Think you’ve got your head wrapped around Evidence of Evolution? Put your knowledge to
the test. Good luck — the Stickman is counting on you!
Q. Inheritance of acquired characteristics and natural selection are both
Ideas of Charles Darwin
Explanations for why some species are extinct
Gradual processes that shape the geologic features of the earth
Proposed mechanisms of evolution
Arguments made by proponents of Intelligent Design
Q. Geology provides evidence for evolution in all of the following ways:
It shows that gradual processes can yield major changes over long periods of time
It establishes the great antiquity of the earth
It shows that the same processes at work today were at work in the past
A and C
A, B, and C
Q. The Principle of Faunal Succession established that the same animals tend to show up in the same order in the fossil record. This discovery was important because
It helped to dispel catastrophism
It helped scientists to correlate stratigraphic layers from different sites based on the types of fossils present
It revealed homologous structures between different kinds of organisms
It led to the conclusion that all animals share a single common ancestor
All of the above
Q. Biogeography is
The study of transitional forms in the fossil record
The study of layers of rock and sediment
The study of the distribution of organisms on earth
The study of early evolutionary thinkers
The study of how continents move
Q. Which of the following statements is true about homologous structures?
They evolved from a shared ancestor
They always serve the same function
They always serve different functions
They evolved independently multiple times
It is impossible to tell if structures are homologous
Q. How are rudiments and vestigial structures alike?
Both provide evidence of shared ancestry
Both are present only in embryonic stages of development
Both serve no apparent purpose in modern species, but may have been important ancestral features
A and C
A, B, and C
Q. Genetic sequence data shows that two alien species (let's call them A and B) share 94% of their DNA with each other, and a third alien species (C) shares only 75% of its DNA sequences with the first two. From this information, you conclude:
Species A and B have a common ancestor, but neither has a common ancestor with species C
Species C evolved more recently than species A and B
Species A and B share a more recent common ancestor with each other than either shares with C
Species C is more closely related to species B than it is to species A
Genetic sequence data are useless for telling us anything about evolution
Q. The phrase "ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny" is incorrect because
It implies that during development, a species literally repeats its evolutionary history
It implies we do not share an ancestor with fish
It does not account for homologous structures
It falsely attributes homologous structures to convergent evolution
All of the above
Q. Which of the following are analogous structures?
The tibia (lower leg bone) of a tortoise and a monkey
The spines of a cactus and the "jaws" of a Venus fly trap
The phalanges (finger bones) of bats and humans
The humerus (upper arm bone) of a bat and a bird
Wings in birds and bats
Q. Proponents of intelligent design believe that
A supernatural being can interfere with natural events
Some structures are irreducibly complex
Intelligent design is a scientific alternative to evolution
A and B only
A, B, and C