Biology · Science General

Evolution and Biological Adaptation

1,354 Questions

Evolution and biological adaptation focus on natural selection, speciation events, and how organisms adjust to environmental changes over time. These foundational biology concepts appear frequently in general science sections of civil services and school board examinations. Use these questions to study evolutionary theories, ancestral traits, and the fossil record.

Natural selection mechanismsSpeciation event examplesBiological adaptation traitsPanspermia hypothesis conceptsFossil record analysisMate selection theories

Evolution and Biological Adaptation Questions

Multiple choice
Directions: For the following question, choose the option that fills up the blank most correctly.
If the organism was such a ________ product of heredity and environment, how could one even begin to distinguish between an individual's observable traits and his basic inheritance?

  1. unblended

  2. mere

  3. cryptic

  4. complicated
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The latter part of the sentence 'distinguish between an individual's observable traits and his basic inheritance' - gives the clue for the blank. As we can see from our common sense that to distinguish between these two traits would be a complicated study, hence (4) is the answer.

Multiple choice

According to evolutionists, the pattern of changes seen in DNA over the ages indicate the possibility that every being alive today might be descended from a single-celled organism that appeared in the primordial seas sometime between 1,000,000 and 1,500,000 years ago.

  1. indicate the possibility that every being alive today might be descended from a single-celled organism that

  2. indicate that every being alive today might possibly be a descendant of a single-celled organism that had

  3. may indicate that every being alive today has descended from a single-celled organism that had

  4. indicates that every being alive today may be a descendant of a single-celled organism that

  5. indicates that every being alive today might be a descendant from a single-celled organism that
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The question tests your knowledge of subject-verb agreement. ‘pattern of changes’ is singular and not plural, hence it requires ‘indicates’ and not ‘indicate’. So options (1), (2) and (3) are ruled out. Between (4) and (5), proper usage is 'descendent of' and not 'descended from'. Hence (4).

Multiple choice

What is the correct sequence in order of chronology? A. Mendel's law of inheritance B. Darwin's theory of evolution C. Blood circulation by Harvey D. De Vries' theory of mutation

  1. A, B, C, D

  2. B, D, A, C

  3. C, B, A, D

  4. D, B, C, A
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The chronological order is: William Harvey (Blood circulation, 1628), Charles Darwin (Theory of evolution, 1859), Gregor Mendel (Laws of inheritance, 1866), and Hugo de Vries (Mutation theory, 1901). Thus, the sequence is C, B, A, D.

Multiple choice

Which of the following theories was not proposed by Charles Darwin?

  1. Natural selection

  2. Survival of the fittest

  3. Struggle for existence

  4. Inheritance of acquired character
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The theory of inheritance of acquired characters is associated with Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, not Charles Darwin. Darwin proposed natural selection, survival of the fittest, and the struggle for existence.

Multiple choice

Directions: Choose the best option to fill in the blank.

If the organism was such a ________ product of heredity and environment, how could one even begin to distinguish between an individual's observable traits and his basic inheritance?

  1. unblended

  2. mere

  3. cryptic

  4. complicated

  5. equivocal
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The latter part of the sentence “distinguish between an individual's observable traits and his basic inheritance” gives the clue for the blank. As we can see from our common sense that to distinguish between these two traits would be a complicated study, so (4) is the answer.

Multiple choice

Directions: The following question consist of a set of four statements. One or more of the statements may have an error of grammar or syntax. Select the statement(s) having the error.

A. Naturalists continually refer to external conditions, such as climate, food etc., as the only possible causes of variation. B. Nevertheless, such a conclusion, even if well founded, would be unsatisfactory, until it could be shown how the innumerable species, have to acquire that perfection of structure and coadaptation. C. It is quite conceivable that a naturalist might come to the conclusion that species have not been independently created, but had descended from other species. D. Yet it is preposterous to attribute to mere external conditions, the structure of several species.

  1. Only A

  2. Only C

  3. A, B and C

  4. All of these

  5. None of these
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

'External conditions' in A are a possible 'cause', not 'causes'. 'That' in B is redundant. 'Have' and 'had' in C are out of sync.

Multiple choice

Which of these gives the correct order of divergence from the main line of descent leading to humans?

  1. Prosimians, monkeys, gibbons, orangutans, African apes, humans

  2. Gibbons, orangutans, prosimians, monkeys, African apes, humans.

  3. Monkeys, gibbons, prosimians, African apes, orangutans, humans

  4. African apes, gibbons, monkeys, orangutans, humans
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Gibbons, orangutans, prosimians, monkeys, African apes, humans is the the correct order of divergence from the main line of descent leading to humans.

Multiple choice

Which of the following statements are FALSE?

P. Paralogs are genes in different species that are diverged from a common ancestral sequence, as a result of the speciation. Q. PSI-BLAST builds profiles and performs data base searches in an iterative fashion. R. A domain may or may not include motifs within its boundaries. S. Motifs and domains are evolutionarily less conserved than other regions of a protein and tend to evolve as units.

  1. Only P and Q

  2. Only P and R

  3. Only P and S

  4. Only Q and R

  5. Only Q and S
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Yes, this is the correct answer.  Mutations in the upstream or downstream regions can cause differential regulation without actually changing the function of the gene. Such homolog genes in one genome are called paralogs. Orthologs are genes in different species that diverge from a common ancestral sequence as a result of the speciation. Motifs and domains are evolutionarily more conserved than other regions of a protein and tend to evolve as units, which are gained, lost, or shuffled as one module.