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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is one individual that Darwin mentions as helping him in every way prior to the publication of The Origin of Species?

2. What may hinder positive traits from being passed on during natural selection?

3. What type of work is presented in The Origin of Species?

4. What other field of science can natural selection be compared to?

5. What is the struggle for existence caused by?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is natural selection much broader than domestic selection by humans?

2. How can the geology of mountains and valleys be related to natural selection?

3. Why isn't it safe to assume that regions that are physically connected in the present day were connected in the past?

4. Why would natural selection be considered counter-intuitive?

5. Why is the eye used as an example of an organ too complex to be explained by natural selection?

6. What was Darwin's specific interest in the living species?

7. What is the ultimate result of the constant struggle to live?

8. Regarding Darwin's example of the pigeon in Chapter 1, why is the pigeon easily determined to be descended from a single species?

9. What factors contribute to the slowdown in reproduction in a species?

10. How do Naturalists define a species and a variety?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Natural selection cannot explain all variations and occurrences of nature. Explore the notion that variations in nature may be caused by both change and natural selection. Do you think this is truly a possibility? Explain your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Variations are, according to Darwin, naturally selected for because of their use to the species. How are variations passed on from one generation to the next? What types of trait variations have occurred that have improved survival of a species?

Essay Topic 3

How would a dramatic climate change affect a species? Consider the affect of the climate becoming (a) colder and (b) warmer. Use Darwin's arguments and explanations for this essay, provide examples of how each type of change would affect a species.

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