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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

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

3. What animal that is alive today could be considered an intermediate species of a mammal and the mastodon?
(a) Ox.
(b) Tiger.
(c) Mammoth.
(d) Elephant.

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

5. What can be said about organisms belonging to the same species?
(a) They will produce the same type of variations.
(b) They originated from the same location.
(c) They will change at the same rate.
(d) They have similar habits.

6. What type of species do many islands lack?
(a) Birds.
(b) Crustaceans.
(c) Mammals.
(d) Amphibians.

7. What is one consequence of natural selection?
(a) Change must be small.
(b) Change must benefit the environment.
(c) Change cannot involve other organs.
(d) Change must benefit the species.

8. What species of bees builds inefficient hives?
(a) Bumblebees.
(b) Yellow jackets.
(c) Hive-bees.
(d) Honeybees.

9. In Geographical Distribution continued, what does Darwin suggest about the rule of natural selection?
(a) It is different on islands.
(b) It does not apply to all species.
(c) There is a common ancestor.
(d) It applies to all species.

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

11. How far are the Galapagos Islands from South America?
(a) 500 miles.
(b) 300 miles.
(c) 200 miles.
(d) 100 miles.

12. If the pistils of a flower are very long, what type of reproduction limitation may this result in?
(a) Climate.
(b) Hormonal.
(c) Chemical.
(d) Physical.

13. What do naturalists say about the situation of hybrids resembling their parents?
(a) Natural selection can explain this resemblance.
(b) There is no explanation.
(c) Artificial selection explains this.
(d) Natural selection cannot explain this resemblance.

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

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

Short Answer Questions

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

2. What does the lack of some species on oceanic islands suggest about the theory that all land mass was once connected?

3. What does Darwin suggest about variations of species in terms of examining the fossil records?

4. At what point is it necessary for animals to display traits that distinguish them from other organisms?

5. Where might a species who are adapted to warm climates migrate to as the climate becomes colder?

(see the answer keys)

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