ by ____________.

Why did evolutionary biologists rely exclusively on the concept of geologic time to explain macroevolutionary change for such a long time?

The Cambrian explosion ___________.

In an evolutionary tree,a node represents the point in time when two species merged into one species.

Which of the following has NOT been proposed as a possible cause of mass extinctions?

Scientists can determine the approximate age of a fossil by using an unstable form of the element uranium,Uranium-235,which has a half-life of 700 million years.Such an unstable form of an element is called a ______________.

The Permian explosion gave rise to all the modern animal phyla (and many that no longer exist).

Why did it take so long for eukaryotes to evolve after photosynthetic prokaryotes began releasing O₂ into the atmosphere?

If a gene from the coelacanth that drives the development of limbs in the coelacanth embryo was inserted into rats,what would the result likely be?

North America and Europe are slowly,but surely,drifting away from one another.

Scientists use existing fossils to predict what the transitional forms between organisms might look like.Why is it so hard for scientists to find fossils of these transitional forms?

Continental drift has played a role in all of the following except ________.