Natural Selection Roberson Updated 1/2025

Multiple Choice

What term did Darwin use to describe evolution?

• Survival of the fittest

• Descent with modification

• Natural progression

• Genetic drift

Multiple Choice

What are adaptations according to the theory of evolution?

• Random mutations

• Heritable characteristics that help an organism survive and reproduce

• Temporary changes in behavior

• Non-heritable traits

Multiple Choice

In natural selection, what happens to heritable traits that help organisms survive and reproduce?

• They become less common

• They remain unchanged

• They become more common

• They disappear

Multiple Choice

What is natural selection?

• A process where individuals best suited to their environment survive and reproduce.

• A method of artificial breeding by humans.

• A random change in the genetic makeup of a population.

• A process where all individuals have an equal chance of survival.

Multiple Choice

What happens to the genes of organisms that produce more offspring in natural selection?

• Their genes become less prevalent in the population.

• Their genes become more prevalent in the population.

• Their genes remain unchanged in the population.

• Their genes are eliminated from the population.

Multiple Choice

What is one source of genetic variation?

• Photosynthesis

• Genetic recombination

• Cellular respiration

• Protein synthesis

Multiple Choice

Why must offspring compete with one another in their environment?

• There are limited resources available

• To ensure all offspring survive

• Resources needed to survive are limited

• To avoid overpopulation

Multiple Choice

What are adaptations?

• Traits that help an organism survive in its environment

• The process by which a species becomes extinct

• Random changes in an organism's DNA

• Traits that decrease an organism's survival

Multiple Choice

What does FITNESS measure in a species?

• The ability to respond to the pressure of natural selection

• The speed at which an organism can run

• The size of an organism

• The color of an organism's fur

Multiple Choice

Which organisms leave the most offspring?

• Those with lower fitness

• Those with higher fitness

• Those with no adaptations

• Those with random traits

Multiple Choice

What leads to higher fitness in organisms?

• Random mutations

• Traits suited to the environment

• Increased size

• Faster movement

Multiple Select

What is meant by "descent with modification?"

• change in allele frequencies over time

• speciation

• mutation

• artificial selection

Multiple Choice

What does the change in allele frequencies over time lead to?

• Formation of new species

• Extinction of species

• Increase in population size

• Decrease in genetic diversity

Multiple Choice

What happens when individuals join a population?

• They remove alleles

• They introduce new alleles

• They cause genetic drift

• They cause mutation

Multiple Choice

What is genetic drift?

• A random change in allele frequency

• A deliberate change in allele frequency

• A consistent increase in allele frequency

• A decrease in allele frequency due to natural selection

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is a result of genetic drift in small populations?

• Individuals with a particular allele always leave fewer descendants

• Individuals with a particular allele may leave more descendants just by chance

• All alleles become equally common

• Allele frequencies remain constant

Multiple Choice

What is a consequence of the bottleneck effect?

• Increased genetic diversity

• Reduced genetic diversity

• Stable genetic diversity

• Unchanged allele frequencies

Multiple Choice

What happens to allele frequencies in a newly colonized area due to the Founder Effect?

• They remain the same as the original population

• They become more diverse than the original population

• They differ from those of the original population

• They become identical to the original population

Multiple Choice

What results from genetic recombination during meiosis?

• New species

• New combinations of genes

• Increased mutation rates

• Decreased genetic diversity

Multiple Choice

What can cause gene pools to change and become more genetically different over time?

• Constant environmental conditions

• Continuous gene flow between populations

• Isolated populations facing different environmental pressures

• Lack of environmental pressures