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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 9.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In the natural world, which gender does Dawkins identify as more likely to select the other for breeding?
(a) Females tend to select males for breeding.
(b) Species tend to have both selective females and selective males, which are individuals that select another for breeding.
(c) Males tend to select females for breeding.
(d) Species are split about halfway on which gender selects the other for breeding.

2. What does Dawkins suggest fooling certain genes into thinking the body is younger might do?
(a) Decrease genetic variation.
(b) Increase lifespan.
(c) Decrease mutation.
(d) Increase reproduction.

3. What attribute of male birds of paradise does Zahavi say is a kind of boast that even with a dangerous physical characteristic, the bird is strong enough to survive?
(a) A brightly colored, easily seen headdress.
(b) A beautifully feathered but uselessly structured foot.
(c) A long, dragging tail.
(d) A bright, attractive pattern on its wings.

4. According to the relatedness calculations in the book, how much more closely related is a child to a sibling than a half-sibling?
(a) The child is twice as closely related to the sibling.
(b) The child is four times as closely related to the sibling.
(c) The child is one an a half times as closely related to the sibling.
(d) The child is three times as closely related to the sibling.

5. What reason does Dawkins give that animal populations are about 50-50 male and female?
(a) Dawkins says that a 50-50 ratio is the stable balance of males and females.
(b) Male and female balances shift from generation to generation to average out to 50-50.
(c) Overlarge female populations purposefully create more males.
(d) Males are overly competitive and destroy each other when the male population is too high.

Short Answer Questions

1. In Dawkins' metaphor about DNA, what does the bookshelf represent?

2. When a cell creates a sperm cell or egg cell with reduced DNA, what is the process called?

3. What is a female bird doing, according to Dawkins, by forcing the male to make a nest before she breeds with him?

4. In sexual reproduction, what does the larger egg cell have that the smaller sperm cell does not?

5. What happens to cuckoo eggs that look dissimilar to the host eggs they replace?

(see the answer key)

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