Biology 2107                                                                                                             Fall,  2023

 

Quiz #1

 

Name: __________________________                               ID#:  _____________________

 

 

Please circle the letters that precede the most appropriate answer(s) to the question asked.  Each correct answer is worth 2pts. Be aware that, unless stated otherwise, a few of the questions MAY have more than one answer.  Consequently, when you circle more than one letter in any answer to any given question, an incorrectly circled letter will count against you.  

 

 

Be careful, some answers may be “true”, but are not relevant to the question being asked.

 

 

1.   Some of the more overt characteristics of living organisms include:                               ONLY ONE ANSWER

 

A.      living organisms’ survival is energy neutral, because it cannot be created or destroyed

B.      living organisms exist on other planets 

C.     living organisms exist -subject to the laws of physics 

D.     living organisms require the expenditure of energy to survive.

E.      C & D 

F.      anaerobic living organisms need oxygen to survive.

 

2.       The term Directional Selectionrefers to:                                                                   ONLY ONE ANSWER

 

A.         a signal that causes organisms to change direction

B.         a guidance system for evolving individuals

C.         the skewing of the distribution of a given phenotype of a population in one direction 

D.         the skewing of the distribution of an individual organisms phenotype in one direction

E.         Both C & D 

F.         a specific option that always leads to speciation

 

 

 

3.       From your understanding of the lecture material thus far, which of the following statements would you agree with? 4pts 

 

A.         Science is a religion, just by another name

B.         Science inevitably conflicts with religious beliefs

C.         Science brings some religious dogmas such as a “god of the gaps” into question

D.         Evolution provides some insight(s) into how living organisms (including humans) function  e

E.         Science will eventually replace religious beliefs

F.         Evolution suggests that there really is no God

G.        Science is only pertinent to the “here” and the “now”.


 

 

              

 

4.       Based on our discussions in the lectures, which of the following statements is/are correct

 

A.         Observation and the ability to test those observations form the corner stone of scientific method in Biology 

B.         “Science” is the study of Life

C.         A scientific hypothesis is entirely rooted in an ultimate “truth”.

D.         There is no such thing as a fact, just a “current understanding”.

E.         Theories, by definition, are infallible.

F.         Hypotheses, by definition, are wrong.

 

 

5.       Darwins first great publication the Origin of Specieswas written as a consequence of his travels on which ship:

 

A.         the Dawn Treader

B.         the Victory

C.         the Titanic

D.         the Beagle

E.         the Bounty

F.         the Santa Maria

 

In what year did he write the book?   ________  1 Bonus point

 

6.       The process of speciation in the absence of any physical barrier is referred to as   

 

A.         sympatric

B.         perisympathetic

C.         allopatric

D.         hybridization

E.         pluripatric

F.         differentiated

 

7.       Please select the best combination of terms to complete the following statement.   4pts 

     “Two populations of moths may be diverging because one primarily mates in mid-Spring, while the other primarily mates in late Summer.  This would be an example of ____________ , that is a ____________ mechanism of isolation 

 

A.         Reproductive isolation,                    postzygotic

B.         Gametic mortality,                          prezygotic 

C.         Temporal isolation,                          postzygotic 

D.         Behavioural isolation,                      postzygotic 

E.         Temporal isolation,                          prezygotic 

F.         Gametic isolation,                            prezygotic

 

8.       The height of doors in olde houses in England suggest that people back in the 1600s were relatively small.  The overt change in the average height of people in the British isles -even since the 17th century- can potentially be understood to be due to

 

A.         astabilizing selectivechange

B.         all the tall people up and leaving for the Americas

C.         a “directional selective” change

D.         aredistributive selectivechange

E.         adisruptive selectivechange

F.         BREXIT

G.        bad posture

 

 

9.       From our discussions in lecture and viewing of the movie on whales, which of the following statement(s) were mentioned in one of the movies?   6pts 

 

A.         Whales can breath under water. 

B.         Whales and their ancestors have always had an attached knee joint.

C.     Basilosaurus lived full time in the water.

D.     The Sahara desert was once below sea level.

E.      Whales have an unusually small eye socket.

F.      Whales swim like Doberman pinschers (dogs) run.

G.     Whales evolved from wolves.

 

 

10.    Which of the following statements do(es) not belong in the Scientific Methoddiscussed in lectures?  4pts 

 

A.         Making an observation.

B.         Circular logic.

C.         Deductive reasoning.

D.         Retesting an hypothesis.

E.         Making a prediction based simply on observation.

F.         Retesting already proven Theories.

G.        Falsifying data.

 

 

11.    “Genetic drift” can be understood to mean:

 

A.         the random wanderings of a person named Genetic

B.         the random flow of genetic information from one species to the next.

C.         the flow of genetic information from one population to the next -over time.

D.         the ramblings of the average Genetics Professor

E.         the random change in allele frequency within a population -over time

 

 

12.    A genotype can be defined as:                                                                                   ONLY ONE ANSWER

 

A.         the most essential aspect in the definition of a species

B.         a complete set of the genes that make up an individual 

C.         the apparent physical consequences of a series of allelic interactions 

D.         a typical occurrence within a popoulation

E.         a molecular change in phenotype.

F.         the average allelic type” within a population

 

 

13.    From the information given in the lectures, the Galapagos islands were a potential haven for Darwin to appreciate the subtleties of his theory, because: 

 

A.         the islands are west of Ecuador, and are, therefore, within the warm waters off the coast of South America.

B.         the islands provided sufficient isolation for small populations of finches etc. to interact rarely with their mainland relatives.

C.         the islands were sparse but provided a more than suitable environment for the finches to live well.  Consequently exaggerating the environmental impact of natural selection.

D.         the islands were lush and provided more than an ample environment for the finch populations to swell, and thus diversify.

E.         life was thought to have begun on these islands.

F.         England was just too darn cold and wet for Darwin to be able to do any proper field studies

 

 

 

14.    The scientific name of the  chestnut-sided warbler is Dendroica pennsylvanica.  Another bird is named Dendroica petechiae, which belongs to the same ______________  4pts

 

A.         Population

B.         Genus

C.         Class

D.         Sub-species

E.         Species

F.         All of the above

G.        Only A and B above

 

 

15.    The Founder effect” is thought to give rise to:

 

A.         a significant increase in the survival potential of a population, following a catastrophe

B.         the catastrophic effects of alcoholism on human populations.

C.         a significant increase in the allelic content of a population, following a catastrophe

D.         a significant decrease in the number of alleles within a population due to fewer individuals starting off a population with a dramatically diminished gene pool.

E.         an increase in the number of individuals in a population that will be more genetically more capable to withstand the next catastrophe.

F.         a significant increase in the allelic frequency within a population due to few individuals starting off a population with a dramatically enhanced gene pool.

G.        A dramatic increase in the number of alleles within a population, following a major, beneficial migration event.

 

16.  Piltdown man, or Eoanthropus dawsoni, was:

 

A.     the last remnant of an evolutionarily extinct hominoid species

B.      a Hoax or fraud

C.     the missing-link between “Lucy” and “Homo erectus

D.     an anomalous offshoot of the sub-species, “Homo sapiens”, which did not survive.

E.      conclusive proof -demonstrating the evolutionary link between Man and ape.

F.      the last remaining off-spring of a native tribe in Europe that, in 1912, had not previously been identified in fossil records.