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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. According to Dawkins, is there a genetic reason to favor one child over others?
(a) No, there are no genetic or other reasons to favor one child.
(b) No, but there are circumstantial reasons.
(c) Yes, but these genetic reasons are unusual.
(d) Yes, different children have different genetic relatedness to parents.

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

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

4. How does Dawkins postulate that animals judge relatedness?
(a) By instinctual knowledge.
(b) By resemblance.
(c) By scent.
(d) By statistics.

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

Short Answer Questions

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

2. What happens to female mice as the population rises to unacceptable limits?

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

4. What does Dawkins mean by a "selfish gene?"

5. According to Dawkins' description, what do insect colonies usually consist of?

Short Essay Questions

1. What theory about parental suffering for children's success does Dawkins describe?

2. What examples does Dawkins give of male animals resisting raising offspring that's not their own?

3. What two possible explanations for the behavior of the baby swallow observed by the Spanish researchers does Dawkins present?

4. What is the cuckoo's adaptation to care for its eggs?

5. What does Dawkins substitute for survival of a species?

6. What may happen to guillemot eggs, and what is the adaptation of guillemots to deal with this?

7. What possible explanation for viruses does Dawkins give?

8. What does Dawkins cite that makes human beings exceptions to the idea that genes for having too large a number of children die out?

9. When and why are gulls' offspring in danger?

10. Does Dawkins agree or disagree with the theory about parental suffering for children's success, and why?

(see the answer keys)

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