Evidence of Evolution

Pictured below are different wild cats from the family Felidae, found in Africa, Europe, Asia and the Americas. They have adapted to a variety of habitats like forests, deserts, wetlands and mountains. Which statement below best explains how evolution by natural selection influenced the variation demonstrated by the cat family - Felidae?

• Different traits evolved in each species in order to adapt to the environment where they live.

• Members of Felidae do not share common ancestors so each species has their own unique traits.

• Cats have largely been unaffected by evolution because they are bred and influenced by humans.

• Different adaptations observed in Felidae are not significant enough to be influenced by natural selection.

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Anthropologists recently discovered skull fragments from a previously unknown primate. The mandible (jaw bone) of the skull is shown below along with mandibles of other known primates. Why would scientists use the fossil records to help them determine the species of the unknown primate?

• To compare the evolution of its relatives.

• To see if the fossil has the same mass as a jaw of other primates.

• To determine if the fossil has the same number of teeth as a modern primate.

• To identify evolutionary relationships between the unknown and known fossils.

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If modern organisms have a lot of homologous structures, what inference might paleontologists make about those organisms?

• They are reptiles

• The organisms have a common ancestor

• One organism evolved from the other.

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How do fossils provide evidence that evolution has happened on Earth?

• Fossils show how the sizes of certain animals has changed drastically over millions of years

• Fossils show how life forms present today are different than those from the past

• Fossils show that some species have gone extinct

• Different sedimentary rock layers provide evidence for how the environment has changed over time

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Over a long period of time the food supply for several birds on an isolated island has changed.

The original supply of insects, small tender seeds, and vegetation has shrunk while the supply

of tough, large, hard seeds has remained unchanged. Which statement below describes the

species that was most likely successful after the change in their environment?

• A species with small beaks.

• A species who lays many eggs.

• A species with high genetic variation.

• A species that has not evolved before.

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How can the survival of the cavefish population be explained?

• Cavefish population has survived in caves without eyes because it is an adaptation to the

  environment.

• A cavefish produced offspring after having lost its eyes in an injury and changed the

  population overtime.

• The surface was too bright and predators were catching them, so they adapted to be

  transparent in color.

• Cavefish were too far away from sunlight, causing problems in their development and

  changing their appearance.

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Which of the following statements best explains why genetic variation is important to the survival of a population?

• Genetic variation decreases gene flow in the population.

• Genetic variation decrease the likelihood of genetic mutation.

• Genetic variation increases the size of animals so that more offspring will be produced.

• Genetic variation increases the likelihood of an allele being present that is best suited for

  the environment.

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What steps would a scientist mostly likely take following this debate to determine a scientific conclusion?

• Compare the dinosaur fossil to dinosaur bones discovered by other scientists at a museum.

• Share their findings in order to compare them with accepted findings from the scientific community

• Reading a paper published by a professor at a university and base all further decisions on the evidence found in that paper

• Pick an expert on fossils from the scientific community to conduct a study and decide which scientist came up with the best hypothesis about the fossil.

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What is a structure that is similar across species?

• vestigial

• adaptation

• homologous

• variation

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Which is not evidence for evolution?

• many animals have homologous structures due to common ancestry

• We can observe changes in life forms by observing the fossil record

• Many animals have vestigial structures from an ancestor

• All of these are evidence for evolution

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