View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How do some scientists try to explain the purpose of rudimentary organs?
(a) They serve as support filler.
(b) They were used by ancestors.
(c) They beat the process of natural selection.
(d) They add symmetry.

2. Why do hybrids tend to display little variation?
(a) The parents are the same.
(b) Because of genetic defects.
(c) There is no natural selection with hybrids.
(d) The parents are very close in characteristics.

3. In Chapter 8, according to Darwin's example, what domesticated variety is NOT able to reproduce?
(a) Spiders.
(b) Maize.
(c) Ants.
(d) Mongrel.

4. What may occur if one organism changes dramatically over time?
(a) They might become extinct.
(b) They might begin to migrate.
(c) They might become a member of a different species.
(d) They might become a member of a different variety.

5. What was the basis of classification in ancient times?
(a) External similarities.
(b) Climate tolerance similarities.
(c) Geographical similarities.
(d) Internal similarities.

6. What seems unlikely, but must be possible concerning the migration of fish?
(a) Accidental dispersal.
(b) Upstream migration.
(c) Fresh to saltwater migration.
(d) Southbound migration.

7. What can instinct be compared with?
(a) Variation.
(b) Life force.
(c) Nature.
(d) Habit.

8. What do many organisms of oceanic islands resemble?
(a) Sea creatures.
(b) Each other.
(c) Species of the closest land mass.
(d) Birds.

9. What is said about the pressure to adapt?
(a) It is not equal among all species.
(b) It is dependent on the numbers in a species.
(c) It is dependent on the region.
(d) It is equal among all species.

10. What type of organisms will not fossilize?
(a) Soft creatures.
(b) Sea animals.
(c) Insects.
(d) Species with bones.

11. How do organisms differ within classifications?
(a) In their migration.
(b) In their mating.
(c) In their eating.
(d) In their habits.

12. In ancient times, why were whales classified as fish?
(a) They lived in the same environment.
(b) They had gills.
(c) They swam.
(d) They needed oxygen.

13. What insect does Darwin offer as an example of having a naturally selected trait that is NOT beneficial?
(a) Bee.
(b) Spider.
(c) Aphid.
(d) Fly.

14. When are fossils typically preserved?
(a) In the winter.
(b) During earthquakes.
(c) Between periods of geological change.
(d) During storms.

15. What do scientists find throughout the fossil record?
(a) Flaws in nature.
(b) Evolution.
(c) Life.
(d) New species.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where is much of the evidence proving natural selection found?

2. What animal that is alive today could be considered an intermediate species of a mammal and the mastodon?

3. What is one unique characteristic of the European cuckoo?

4. What happens when two fossils of the same species are chronologically far apart?

5. If natural selection is accepted, what is rejected?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 461 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample