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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. To what does Dawkins attribute a male backing down from a powerful rival over territory?

2. To what does Wynne-Edwards attribute changes to female mice as the population rises?

3. What is difficult to explain about honeybees, according to Dawkins' theory?

4. How common are genes that cause altruistic behaviors in nature?

5. What attribute of male birds of paradise does Zahavi say is a kind of boast that even with a dangerous physical characteristic, the bird is strong enough to survive?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do Trivers and Dawkins differ in their interpretation of males investing energy into offspring before mating?

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

3. Describe Trivers' observations of striped cleaner fish.

4. What possible explanation for viruses does Dawkins give?

5. What factors does Dawkins mention that affect the human birthrate and population?

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

7. Explain the conflict between Wynne-Edwards and Dawkins over territory behavior.

8. What explanation does Zahavi propose for stotting?

9. According to Dawkins, what selfish behavior might birds that have fewer eggs because of overpopulation exhibit?

10. What does higher PI mean, in R.L. Trivers' ideas?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the relationship between parents and offspring in Dawkins' book.

1) How are offspring of organisms different than replications of protein molecules? How do organisms relate to their offspring?

2) How much variation is there in the natural world in how parents treat and care for their offspring? How does Dawkins account for this variation?

3) What factors affect parental care for offspring in Dawkins' theory?

Essay Topic 3

Dawkins attributes many attitudes and beliefs to things people want to be true. Discuss how what people want to believe affects people's perception of science in Dawkins' book.

1) Why does Dawkins say that people want to believe in group selection? What affect has this had on evolutionary thought?

2) Why does Dawkins say that people want to believe that parents' relationships with children are an exception to rules of evolution? Are Dawkins' concerns valid?

3) In what other ways do people's desire to believe certain things affect perceptions of the concepts in the book?

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