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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What happens to cuckoo eggs that look dissimilar to the host eggs they replace?
(a) They are raised by the cuckoos instead of surrogates.
(b) They are thrown out of the nest and don't survive.
(c) They aren't recognized by the surrogate parent birds.
(d) They are recognized but allowed to stay in the nest.

2. What does Dawkins mean by a "selfish gene?"
(a) A portion of DNA, copied in mutliple organisms, that "tries" to become the dominant gene by preventing other genes from replicating.
(b) A portion of DNA, copied in mutliple organisms, that programs behavior in the individual for self-survival.
(c) A portion of DNA, copied in mutliple organisms, that modifies behaviors in the organisms that would tend otherwise to be altruistic.
(d) A portion of DNA, copied in multiple organisms, "trying" to survive in ways that will continue to copy and propigate the gene.

3. Who does Dawkins' idea of AI expand the idea of PI to include?
(a) All adult caregivers.
(b) All adults in a species.
(c) All children in a family unit.
(d) All related adults and children.

4. To what does Dawkins attribute a male backing down from a powerful rival over territory?
(a) Self-preservation to more likely breed in the future.
(b) The desire not to over-compete with a rival's young.
(c) The abundance of other territories that might be claimed.
(d) The desire to preserve the species.

5. Does Dawkins believe people want to view parental care as different from other evolutionary behaviors?
(a) Yes, he believes people want to consider parental care a special case.
(b) No, but Dawkins believes that parental care is a special case.
(c) Yes, but only as it applies to mother-child relationships..
(d) No, Dawkins believes people can clearly see that parental care fits with evolutionary forces.

6. What does Dawkins speculate might be a reason a female animal could be tricked into raising a child that is not her own?
(a) The animal might identify specific genes it has in common with the child.
(b) The animal might make alliances for self-protection.
(c) The animal might misinterpret how related it is to the child.
(d) The animal might gain practice for future offspring.

7. What ant behavior does Dawkins give as an example of seemingly altruistic behavior?
(a) Hanging from a ceiling as a living food pack.
(b) Bringing food back to other ants without eating.
(c) Throwing itself in front of predators.
(d) Running into a burning anthill to retrieve others' eggs.

8. What does Wynne-Edwards suggest that animals do to communicate overpopulation?
(a) Gather together and make a lot of noise.
(b) Eat a communal meal in an area of limited food.
(c) Leave measurable tracks in a common area.
(d) Gather together in a clear area where they are easily seen.

9. In Dawkins' game theory analysis of a colony of birds and ticks, what were grudger birds?
(a) Birds that can survive in symbiosis with ticks.
(b) Birds that refuse to take ticks off birds that won't help others.
(c) Birds that refuse to have ticks taken off of their heads.
(d) Birds that refuse to take ticks off other birds.

10. What does Medawar's study conclude?
(a) Older women are not good at distinguishing when a child costs too many resources.
(b) Older women are better with young children and worse with older children.
(c) Older women are better at making choices between offspring.
(d) Older women are not as good at raising children.

11. What does Trivers look at breeding as?
(a) A careful calculation based on resources.
(b) A race with time.
(c) A goal of existence.
(d) A war between the sexes.

12. What does Dawkins say that Honeyguide chicks do?
(a) Scream less loud to not attract too much attention to themselves as intruders.
(b) Kill other chicks in the nest.
(c) Blackmail parents into getting more food by screaming loud enough to attract predators.
(d) Steal food from other chicks in the nest.

13. To what does Wynne-Edwards attribute changes to female mice as the population rises?
(a) Random variation in individuals.
(b) Group selection.
(c) Natural selection of individuals.
(d) Random variation within groups.

14. According to the relatedness calculations in the book, is a child more closely related to a sibling or an uncle?
(a) It's impossible to compare.
(b) The child is equally related to both.
(c) An uncle.
(d) A sibling.

15. What is a recessive gene?
(a) A gene that has no effect until environmental triggers create an effect.
(b) A gene that has no effect except when two individuals with that gene are in close proximity.
(c) A gene that has no effect until two gene fragments come together from two sources.
(d) A gene that has no effect in alternate generations.

Short Answer Questions

1. In the example that Dawkins gives, what do pigs sometimes do to the runt of the litter?

2. In Dawkins' discussion, why do baby birds scream?

3. According to the relatedness calculations in the book, how much more closely related is a child to a sibling than a half-sibling?

4. What does Dawkins describe some female birds demanding from males?

5. In the natural world, which gender does Dawkins identify as more likely to select the other for breeding?

(see the answer keys)

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