View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. From a gene's point of view, what does Dawkins say an organism is equally related to?
(a) A cousin and a grandparent.
(b) A baby brother and a baby son.
(c) A baby brother and a parent's sibling.
(d) A father and a son.

3. What does AI stand for?
(a) Anomalous Involvement.
(b) Altruistic Investment.
(c) Antecedent Integrity.
(d) Authentic Intelligence.

4. What response does Dawkins give to the idea that birth control is wrong because it's unnatural?
(a) That birth regulation is an evolutionary adaptation.
(b) That feeding the poor is also unnatural.
(c) That birth regulation is a survival instinct.
(d) That human lifestyle is completely unnatural.

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

6. How does the author suggest that bird calls might help a bird that is trying to fly up into the trees?
(a) The call might cause other birds to call and hide the noise of the bird's wings.
(b) The call might be hard to pinpoint and therefore distract predators.
(c) The call might frighten away other birds in the tree the bird is flying to.
(d) The call might cause other birds to fly and confuse any predators.

7. How is male and female responsibility for offspring different in fish?
(a) Males and females both leave their fertilized eggs without investing resources in them.
(b) Females may lay eggs and abandon them, while males fertilize the eggs and are left to care for them.
(c) Females care for the eggs, and when they hatch, they leave the live offspring to the males.
(d) Males care for eggs, and then females take over when the offspring hatches.

8. What does Wynne-Edwards say happens when other animals communicate to the species that there is overpopulation?
(a) The animals have fewer young.
(b) The animals claim larger territories.
(c) The animals store extra food.
(d) The animals attack others' young.

9. What reason does Dawkins give that females care more for offspring?
(a) A female has a greater relatedness to the offspring.
(b) A female does not have the ability to reproduce again immediately.
(c) A female is naturally nurturing.
(d) A female has already contributed more resources in terms of the egg.

10. Why might mates favor offspring over their mate, according to Dawkins?
(a) Offspring need more resources for survival than a mate does.
(b) Mates share no DNA with each other, but they do share DNA with offspring.
(c) Mates in the animal world are not permanent and therefore inconsequential.
(d) Offspring have more of a lifespan ahead of them than mates.

11. 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) Overlarge female populations purposefully create more males.
(c) Male and female balances shift from generation to generation to average out to 50-50.
(d) Males are overly competitive and destroy each other when the male population is too high.

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

13. What does Dawkins say removes humanity from the cruel and harsh laws of nature?
(a) Humans teach children ways to behave and learn better behaviors as adults.
(b) Humans create environments that protect them from natural laws.
(c) Nothing.
(d) Humans have developed genes for communication, which allows cooperation.

14. What is a female bird doing, according to Dawkins, by forcing the male to make a nest before she breeds with him?
(a) Making the male prove the worthiness of his genes.
(b) Judging the male's capabilities of caring for the offspring in the future.
(c) Forcing the male to put off breeding with another and invest energy into the offspring.
(d) Taking advantage of the male for her own wellbeing.

15. What happens to female mice as the population rises to unacceptable limits?
(a) Female mice become less fertile.
(b) Female mice ignore male mice's advances.
(c) Female mice destroy their young.
(d) Fewer female mice are born.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who does Dawkins' idea of AI expand the idea of PI to include?

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

3. Does Dawkins believe people want to view parental care as different from other evolutionary behaviors?

4. What four categories does Dawkins have in his game theory analysis of male and female sexual and childrearing behaviors?

5. According to the relatedness calculations in the book, is a child more closely related to a sibling or an uncle?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 966 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample