Test bank for Evolution: Making Sense of Life Third Edition
Test Bank, Chapter 1
1. Which of the following is NOT an example of evolution?
(a) Beak size in a population of birds becomes larger from one generation to
the next because larger beaked birds had higher reproductive success
and passed the trait to their offspring
(b) Over long periods of time whales gradually lost their hindlimbs
(c) When traveling to high altitude, human physiology changes to
accommodate lower oxygen levels
(d) All of the above are examples of evolution
2. The fluke of a whale and the fluke of a shark:
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(a) are homologous traits
(b) arose through convergent evolution
(c) are the result of natural selection
(d) b and c are correct
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(e) all are correct
3. Mammary glands in whales and humans:
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(a) are a synapomorphy for these species and other mammals
(b) are homologous traits
(c) were likely present in the most recent common ancestor of humans and
whales
(d) all are correct
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(e) none are correct
4. Based on current fossil evidence:
(a) whales were likely fully aquatic before they evolved peg-like teeth or
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baleen
(b) evolution of baleen forced whales to become fully aquatic
(c) the teeth of extinct whales such as Dorudon were similar to those of
extinct land mammals
(d) a and c are correct
(e) b and c are correct
5. One important feature that links extinct organisms such as Pakicetus and
Indohyus to cetaceans is:
(a) the shape of a bone in the middle ear
(b) the presence of forelimb flippers
(c) the lack of hindlegs
(d) peg-like teeth
, Test bank for Evolution: Making Sense of Life Third Edition
6. The placement of whales within the artiodactyls is supported by:
(a) morphology of limb bones (e.g. the astragalus) in extinct whales
(b) DNA evidence
(c) the fact that some artiodactyls (e.g. hippos) spend a significant amount of
time in the water
(d) a and b are correct
(e) all of the above
7. From examining the fossil record, scientists have postulated that long-term
historic changes in cetacean diversity depended on:
(a) changes in the abundance of diatoms, one of their main food sources
(b) changes in the abundance of diatoms, which serve as food for
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animals that were preyed upon by cetaceans
(c) changes in sea temperature
(d) rising pollution levels in the ocean
(e) changes in the abundance of organisms that prey on cetaceans
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8. Which of the following would explain why viruses such as influenza evolve so
rapidly:
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(a) they have a high mutation rate
(b) they have a high replication rate
(c) they can undergo viral reassortment
(d) none of the above
(e) all of the above
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9. Which of the following statements is accurate regarding the evolution of drug
resistance in a virus:
(a) the drug causes mutations in the virus that make it resistant
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(b) even before the drug is administered, some virions might be
resistant
(c) an individual virion that is exposed to the drug will adapt by becoming
resistant; future applications of the drug will be ineffective against this
virion
(d) all of the above
10. The molecular clock used to date the emergence of the 2009 H1N1 strain
would be inaccurate if:
(a) mutations arose at different rates in different lineages
(b) the most recent common ancestor of the viral strains existed long ago
(c) the most recent common ancestor of the viral strains existed recently
(d) none of the above
, Test bank for Evolution: Making Sense of Life Third Edition
11. New mutations:
(a) are random with respect to their effects on fitness
(b) are necessary for natural selection to cause evolutionary change
(c) are rare in a population
(d) a and b are correct
(e) all are correct
12. Evolution occurs when:
(a) individuals in a population change in response to the environment
(b) the average value of trait in a population changes from one
generation to the next
(c) a and b are both correct
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(d) Neither a or b is correct
Short answer/essay.
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1. Please describe evidence three pieces of evidence found in extant cetaceans
that supports the idea that their ancestors had hindlimbs.
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1. During embryonic development hindlimb buds form, but are then
stop growing.
2. Some extant whales have a vestigial pelvis, which only makes sense
if their ancestors had hindlimbs.
3. DNA evidence shows that cetaceans are nested within the
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artiodactyls. The common ancestor of artiodactyls would have had
hindlimbs.
2. Describe how scientists used carbon isotopes to determine whether extinct
whales likely inhabited freshwater or saltwater.
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Although most oxygen atoms have eight neutrons, some oxygen isotopes
have more (e.g. 10). Seawater has more oxygen atoms with 10 neutrons
(heavy) than freshwater, and animals that live in the sea incorporate more
heavy oxygen into their bones than animals that live on land. Thus, by
measuring the ratio of light to heavy oxygen in the bones of fossil whales,
and comparing this to ratios found in extant organisms inhabiting
freshwater or seawater environments, scientists were able to determine
whether extinct whales likely lived in the sea or the land.
, Test bank for Evolution: Making Sense of Life Third Edition
3. Describe two examples from extant cetacean anatomy or development that
reflect their ancestral past.
1. Vestigial pelvis in some species.
2. Hindlimb buds form during embryonic development.
3. Baleen whales have genes for building teeth that have been disabled
by mutation.
4. The influenza virus has only 10 genes, which is far fewer than other non-viral
organisms. Why do you think viruses are able to survive and replicate with so
few genes compared to other organisms?
Viruses are parasitic, relying on much of the replication machinery of their
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host to reproduce. Given this, their genetic code is much smaller and
contains fewer genes than other organisms.
5. When scientists infected vaccinated and non-vaccinated mice with influenza,
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they found that after nine sequences of viral passage the hemagglutinin protein
was altered in one of the groups. Which group was it, and what is the
evolutionary explanation for the differences between the groups?
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The protein was altered in the vaccinated mice. Mice that were vaccinated
against influenza produced antibodies that recognized the hemagglutinin
protein and enabled a swift immune response against infection. Under
these circumstances, a virion that had a mutation altering the structure of
the hemagglutinin protein might be able to evade detection by the immune
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system. Such virions would have a higher replication rate than those
without the mutation. After several passages, the mutation would be at
high frequency in the viral population. In non-vaccinated mice, selection
pressure on the hemagglutinin protein was absent or reduced because
newly infected mice did not have antibodies against the protein. Although
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there were likely virions in the viral population that had mutations in the
hemagglutinin gene, these mutants would not have had a reproductive
advantage, and hence would not have increased in frequency in the
population.
6. Given what you learned about how influenza changes over time, how could
you explain the emergence of drug resistance in bacterial pathogens. For
example, certain strains of tuberculosis are resistant to many of the major
classes of antibiotics traditionally used to fight this pathogen.
There is variation in the bacterial population, with some strains carrying
mutations that make them resistant or partially resistant to antibiotics
(while other strains do not). In the presence of antibiotics susceptible
strains will die before they reproduce while resistant strains will survive. If
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