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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. When a cell creates a sperm cell or egg cell with reduced DNA, what is the process called?

2. In the set of bees Dawkins mentions that deal with this disease, what does one gene the bees have do?

3. What do the letters A, T, C, and G stand for?

4. How does Dawkins characterize the natural world in his discussion of selfishness?

5. What is the name of the bee disease that Dawkins mentions in his example?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the results of the intruder retreat experiment done by Niko Tinbergen.

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

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

4. What does Dawkins say would happen if a selfish member of a species were born into a species of unselfish members?

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

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

7. Describe the behavior of chains of atoms in human blood, as Dawkins describes it.

8. What happens to genes in sexual reproduction?

9. Describe "crossing over."

10. What two ways does Dawkins picture that the first self-copying molecule might copy itself?

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 role of game theory in Dawkins' book.

1) What is game theory? How does it allow scientists to look at systems in the natural world?

2) Why does Dawkins use game theory to support his arguments about the selfish gene? How convincing is the support that Dawkins provides using game theory?

3) What are the limitations of game theory in analyzing natural systems?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss population controls in Dawkins' book.

1) Compare Dawkins' views on human population to his views on population in animal species. How are the two different?

2) How does Dawkins disagree with Wynne-Edwards over population controls in animal species?

3) How does population control contribute to individual and species survival?

(see the answer keys)

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