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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What do large shifts in geology promote in species?
(a) Development of new genera.
(b) Development of new variations.
(c) Development of new species.
(d) Increased migration.

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

3. What does Darwin suggest that freshwater fish could develop through selection?
(a) Ability to breathe out of water.
(b) Gills.
(c) Lungs.
(d) Ability to live in salt water.

4. What does the fossil record show about natural selection?
(a) Adaptations.
(b) Quick change.
(c) Variations.
(d) Gradual change.

5. How is the American cuckoo different from the European cuckoo?
(a) The American cuckoo buries offspring.
(b) The American cuckoo raises its own offspring.
(c) The American cuckoo eats offspring.
(d) The American cuckoo raises others' offspring.

6. In addition to the Formica rufescens, what other ant species takes slaves?
(a) Odontomachus bauri.
(b) Forelius pusillus.
(c) Mycocepurus smithii.
(d) Formica sanguinea.

7. For natural selection to be true, what could be suggested about transitional forms?
(a) There should be no transitional forms.
(b) Amount of extinct species should be large.
(c) Transitional forms should be seen in all species.
(d) Amount of extinct species should be small.

8. What is the major limiting factor to migration?
(a) Oceans.
(b) Lakes.
(c) Stamina.
(d) Land mass.

9. At what point is it necessary for animals to display traits that distinguish them from other organisms?
(a) During offspring-bearing age.
(b) As an embryo.
(c) During childhood.
(d) When they must fend for themselves.

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

11. What period in time can explain many migrations due to climate change?
(a) Industrial Age.
(b) Ice Age.
(c) Technological Age.
(d) Thermal Age.

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

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

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

15. How do breeders know if the traits they breed into cows are useful?
(a) They appear at birth.
(b) They appear in adulthood.
(c) They appear prior to birth.
(d) They appear in late childhood.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. What species of bee builds the most efficient hives?

3. What was the basis of classification in ancient times?

4. How do scientists explain the presence of the same species in different locations?

5. Why is instinct NOT well-defined?

(see the answer keys)

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