Biology - Comprehensive Mock Test 148

Question 1471 Medium

Why is the advent of reproductive isolation important from an evolutionary standpoint?

A) When the organisms comprising two populations of a species can no longer interbreed, the flow of genetic material between them stops. B) It is not important from an evolutionary standpoint. The question is based on a false assumption. C) Reproductive isolation increases the mutation rate. D) Reproductive isolation may slow reproduction.

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Question 1472 Medium

Why, according to our reading, did Darwin take so long to publish the Origin of Species?

A) Darwin wanted to share his theory as quickly as possible once he returned from his voyage on the Beagle. B) It took twenty years for Darwin to develop a theory. C) Darwin suffered from a number of illnesses. D) Darwin was concerned about the reaction of others to the implications of his theory.

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Question 1473 Medium

According to our reading, how did George Cuvier account for extinctions in nature?

A) Extinctions never occur--there are unexplored parts of the globe where organisms that appear to have gone extinct may still live. B) Extinctions occur when the slow adaptation of organisms over time to their environment is not quick enough to help them respond to changing conditions. C) Extinctions occur at random, they do not reflect God's will. D) Extinctions are due to catastrophic events.

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Question 1474 Medium

What's the difference between genetic drift and change due to natural selection?

A) Genetic drift does not require the presence of variation. B) Genetic drift does not involve competition between members of a species. C) Genetic drift never occurs in nature, natural selection does. D) There is no difference.

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Question 1475 Medium

What's the difference between natural selection and sexual selection?

A) Sexual selection occurs during sex. B) Natural selection is a type of sexual selection. C) Sexual selection is a type of natural selection. D) Sexual selection occurs within demes, natural selection does not.

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Question 1476 Medium

Which of the following is an example of environmental variation?

A) Apu is a tongue roller, but his brother Sanjay is not. B) Marge dyes her hair blue. C) Homer inherited baldness from his father's side of the family. D) Patti and Selma have hanging ear lobes.

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Question 1477 Medium

Which of the following is an example of genetic variation?

A) Two children have different eye colors. B) One person is older than another. C) One person has a scar, but her friend does not. D) Tod eats meat, but his brother Rod is a vegetarian.

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Question 1478 Medium

Why is genetic variation important from an evolutionary standpoint?

A) If all organisms were the same, the entire population would be vulnerable to particular pathogens, like viruses. B) All evolutionary adaptations (e.g. the origin of forelimbs) are the result of the gradual build up of genetic differences between organisms over geologic time. C) Evolution (at the population level) refers to changes in the frequencies of genes in the population over time. D) All of the above.

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Question 1479 Medium

Which of the following examples of variation is not important from an evolutionary standpoint?

A) Genetic differences between individual organisms comprising the population. B) Inherited differences between individual organisms comprising the population. C) Differences due to diet, health, age or accident that have no affect on an individual's ability to survive and reproduce. D) A and B

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Question 1480 Medium

Which of the following is not a source of variation in a population?

A) Inherited genetic differences. B) Differences due to health. C) Differences due to age. D) None of the above.

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