Chapter 1

1) Darwin's evolutionary theory differs from Lamarck's in being a variational rather than
transformational theory.
2) The main premise underlying Darwinian evolution is that the living world is neither constant
nor perpetually cycling, but is always changing.
3) Fighting prowess as characterized by unbridled aggression and violence in a competitive
world is regarded as the only means of leading to fitness and reproductive advantage.
4) The most direct evidence for Darwin's theory of perpetual change is the fossil record.
5) The fossil record is biased because preservation is selective.
6) The Precambrian era of geological time represents 85% of all geological time and contains
most of the known fossils of large animals.
7) The evolutionary history of horses from the Eocene to the present shows the progressive
evolutionary change of a single species by natural selection.
8) Haeckel's theory that ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny suggests that early development
features were more widely shared among different animal groups than later features.
9) According to the Hardy-Weinberg Law, the frequency of each allele remains constant
generation after generation in a freely interbreeding, sexually reproducing, large population
that experiences natural selection.
10) The most common mode of speciation in animals is sympatric speciation.
11) Geographic barriers and reproductive barriers are basically the same thing because
geographic barriers will separate two populations, prevent gene exchange, and are a
precondition for speciation.
12) Phenotypic gradualism is generally accepted as fact although phyletic gradualism is still
highly controversial.
13) Macroevolutionary studies address large-scale changes in the frequencies of different allelic
forms of genes in natural populations.
14) In many human populations, genetically recessive traits may be very common.
15) Recurring mutation is the ultimate source of variation in natural populations, but it is usually
not sufficient by itself to promote significant evolutionary change.
16) Genetic drift occurs to some degree in all populations of finite size.
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17) The law of stratigraphy states that the oldest fossils will be found at the bottom of a layer of
rock.
18) Inbreeding tends to decrease the probability that rare recessive traits will be seen in the
following population.
19) The possible use of appendages as sails in aquatic insects that may have incidentally evolved
into wings supports an evolutionary position.
20) The theory of evolution by natural selection was proposed by
a) Darwin and Lyell.
b) Darwin and Wallace.
c) Darwin and Malthus.
d) Darwin and Lamarck.
21) In the formula, p + q = 1
a) p represents the frequency of one of the alleles in the population.
b) p represents the probability of an allele mutating.
c) q represents the selection pressure acting against an allele.
d) none of the above
22) Darwin's finches represent a good example of
a) punctuated equilibrium.
b) sympatric speciation.
c) adaptive radiation.
d) phyletic gradualism.
23) Which of the following best describes the relationship between organismal ontogeny and
phylogeny?
a) Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny.
b) Ontogeny rarely contains phylogenetic information.
c) Ontogeny usually recapitulates phylogeny in reverse order.
d) Ontogeny may recapitulate phylogeny for some characteristics, but rarely does this occur
for the organism as a whole.
24) Which of the following is not true of the punctuated equilibrium theory?
a) It was inspired in part by patterns observed in the fossil record of animals.
b) It proposes that most evolutionary change is concentrated in relatively brief episodes of
branching speciation.
c) It requires macromutational changes.
d) It suggests that most species experience relatively little phenotypic change throughout
their evolutionary duration.
25) Which of the following is not one of the observations that led Darwin to propose the theory
of natural selection?

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a)
b)
c)
d)

Organisms have great potential fertility.

Natural populations normally remain constant in size except for minor fluctuations.
Natural resources are limited.
The hereditary process features inheritance of discrete and non-blending particular
factors.

26) Which of the following is not an inference of Darwin's theory of natural selection?
a) There exists a struggle for existence among members of a population.
b) There is differential survival and reproduction among varying organisms in a population.
c) Characteristics that are harmful to survival are often advantageous for reproduction.
d) Over many generations, differential survival and reproduction of varying organisms
generates new species.
27) Which of the following scientists was most important in transforming Darwin's theory from
its initial formulation to what we now call neo-Darwinism?
a) Weissmann
b) Lamarck
c) Lyell
d) T. H. Huxley
28) Which of the following was a common early criticism of Darwin's theory of natural
selection?
a) It could not explain the origins of new structures or new species, only the modification of
existing ones.
b) It could not work because Darwin overestimated the struggle for existence in nature.
c) It could not work because there was no evidence that variable traits could be inherited.
d) It could not work because it appeared to violate the laws of physics.
29) Darwin's thoughts on evolution were greatly influenced by an essay on populations written
by ________________.
30) The methods for dating geological formations are based on a process known as
____________.
31) Structures in different organisms that are similar because they descend with some
modification from a corresponding feature of their common ancestor are said to be
___________________.
32) Evolutionary change in the timing of development is called ______________.
33) The biological factors that prevent members of different species from interbreeding are called
___________________.
34) The evolution of ecologically diverse species from a common ancestral stock is called
_________________.

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35) All of the alleles of all genes possessed by members of a population collectively form the
___________.
36) A useful method for dating fossil-bearing rocks that are multiple millions to billions of years
old is _____________________.
37) The most serious weakness in Darwin's theory of natural selection was his failure to correctly
identify the mechanism of ______________.
38) Random changes in gene frequency that occur in small populations comprise the concept of
______________.
39) An explanation for gaps in the fossil record stating that evolutionary change is concentrated
in episodic events of branching speciation is called ______________.
40) The term that Darwin used to describe the differential propagation of traits that are favorable
for obtaining mates, although not necessarily for survival, is _____________.
41) Selection for particular biological traits through their utility in permitting species to survive
mass extinction is called ______________.
42) Lyell is credited with the principle of _____________, which was described in his Principles
of Geology.
43) Geological time may be broken down into eons, eras, periods and _______________.
44) Certain fossils are very indicative of the geological period in which they occurred. These are
referred to as index or _______________ fossils.
45) ____________________ is a term which relates to the branching interrelationships of all
living things.
46) An example of industrial _____________ is the natural selection seen in the peppered moth
of England.
47) To date, the greatest mass extinction was the ___________________ extinction.

Answer Key
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

True
True
False
True
True

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6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.

False
False
True
False
False
False
False
False
True
True
True
True
False
True
B
A
C
D
C
D
C
A
A
Malthus
radioactive decay
homologous
heterochrony
reproductive barriers
adaptive radiation
gene pool
potassium-argon dating
heredity or inheritance
genetic drift
punctuated equilibrium
sexual selection
catastrophic species selection
uniformitarianism
epochs
guide
Phylogeny
melanism
Permian

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