Natural Selection Quiz Review

Charles Darwin’s observation that finches of different species on the Galápagos Islands have many similar physical characteristics supports the hypothesis that these finches _______________________________

• have the ability to interbreed

• all eat the same type of food

• acquired traits through use and disuse

• descended from a common ancestor

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The graphs below show the changes in crab color at one beach.

Which of the following is most likely to have caused the change in the distribution?

• A new predator arrived that preferred dark-tan crabs.

• A new predator arrived that preferred light-tan crabs.

• A change in beach color made medium-tan crabs the least visible to predators.

• A change in beach color made medium-tan crabs the most visible to predators.

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Natural selection is also known as survival of the ____________.

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What is the most likely explanation of the data shown below?

• There has been a drought in the area that is affecting all life forms.

• The population of natural predators of the moths has gotten smaller.

• The moths are living in an environment with light trees.

• The moths are living in an environment with dark trees.

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Why is the mouse population changing over time?

• The light mice can reproduce more successfully than the dark mice.

• The hawks prey on the dark mice more than light mice because the dark mice taste better.

• The hawks prey on the light mice more than dark mice because the dark mice are able to camouflage better.

• The hawks prey on the dark mice more than light mice because the dark mice are able to camouflage better.

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Match each of the following vocabulary terms with the correct definition.

• Natural Selection

• Change in populations over time; Process by which modern organisms have descended from common ancestors

• Fitness

• How well an organism can survive and reproduce in its environment

• Adaptation

• Heritable differences in a trait within a population

• Evolution

• Process by which organisms that are most suited to their environment survive and reproduce most successfully

• Variation

• Heritable characteristic / trait that increases an organism's ability to survive and reproduce in its environment

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In artificial selection, nature provides the inherited variations, and ​ (a)   select those variants they find useful; In natural selection, ​ (b)   selects individuals with adaptations that are well suited to their environment (have high fitness).

• humans
• nature (the environment)

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These moths are all the same species. The differences in their wing color / pattern is an example of ________________

• Natural Selection
• Variation
• Homeostasis
• Extinction

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Which best describes the role of mutations in natural selection?

• Mutations help an organism to better survive in their environment

• An organism may acquire a helpful mutation by interacting with the environment

• A mutation may result in a beneficial trait that makes an organism more likely to survive and reproduce

• Organisms with certain traits are more likely to win competitions for mutations

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A bird that can easily outcompete other birds for food and that can produce many eggs has a high _______.

• life expectancy
• mutation rate
• fitness
• adaptability

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