Biology · Science General

Evolution and Biological Adaptation

1,288 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

Analogus organs have

  1. common embryonic origin, but perform different functions

  2. different embryonic origin and perform different functions

  3. common embryonic origin and perform similar functions

  4. different embryonic origin, but perform similar functions

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

Correct Answer: different embryonic origin, but perform similar functions

Multiple choice

The development of sterility in mules is because of

  1. postmating isolating mechanism

  2. premating isolating mechanism

  3. natural selection

  4. None of these
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

 The development of sterility in mules is because of postmating isolating mechanism. 

Multiple choice

The features organisms adopt to survive well in a specific environment are called

  1. Acclimatization

  2. Adaptations

  3. Sensitivity

  4. Stimuli
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The features organisms adopt to survive well in a specific environment are called Adaptations. An adaptation in biology is a trait with a current functional role in the life history of an organism that is maintained and evolved by means of natural selection. An adaptation refers to both the current state of being adapted and to the dynamic evolutionary process that leads to the adaptation. Adaptations contribute to the fitness and survival of individuals. 

Multiple choice

Which of these is an example of analogous organs?

  1. Forelimbs of whales, bats, cheetahs and humans

  2. Thorns and tendrils of bougainvillea and cucurbita

  3. Eyes of octopi and mammals

  4. Mouth parts of a honey bee and a mosquito

  5. Vertebrae of giraffes, whales and human beings
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The eyes of octopi and mammals are examples of analogous organs. They show superficial resemblance and perform similar functions but have different internal structures.

Multiple choice

Darwin's theory of natural selection involves:

  1. survival of the fittest

  2. competition

  3. over reproduction

  4. all of these
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Darwin's theory of natural selection encompasses the concepts of competition, over-reproduction, and the survival of the fittest as mechanisms for evolution.

Multiple choice

Which among the following traits is a result of natural selection?

  1. Eye color

  2. Widow's peak

  3. Hitchhiker's thumb

  4. Tongue rolling

  5. Skin color
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
E Correct answer
Explanation

Human skin color ranges in variety from the darkest brown to the lightest pinkish-white hues. Human skin pigmentation is the result of natural selection. Skin pigmentation in human beings evolved primarily to regulate the amount of ultraviolet radiation penetrating the skin, controlling its biochemical effects.

Multiple choice

Species is

  1. Specific unit of evolution

  2. Specific unit in the evolutionary history of a race

  3. Specific class of evolution

  4. Not related to evolution
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

A single evolutionary lineage of organisms within which genes can be shared, and that maintains its integrity with respect to other lineages through both time and space. At some point in the evolution of such a group, some members may diverge from the main population and evolve into a subspecies, a process that may eventually lead to the formation of a new species if isolation (geographical or ecological) is maintained. The process through which species are formed by evolution is called speciation.

Multiple choice

Which of the following is the modern theory of evolution?

  1. Theory of catastrophism

  2. Theory of chemical evolution of life

  3. Theory of panspermia

  4. Theory of special creation
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Theory of chemical evolution of life is the modern view on origin of life by a series of chemical reactions.

Multiple choice

The set of homologous organs amongst the following is

  1. Wings of insect and wings of bat

  2. Eyes of man and eyes of squid

  3. Gills of fish and lungs of man

  4. Tendril in cucurbit and thorn in citrus
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Tendril in cucurbit and thorn in citrus are homologus and have the same origin but different functions.

Multiple choice

Theory of panspermia explains that

  1. Life originated from pre-existing life

  2. God created life on earth

  3. Life originated spontaneously from non-living things

  4. Life spores arrived on the earth from some other planets
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Theory of panspermia explains that life spores arrived on the earth from some other planets.