Chapter 18

Evolution is based on which of the following concepts? (a) organisms share a common origin (b) over time, organisms have diverged from a common ancestor (c) an animal's body parts can change over its lifetime, and these acquired changes are passed to the next generation (d) a and b (e) a, b, and \(\mathrm{c}\)

Evolution is the accumulation of genetic changes within ____________ over time. (a) individuals (b) populations (c) communities (d) a and b (e) a and c

Charles Darwin proposed that evolution could be explained by the differential reproductive success of organisms that resulted from their naturally occurring variation. Darwin called this process (a) coevolution (b) convergent evolution (c) natural selection (d) artificial selection (e) homoplasy

Which of the following statements is false? (a) Darwin was the first to supply convincing evidence for biological evolution (b) Darwin was the first to propose that organisms change over time (c) Wallace independently developed the same theory as Darwin (d) Darwin's theory is based on four observations about the natural world (e) Darwin's studies in the Galápagos Islands strongly influenced his ideas about evolution

Which of the following is not part of Darwin's mechanism of evolution? (a) differential reproductive success (b) variation in a population (c) inheritance of acquired (nongenetic) traits (d) overproduction of offspring (e) struggle for existence

The modern synthesis (a) is based on the sequence of fossils in rock layers (b) uses genetics to explain the source of hereditary variation that is essential to natural selection (c) was first proposed by ancient Greek scholars (d) considers the influence of the geographic distribution of organisms on their evolution (e) is reinforced by homologies that are explained by common descent

Jewish and Muslim men have been circumcised for many generations, yet this practice has had no effect on the penile foreskin of their offspring. This observation is inconsistent with evolution as envisioned by (a) Lamarck (b) Darwin (c) Wallace (d) Lyell (e) Malthus

Which of the following is least likely to have occurred after a small population of finches reached the Galápagos Islands from the South American mainland? (a) after many generations, the finches became increasingly different from the original population (b) over time, the finches adapted to their new environment (c) after many generations, the finches were unchanged and unmodified in any way (d) the finches were unable to survive in their new home and died out (e) the finches survived by breeding with one another

The evolution of beak size in the various species of Galápagos finches is associated with their (a) songs (b) diets (c) body sizes (d) predators (e) none of the preceding

The fossil record (a) usually occurs in sedimentary rock (b) sometimes appears fragmentary (c) is relatively complete for tropical rainforest organisms but incomplete for aquatic organisms (d) a and b (e) a, b, and c

In ___________, the selecting agent is the environment, whereas in _____________, the selecting agent is humans. (a) natural selection; convergent evolution (b) mutation; artificial selection (c) homoplasy; homology (d) artificial selection; natural selection (e) natural selection; artificial selection

Features similar in underlying form in different species because of a common evolutionary origin are called (a) homoplastic (b) homologous (c) vestigial (d) convergent (e) synthetic

Similar features in different species that arose through independent evolution instead of descent from a common ancestor are known as (a) homoplasy (b) homology (c) vestigial structures (d) synthetic theory (e) artificial selection

Aardvarks, anteaters, and pangolins are only distantly related but are similar in structure and form as a result of (a) homology (b) convergent evolution (c) biogeography (d) vestigial structures (e) artificial selection

Changes in just a few genes that regulate _________ are often responsible for the evolution of new features and form in a population. (a) fossil formation (b) vestigial structures (c) development (d) biogeography (e) adaptation