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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What behavior does the author cite about how elephant seals relate to rivals?

2. What happens in inversion?

3. What would molecules that broke down other self-copying molecules and used their parts eventually become?

4. Can a gene change it's strategy for survival?

5. In early reproducing molecules, what is the measure of "success"?

Short Essay Questions

1. In ESS simulations, what happens when a hawk enters a stable group of doves?

2. How does Dawkins view whether fidelity is important to evolution?

3. Explain why Dawkins speculates that cannibalism might make sense within his selfish gene theory.

4. Explain how the Watt Governor uses mechanics to regulate itself.

5. What does Dawkins say would be a natural extension of valuing one's own species more than other species?

6. How does Dawkins say that DNA differs from blueprints for making a building?

7. What does Dawkins say that the book will tell about the argument of nature versus nurture?

8. What does Dawkins have to say about the phrase "to ensure the survival of the species?"

9. According to Dawkins, what happened to self-copying molecules that were less successful?

10. How does Dawkins view many-celled life forms?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss sexual reproduction in The Selfish Gene.

1) How does Dawkins characterize male and female reproductive cells? What is the relationship between this characterization and Dawkins' theory of the selfish gene?

2) How does sexual reproduction affect the ability of genes to survive? Why should sexual reproduction exist at all?

3) What implications do Dawkins' ideas about sexual reproduction have for the male and the female of a species?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the idea of stability in natural systems.

1) What is ESS, and why is it valuable to scientists who are studying natural systems?

2) Why does nature tend toward stable systems? What causes this rule to be true?

3) How does stability affect evolution? What is its relationship to competition?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Dawkins' ideas about communication as presented in The Selfish Gene.

1) How does Dawkins define communication?

2) What is the role of lying in the natural world and in survival? How does lying relate to Dawkins' ideas in The Selfish Gene?

3) What altruistic roles does communication play? What selfish roles can communication play in the natural world? How does Dawkins refute ideas that communication is essentially altruistic and functions for the good of the species?

(see the answer keys)

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