The Theory of Evolution Formative Quiz
Quiz by Christopher Chartier
Feel free to use or edit a copy
includes Teacher and Student dashboards
Measure skillsfrom any curriculum
Tag the questions with any skills you have. Your dashboard will track each student's mastery of each skill.
- edit the questions
- save a copy for later
- start a class game
- automatically assign follow-up activities based on students’ scores
- assign as homework
- share a link with colleagues
- print as a bubble sheet
- Q1
In the hypothetical insect population, the genotypic frequency of the green and red bugs changed significantly after some individuals migrated away from the home plant. This change in genotypic frequency can be attributed to..
Natural Selection
Genetic drift
Gene flow
Mutations
120s - Q2
Tasmania is an island state off the coast of Australia. It has many animal species that are not found anywhere else in the world, such as the Tasmanian Devil. Which of the following would be a result of genetic drift on the Tasmanian devil population?
Geographic isolation may cause new favorable traits to appear in the Tasmanian devil population.
Other mammal species may breed with the Tasmanian devil population to produce a new species.
The Tasmanian devil may become extinct with limited genetic variation.
A new species of the Tasmanian devil may appear with such a small population.
120s - Q3
When an organism joins a new population, its genes become part of the new population's gene pool. How does this gene flow affect neighboring populations?
Gene flow between neighboring populations keeps their gene pools similar and decreases genetic diversity over time.
Gene flow between neighboring populations has no effect on the gene pool.
Gene flow between neighboring populations keeps their gene pools similar and increases genetic diversity over time.
Gene flow increases the chance for reproductive isolation which can cause new species to form.
120s - Q4
Which of the following is a consequence of genetic drift?
increased variation
more alleles in the population
decreased biodiversity
less mating among individuals
60s - Q5
When a gene mutation takes place, it __________.
always results in a positive change in natural selection
can be contagious from one person to the next via coughing, saliva, etc
always causes damage to the affected gene
can result in a positive or negative change to the gene
60s - Q6
The sorting and recombination of genes during reproduction is an important step in the evolution process. What effect do sorting and recombination have on a population?
Decreases the chances of producing offspring that are adapted to the environment
Increases the ability of all the offspring to adapt to the environment
Decreases variation which helps maintain a stable population
Increases variation that enables a species to adapt to change
60s - Q7
An entomologist wanted to control a population of fire ants. He found a new chemical and introduced it into a fire ant colony. After a few days, only a few fire ants survived. Which of the following statements best explains why a few fire ants survived?
These fire ants gained resistance to the chemical by feeding off the fire ants which had died
These fire ants were exposed to the chemical long enough to develop a resistance to it
These fire ants had a genetic variation which made them resistant to the chemical
These fire ants absorbed the chemical and broke it down in their digestive systems
120s - Q8
Which of the following examples of a natural selection condition can be classified as inherited variation?
A toad having thousands of eggs that turn into tadpoles.
Homo sapiens being born with a protein that makes them immune to HIV.
Birds flying south for the winter for warmer weather.
Bears hibernating for the winter.
60s - Q9
Look at the table above showing the evolution of human brain sizes. What conclusion can you possibly make about how the evolution of brain size has impacted humans?
The decrease in brain size affected humans ability to eat and communicate in every area of their life
The brain size did not change that much and therefore did not have a real impact on the way humans lived or communicated
The increase in brain size over time is directly correlated with the development of language and sophiscated tools
The increase in brain size over time allowed humans to mate easier and reproduce quicker
60s - Q10
Organisms that have similar structures are sometimes considered to be possibly related. The limbs of a human, the wings of a bat, the flippers of a whale are all similar anatomical structures. The similarities between these different species are known as…
Genetic variation
Vestigial structures
Homologous structures
Aanalogous structures
60s - Q11
Investigators are trying to find evidence of evolutionary relatedness among several prokaryotic organisms. They study the DNA base sequence of a gene called RS1 that is similar between all 4 species. Which species is most closely related?
Species 3 and 4
Species 2 and 3
Species 2 and 4
Species 1 and 3
120s - Q12
Where did the oxygen that was present in early Earth’s atmosphere primarily come from?
The photosynthesis of green plants
The eruption of volcanoes
The breakdown of the ozone
The photosynthesis of Cyanobacteria
45s - Q13
According to the endosymbiotic theory where did early eukaryotes come from?
Some prokaryotes had mutations that caused them to have a nucleus and organelles. These mutations were favored and therefore the prokaryotes evolved into eukaryotes
The eukaryotic cells were trapped in meteorites and then released upon impact with Earth
Bacteria became more sophisticated and overtime the primitive versions became extinct and the sophisticated versions became eukaryotic cells
Free-living bacteria were engulfed by other prokaryotes in which they formed symbiotic relationships with each other. Overtime these organisms evolved into eukaryotic cells
60s - Q14
Proteins are important to the origin of life on Earth because they are…
All of the choices listed
One biological molecule needed to build more complex living organisms
Known to have originated in outer space rather than on Earth
The first living organism on Earth
45s - Q15
American scientists Stanley Miller and Harold Urey used an apparatus similar to the one in the diagram to stimulate how life could have formed on Earth. The apparatus contained hydrogen gas, water vapor, ammonia, and methane. What is one result of this experiment?
The experiment used the exact inorganic compounds present on Earth billions of years ago and left little doubt about the mechanism of early life
The experiment proved that methane and ammonia will always give rise to organic molecules in any circumstance
Scientists think it is possible that organic compounds formed from the inorganic compounds present on Earth billions of years ago
Scientists can determine evolutionary relationships among living species by comparing amino acid sequences coded for by DNA
120s
