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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Wynne-Edwards believe about birth rates?
(a) Birth rates are controlled by a combination of species and individual needs.
(b) Species might regulate birth rates for individuals.
(c) Individuals might purposefully reduce birth rates for the good of the species.
(d) Birth rates will always increase unless environmental factors intervene.

2. According to Dawkins' description, what do insect colonies usually consist of?
(a) A large number of offspring descended from a small group of mothers.
(b) Small, interrelated groups of offspring descended from many mothers.
(c) A large number of offspring descended from the same mother.
(d) A communal group of offspring descended from many mothers.

3. What does Dawkins say that Honeyguide chicks do?
(a) Kill other chicks in the nest.
(b) Steal food from other chicks in the nest.
(c) Scream less loud to not attract too much attention to themselves as intruders.
(d) Blackmail parents into getting more food by screaming loud enough to attract predators.

4. What is a female bird doing, according to Dawkins, by forcing the male to make a nest before she breeds with him?
(a) Judging the male's capabilities of caring for the offspring in the future.
(b) Making the male prove the worthiness of his genes.
(c) Forcing the male to put off breeding with another and invest energy into the offspring.
(d) Taking advantage of the male for her own wellbeing.

5. What does Wynne-Edwards say happens when other animals communicate to the species that there is overpopulation?
(a) The animals claim larger territories.
(b) The animals store extra food.
(c) The animals have fewer young.
(d) The animals attack others' young.

6. What does Dawkins speculate that cuckoo chicks might do?
(a) Steal food from other chicks in the nest.
(b) Scream less loud to not attract too much attention to themselves as intruders.
(c) Kill other chicks in the nest.
(d) Blackmail parents into getting more food by screaming loud enough to attract predators.

7. What does Wynne-Edwards suggest that animals do to communicate overpopulation?
(a) Gather together and make a lot of noise.
(b) Gather together in a clear area where they are easily seen.
(c) Leave measurable tracks in a common area.
(d) Eat a communal meal in an area of limited food.

8. What does Dawkins give as his example of the individual benefit of pack behavior in hyenas?
(a) The hyenas can gain more information from the pack.
(b) The hyenas can find more prey as a pack.
(c) The hyenas can get protection from other hyenas.
(d) The hyenas can hunt bigger prey as a pack.

9. How common are genes that cause altruistic behaviors in nature?
(a) They are extremely rare.
(b) They are vast majority of genes.
(c) They are pretty common.
(d) They are nonexistent.

10. In sexual reproduction, what does the larger egg cell have that the smaller sperm cell does not?
(a) The ability to protect itself from other cells.
(b) The ability to move around to more beneficial environments.
(c) A complete set of DNA.
(d) More food reserves for the future embryo.

11. To what does Dawkins attribute a male backing down from a powerful rival over territory?
(a) The desire not to over-compete with a rival's young.
(b) Self-preservation to more likely breed in the future.
(c) The desire to preserve the species.
(d) The abundance of other territories that might be claimed.

12. What factors are part of Dawkins' net benefit score?
(a) Benefit to the other, relatedness to the other, and risk to the organism.
(b) Benefit to the organism, risk to the other, and relatedness to the other.
(c) Benefit to the organism, risk to the organism, and relatedness to the other.
(d) Risk to the organism, risk to the other, an relatedness to the other.

13. How does the author suggest that bird calls might help a bird that is trying to hide by freezing to camouflage itself?
(a) The call might be hard to pinpoint and therefore distract predators.
(b) The call might allow the bird to focus and remain quiet for a longer period of time.
(c) The call might cause the rest of the flock to fly and distract predators.
(d) The call might cause the rest of the flock to freeze and not attract attention.

14. What does Dawkins believe about human population growth?
(a) That humans should probably limit their population growth.
(b) That human populations growth needs to increase.
(c) That humans have no means to limit populations growth.
(d) That human population growth is not a problem.

15. What happens to cuckoo eggs that look dissimilar to the host eggs they replace?
(a) They aren't recognized by the surrogate parent birds.
(b) They are recognized but allowed to stay in the nest.
(c) They are thrown out of the nest and don't survive.
(d) They are raised by the cuckoos instead of surrogates.

Short Answer Questions

1. In Dawkins' discussion, what is the detriment of raising offspring, if there is something wrong with it?

2. Who does Dawkins' idea of AI expand the idea of PI to include?

3. What happens to female mice as the population rises to unacceptable limits?

4. What does Dawkins speculate might be a reason a female animal could be tricked into raising a child that is not her own?

5. What chance does a parent have of giving a particular gene to a child?

(see the answer keys)

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