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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which of the following refers to ways by which an organism could spread to a new area that would NOT typically occur naturally?
(a) Species changes.
(b) Artificial migration.
(c) Accidental means of dispersal.
(d) Human transport.

2. What is one of the most serious objections to natural selection?
(a) Lack of links between species.
(b) Darwin's credibility.
(c) Religious objections.
(d) Age of Earth.

3. What does the bone structure of the human hand resemble?
(a) Hoof of a horse.
(b) Fin of a fish.
(c) Paw of a dog.
(d) Wing of a bat.

4. What happens when two fossils of the same species are chronologically far apart?
(a) They do resemble each other.
(b) They do not resemble each other.
(c) It is proof for natural selection.
(d) They are classified as different species.

5. Organisms in which regions experience less competition?
(a) Polar ice caps.
(b) Mountain ranges.
(c) Deserts.
(d) Small islands.

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

7. Why do scientists believe fossils do not exist at the bottom of the ocean?
(a) Too much pressure.
(b) Fossils are only found on land.
(c) They cannot get to the bottom.
(d) No species that far down.

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

9. What is correlated with a difference in creatures that inhabit a region?
(a) The barriers of that region.
(b) Migration patterns.
(c) Food supply.
(d) Mating potential.

10. What do species found on islands do for the theory of natural selection?
(a) Support it.
(b) Increase its complexity.
(c) Refute it.
(d) Increase classifications.

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

12. What does the lack of some species on oceanic islands suggest about the theory that all land mass was once connected?
(a) It is a recent occurrence.
(b) It was very long ago.
(c) It is true.
(d) It is false.

13. What does Darwin suggest about variations of species in terms of examining the fossil records?
(a) Evolution goes in stages.
(b) Variation is not consistent.
(c) Variation is consistent.
(d) All species evolve.

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

15. If natural selection is accepted, what is rejected?
(a) Species were created independently.
(b) There is only artificial selection.
(c) Variations must be subjective.
(d) All differences must be different species.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. To what degree do hybrids resemble one parent?

3. When the same species live in regions separated by large bodies of water, what is the rationale for their existence?

4. Which of the following refers to offspring with parents from two different species?

5. What may occur if one organism changes dramatically over time?

(see the answer keys)

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