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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 2.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What molecules does Dawkins say existed in ancient seas and formed amino acids?
(a) Methane, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen.
(b) Water, carbon dioxide, methane, and amonia.
(c) Water, nitrogen, hydrogen, and sulfur.
(d) Carbon dioxide, nitrogen, sulfur, and amonia.

2. What would competition between early self-copying molecules be over?
(a) Water.
(b) Gaseous molecules.
(c) Building-block molecules.
(d) Space.

3. What would molecules that started to manufacture energy using the sun eventually become?
(a) Plants.
(b) Animals.
(c) Inorganic materials.
(d) Single-celled organisms.

4. What apparently selfish act of gulls does the author describe?
(a) Fighting for fish.
(b) "Ditching" the rest of the flock when a predator is spotted.
(c) Stealing another gull's nest.
(d) Eating others' baby chicks.

5. Does the author believe that genetically inherited traits cannot be changed?
(a) Yes, he believes genetically inherited traits cover all behavior and are unchangeable.
(b) No, he does not believe genetically inherited traits are impossible to change.
(c) Yes, he believes that genetically inherited traits are unchangeable, but they don't govern all behavior.
(d) No, he believes that genetically inherited traits are only vague predispositions that are easily and commonly changed.

Short Answer Questions

1. What almost always happens when copies of things are made, according to Dawkins?

2. What two opposites does Dawkins say he is examining the biology of?

3. What apparently selfish act of the praying mantis does the author describe?

4. What would happen to an early molecule that made many more copies of itself than other molecules made of themselves?

5. What would molecules that grouped and built protective walls around themselves become?

(see the answer key)

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