midterm 1 quizzes

Question 1

Butterfly wing and bird wing represent a

Answer 1

convergent trait

Question 2

t/f: natural selection always results in evolution

Answer 2

false, natural selection can occur without evolution

Question 3

What best describes “adaptive radiation”?

Answer 3

process by which a single ancestral species rapidly diversifies into many different species, each adapted to a unique ecological niche

Question 4

What are the observations Darwin made to support his theory of natural selection?

Answer 4

• competition for resources
• overproduction of offspring
• variations exist within populations
• organisms suited to their environment survive at higher rates

Question 5

What fossil discovery is considered a transitional form between reptiles and birds, providing strong evidence of the evolutionary connection between these groups?

Answer 5

archaeopteryx

Question 6

Genetic drift is most likely to affect the allele frequencies in a ________ population.

Answer 6

small

Question 6

What are the assumptions of the Hardy Weinberg theorem?

Answer 6

• no gene flow from outside the population
• population is large enough that genetic drift is minor
• individuals are mating randomly

Question 7

How does stabilizing selection affect the mean and variation of a trait?

Answer 7

Mean stays the same, variation decreases

Question 8

A population of finches inhabits an island with diverse seed types. Over time, the population splits into two distinct subgroups: one with small beaks eating soft seeds, and another with large beaks eating hard seeds. This change in the population is due to which mechanism of natural selection?

Answer 8

Disruptive selection