A species is a group of similar organisms that

a. Can mate and produce fertile offspring

b. Can live together on an island

c. Have all the same traits

d. Can migrate from an island to the mainland

A. Can mate and reproduce fertile

offspring

What theory proposes that evolution occurs steadily in tiny changes over long periods of time?

a. Punctuated equlilbria

b. gradualism

c. Relative dating

d. Natural selection

b. gradualism

The term that refers to the process by which individuals that are better adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce is

A. Variation d. overproduction

b. Natural selection

c. competition

b. Natural selection

Most of what scientists know about extinct species is based on

a. variations

b. Sedimentary rock

c. Natural selection

d. The fossil record

D. The fossil record

What is the main way that a new species forms?

a. Mutations occur

b. cross-breeding occurs

c. A group is separated from the rest of the species

d. Competition between members of the same species

c. A group is separated from the rest of the

species

How do scientists determine the actual age of a fossil?

A. Relative dating

b. Mold and casting

c. Sedimentary dating

d. Absolute dating

d. Absolute dating

What are fossils?

a. Mold and casts of live organisms

b. Drawings of ancient animals

c. Footprints or burrows of animals that live today

d. Preserved remains or traces of organisms that lived in the past

d. Preserved remains or traces of organisms that

lived in the past

A species that no longer has any living members

A. molded

b. fossilized

c. petrified

d. extinct

d. extinct

How do most fossils form?

a.an insect becomes trapped in amber

b. An organism becomes frozen in ice

c. A dead organism becomes buried in sediment

d. A dead organism becomes buried in tar

c. A dead organism becomes buried in sediment

Which term refers to a species creating more offspring that can possibly survive?

A.evolution

b. Natural selection

c. overproduction

d. variation

c. overproduction

A branching tree is

a.A homologous structure that plants have

b.A drawing that shows where different animals live

c.A species of tree that is not closely related

d.A diagram showing how scientists think different groups of organisms are related

d. A diagram showing how scientists think different groups of organisms are

related

What did Darwin observe about the finches in the Galapagos Islands?

• They had identical genotypes

• Their feathers adapted to match their environment

• Their beaks adapted to match the foods they ate

d. They had identical phenotypes

c. Their beaks adapted to match the foods they ate

What evidence suggests that ancestors of whales once walked on land?

a.Whales have a walking motion as they swim

b. Scientist have found fossils of whale-like creatures that walked on land

c.Whales breath through lungs

d.Whales have DNA similar to elephants

b. Scientist have found fossils of whale-like

creatures that walked on land

What illustrates the impact of continental drift on the formation of new species?

A.Marsupials adapt better in North America than in Australia

B.Australia has fewer marsupials than South America

C.Most mammals in Australia are marsupials, but few exist on other continents

D.Placental mammals live mainly in Australia

c. Most mammals in Australia are marsupials, but few

exist on other continents

What theory proposes that species evolve during short periods of rapid change?

a.Gradualism

b.Evolution

c.Punctuated equilibria

d.Absolute dating

c. Punctuated equilibria

Which terms refers to similar structures that related species have inherited from a common ancestor?

a.Developmental organisms

b.Punctuated equilibria

c.DNA sequences

d.Homologous structures

d. Homologous structures

What evidence is most important when using relative dating?

a.Position of fossils in sedimentary rock layers

b.Types of minerals in petrified fossils

c.Half-life of a radioactive element

d.Position of sediment in petrified rock

a.Position of fossils in sedimentary rock

layers

Entire insects have preserved in

a.Casts formed when mold fill with hardened minerals

b.Tar pits that were once covered with water

c.Amber formed from the hardened sap of evergreen trees

d.Sedimentary rock after the insects were frozen

c. Amber formed from the hardened sap of

evergreen trees

Differences between members of the same species are

a.Variations

b.Selections

c.Predators

d.traits

a. Variations

The gradual change in a species over time is called

a.Variation

b.Evolution

c.Mutation

d.migration

b. Evolution

What theory agrees with fossil records that show no intermediate forms for long periods of time?

a.Evolution

b.Punctuated equilibria

c.Gradualism

d.Natural selection

b. Punctuated equilibria

A trait that helps an organism survive and reproduce

a.Mutation

b.Variation

c.Selection

d.adaptation

d. adaptation

If 2 organisms look very similar during their early stages, this is evidence that the organisms

a.Evolved from a common ancestor

b.Are not related

c.Have the same DNA

d.Evolved from different ancestors

a.Evolved from a

common ancestor

How does natural selection lead to evolution?

a.Environmental changes kill weaker members of the species

b.Overproduction provides food for stronger members of the species

c.Stronger offspring kill weaker members of the species

d.Helpful traits accumulate among surviving members of the species

d. Helpful traits accumulate

among surviving

members of the species

Why do scientists think related species have similar body structures and development patterns?

a. They inherited many of the same proteins from a common ancestor

b. They inherited many of the same genes from one another

c. They inherited many of the same genes from a common ancestor

d. They inherited all of the same genes from a common ancestor

c.They inherited many of the same

genes from a common ancestor

What is the role of genes in evolution?

a.Only traits controlled by genes can be acted on by natural selection

b.Only genes can be acted on by natural selection

c.The genes of most surviving parents have only dominant alleles

d.Parents with recessive genes die from overpopulation

a.Only traits controlled by genes can be acted on by

natural selection

A change in a gene or chromosome resulting in a different or new characteristic is called

a.Adaptation

b.Variation

c.Natural selection

d.Mutation

d. Mutation

The ship that completed a 5 year voyage around the world, stopping at the Galapagos Islands was named

a.HMS Beagle

b.HMS Titanic

c.USS Arizona

d.USS Beagle

a.HMS Beagle

What did Darwin infer from his observations of organisms in South America and on the Galapagos Islands?

a. The organisms on the island were unrelated to organisms on the mainland

b. A small number of different plant and animal species had come to the islands from the mainland

c. The organisms on the islands were identical to those on the mainland

d. A small number of plant and animal species had come to the mainland from the islands

b. A small number of different plant and animal species had come to the islands from the mainland

Scientists combine evidence from fossils, body structure, early development, and DNA and protein structures to

a. Determine what bones an animal has in its forelimbs

b. Determine whether an organism will have gills during its early development

c. Determine the evolutionary relationships among species

d. Decide which fossils are older than others

c. Determine the evolutionary relationships

among species