Chapter 12:
Evolution
Practice Test
1.
Farmers retain seed from the most productive wheat plants to plant the following year in their fields. What practice does this illustrate?
a.
natural selection
b.
selective breeding
c.
comparative biochemistry
d.
comparative anatomy
Hint
2.
What are organisms that get their energy from organic materials in the environment?
a.
fossils
b.
consumers
c.
autotrophs
d.
heterotrophs
Hint
3.
Mastodons, mammoths, and today's elephants are related organisms. How do these organisms illustrate evolution?
a.
They show how organisms change over time.
b.
They show that all three organisms are the ancestors of camels.
c.
They show how organisms stay the same over time.
d.
They show that elephants are the ancestors of mammoths and mastodons.
Hint
4.
Bones, molds, casts, or other traces of organisms that lived long ago are _________ .
a.
vestigial organs
b.
rocks
c.
trace minerals
d.
fossils
Hint
5.
A human, a bird, and a horse all have similar bones in their legs. What evidence of evolution do these structures illustrate?
a.
vestigial structures
b.
comparative biochemistry
c.
comparative embryology
d.
homologous structures
Hint
6.
What is the layer of gases in the atmosphere that protects Earth's surface from ultraviolet light?
a.
the hydrothermal layer
b.
the ozone layer
c.
the hydrogen layer
d.
the methane layer
Hint
7.
What are organisms that make their own food?
a.
fossils
b.
consumers
c.
heterotrophs
d.
autotrophs
Hint
8.
Which of the following provides evidence of evolution through direct observation?
a.
antibiotic resistance in bacteria
b.
fossils in sedimentary rock
c.
vestigial structures in whales
d.
homologous leg bones in horses and birds
Hint
9.
Of these, which is NOT part of the struggle for existence described by Darwin?
a.
competition for mates
b.
competition for food and space
c.
ability to find shelter
d.
ability to avoid predators
Hint
10.
What is the entire collection of genes among a population?
a.
gene pool
b.
genetic variation
c.
natural selection
d.
selective breeding
Hint
