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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What happens to the offspring when two of the same distinct species interbreed?
(a) Migrate after birth.
(b) Fertile.
(c) Sterile.
(d) Eaten by parents.

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

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

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

5. Which of the following refers to organs that serve no purpose?
(a) Dead organs.
(b) Homologous organs.
(c) Extra organs.
(d) Rudimentary organs.

6. 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.

7. What does Darwin suggest about acquired traits in parents?
(a) They do not last a lifetime.
(b) They cannot be passed on.
(c) They cannot be selected for.
(d) They can be passed to offspring.

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

9. What type of fossils may survive damaging geological changes?
(a) Small and thin.
(b) Large and thick.
(c) Large and thin.
(d) Small and thick.

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

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

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

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

14. What do naturalists understand will never happen to most organisms?
(a) Selection.
(b) Evolution.
(c) Extinction.
(d) Fossilization.

15. What does Darwin suggest that natural selection cannot do independently?
(a) Cause extinction.
(b) Produce the same species twice.
(c) Eliminate dysfunctional traits.
(d) Create new species.

Short Answer Questions

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

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

3. When are fossils typically preserved?

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

5. To what degree do hybrids resemble one parent?

(see the answer keys)

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