AP Biology Semester I Exam Flashcards
“Improving the intelligence of an adult through education will result in that adult’s descendants being born with a greater native intelligence.” This statement is an example of
Lamarckism
In evolutionary terms, the more closely related two different organisms are, the
More recently that shared a common ancestor
Natural selection is based on all of the following except
Individuals adapt to their environments and, thereby, evolve
Which of the following represents an idea Darwin took from the writings of Thomas Malthus?
Populations tend to increase at a faster rate than their food supply
Which statement about natural selection is most correct?
Well-adapted individuals leave more offspring, and thus contribute more to the next generationʹs gene
Given a population that contains genetic variation, what is the correct sequence of the following events, under the influence of natural selection?
- Differential reproduction occurs
- A new selective pressure arises
- Allele frequencies within the population change
- Poorly adapted individuals have decreased survivorship
2, 4, 1, 3
To observe natural selection’s effects on a population, what must be true?
One must observe more than one generation of the population
The population must contain genetic variation
During drought years on the Galapagos, small, easily eaten seeds become rare leaving only large, hard-cased seeds that only birds with large beaks can eat. If a drought persists for several years, then what should one expect to result from natural selection?
More small-beaked birds dying than larger-beaked birds. The offspring produced in subsequent
Which of the following statements is not an inference of natural selection?
Subsequent generations of a population should have greater proportions of individuals that possess traits
Which of the following is the best example of humans undergoing evolution, understood as “descent with modification?”
Reduction in the amount of amount and coarseness of body hair over millennia
If two modern organisms are distantly related in an evolutionary sense then one should expect that
They should share fewer homologous structures than two more closely related organisms
Which of the following pieces of evidence most strongly supports the common origin of all life on Earth?
All organisms use essentially the same genetic code
Ichthyosaurs were aquatic dinosaurs. Fossils show us that they had dorsal fins and tails just as fish do, even though their closest relatives were terrestrial reptiles that had neither dorsal fins not aquatic tails. The dorsal fins and tails of ichthyosaurs and fish are
Examples of convergent evolution
Adaptions to a common environment
The theory of evolution is most accurately described as
An overarching explanation, supported by much evidence, for how populations change over time
What is the most reasonable conclusion that can be drawn from the fact that the frequency of the recessive trait?
The two phenotypes are about equally adaptive under laboratory conditions
Which of the following is not a requirement for maintenance of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium?
An increasing mutation rate
In which population would it be least likely that an accident would significantly alter the frequency of the brown allele?
B
Which population is most likely to be subject to the bottleneck effect?
A
In a large, sexually reproducing population, the frequency of an allele changes from 0.6 to 0.2. From this change, one can most logically assume that, in this environment,
The allele reduces fitness
If a particular phenotypic variation lacks a genetic component, then
Natural selection cannot act upon it to make a population better adapted over the course of generations
When we say that an individual organism has a greater fitness than another individual, we specifically mean that the organism
Leaves more viable offspring than others of its species
Fossil evidence indicates that horses have gradually increased in size over geologic time
Directional selection
The average birth weight for human babies is about 3 kg. Fewer are born with lower or higher birth weights.
Stabilizing selection
A certain species of land snail exists as either a cream color or solid brown color. Intermediate individuals are relatively rare.
Disruptive selection
What is true of the trait whose frequency distribution in a large population appears above? It has probably undergone
Stabilizing selection
Male satin bowerbirds adorn structures that they build, called “bowers,” with parrot feathers, flowers, and other bizarre ornaments in order to attract females. Females inspect the bowers and, if suitably impressed, allow males to mate with them, after which they go off to nest by themselves. The evolution of this behavior is best described as due to
Sexual selection
A proficient engineer can easily design skeletal structures that are more functional than those currently found in the forelimbs of such diverse mammals as horses, whales, and bats. That the actual forelimbs of these mammals do not seem to be optimally arranged is because
Natural selection is generally limited to modifying structures that were present in previous generations and in previous species
Successfully breeding two individual organisms at a zoo and obtaining fertile offspring for several generations is no guarantee that the same could occur in nature (i.e., in the wild). Which species concept becomes difficult to confirm because of this fact?
Biological
You are confronted with a box of preserved grasshoppers of various species that are new to science and have not been described. Your assignment is to separate them into species. There is no accompanying information as to where or when they were collected. Which species concept will you have to use?
Morphological
Males of one species sing only during rainy conditions; males of another species sing only when it is not raining
Behavioral
One species lives only in tree holes; another species lives only in streams
Habitat
Females of one species choose mates based on song quality; females of another species choose mates on the basis of size
Behavioral
One species mates for two weeks in early April; another species mates for three weeks in early May
Temporal
Males of one species are too small to perform amplexus (an action that stimulates ovulation) with females of all other species
Mechanical
