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 zoology the paths traversed by life mutational theory of evolution theories of evolution other theories of evolution

De Vries theory of mutation is :

  1. Opposed to natural selection theory.

  2. Not opposed to natural selection theory.

  3. Opposed to germplasm theory

  4. Opposed to Lamrck's theory
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

According to De Vries theory of evolution,

  • Mutation or discontinuous variation is the raw material of evolution.
  • The mutation appears suddenly and produced their effect immediately.
  • Mutants are different from the parents and there is no intermediate stage between the two.
  • The same type of mutation can appear in several individuals of a species.
  • Mutation can appear in all direction and all mutations are the inheritance
  • Useful mutations are selected by nature an lethal mutations are eliminated.

So, the correct option is 'Not opposed to natural selection theory'

Multiple choice zoology the paths traversed by life mutational theory of evolution theories of evolution other theories of evolution

Mutations are considered raw materials of evolution because they :

  1. Cause death of organism

  2. Contribute to new variations

  3. Are stable

  4. Random
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation
Mutations are considered raw material to evolution, as mutations change the genetic material giving rise to  variations an accumulation of variations eventually leads to evolution.
So, the correct answer is 'Contribute to new variations'
Multiple choice zoology the paths traversed by life mutational theory of evolution theories of evolution other theories of evolution

A theory explaining the mechanism of evolution based on change of gene structure was put forward by :

  1. De Vries

  2. Darwin

  3. Lamarck

  4. Wallace
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation
  • The theory which took change of gene structure called mutation under consideration was put forward by Hugo De Vries.
  • He his work on evening primrose suggested that variations occurred due to mutations.
  • Mutations are random and directionless while the variations that Darwin talked about were small and directional. Hugo de Vries gave the name saltation (single step large mutation) to the mutations which brought about speciation.
So, the correct answer is 'De Vries'
Multiple choice zoology the paths traversed by life mutational theory of evolution theories of evolution other theories of evolution

Change in gene structure change the trait it represents. The theory about formation of new species with the help of such changes is :

  1. Theory of natural selection

  2. Mutation theory

  3. Theory of inheritance of acquired characters.

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

  • Mutations are the sudden changes that takes place in the DNA sequence of an organism causing structural changes in genes. 
  • These are the permanent changes that can be either induced or occur naturally leading to the variation in the populations. Mutations is essential for speciation since variations are the raw material for evolution.
So, the correct answer is 'Mutation theory'

Multiple choice zoology the paths traversed by life mutational theory of evolution theories of evolution other theories of evolution

Mechanism of evolution proposed by de Vries is based on :

  1. Mutations

  2. Variation

  3. Adaptation

  4. Reproduction
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Concept of mutations was put forth by Hugo de Vries who worked on evening Primose. He stated that mutation causes evolution and not the minor variations that were suggested by Darwin. Mutations are sudden, random and directionless while Darwinian variations are small and directional.

So, the correct answer is 'Mutations'

Multiple choice zoology the paths traversed by life mutational theory of evolution theories of evolution other theories of evolution

 Hugo de Vries' theory of mutation is

  1. Opposed to natural selection theory

  2. Not opposed to natural selection theory

  3. Opposed to germplasm theory

  4. Not opposed to Lamarck's theory
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

  • The theory of mutation given by Hugo de Vries suggested that evolution is fueled by the occurrence of the discontinuous process called mutation, that arises in the genetic material suddenly and are transmitted to the next generation. 
  • These mutations serve as raw material for evolution as they may provide a selective advantage to an individual. The selective advantage would allow an individual to reproduce successfully and hence, the natural selection would lead to evolution.


  • Hence, the correct answer is 'Not opposed to natural selection theory'

Multiple choice zoology the paths traversed by life mutational theory of evolution theories of evolution other theories of evolution

Ontogeny repeats Phylogeny is the statement of

  1. Recaptulation theory

  2. Biogenetic law

  3. Darwin's law

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

Recaptulation theory was modified in the light of evolution as biogentic law by a German biologists - Ernst Haeckel in 1968 AD. It states that ontogeny repeats phylogeny which means that an individual during its own development (ontogeny) passes through ancestral listor (Phylogeny).

Multiple choice zoology the paths traversed by life mutational theory of evolution theories of evolution other theories of evolution

The fountain head of evolution is 

  1. Mutations

  2. Acquired characters

  3. Natural selection

  4. Sexual reproduction
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

A transformation is an adjustment in DNA, the inherited material of life. A creature's DNA influences what it looks like, how it carries on, and its physiology. So an adjustment in a living being's DNA can cause changes in all parts of its life. Changes are basic to advancement; they are the crude material of hereditary variety.                                                                             

So, the correct option is 'Mutations'.

Multiple choice zoology the paths traversed by life mutational theory of evolution theories of evolution other theories of evolution

According to De Vries' theory, evolution is

  1. Discontinuous

  2. Jerky

  3. Continuous and smooth

  4. Both A and B
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

According to De Vries theory of evolution:

  • Mutation or discontinuous variation is the raw material of evolution.
  • The mutation appears suddenly and produced their effect immediately.
  • Mutants are different from the parents and there is no intermediate stage between the two.
  • The same type of mutation can appear in several individuals of a species.
  • Mutation can appear in all direction and all mutations are the inheritance
  • Useful mutations are selected by nature an lethal mutations are eliminated.

So, the correct option is 'Both A and B'.

Multiple choice reproduction - the generating system reproductive health of humans need of family planning reproductive health problems cell division in embryo development division for growth and reproduction reproductive health

Assertion: Natural selection is the outcome of difference in survival and reproduction among 

individuals that show variation in one or more traits.

Reason: Adaptive forms of a given trait tend to become more common; 

less adaptive ones become less common or disappear.

  1. If both the assertion and the reason are true and the reason is a correct explanation of the assertion

  2. If both the assertion and reason are true but the reason is not a correct explanation of the assertion

  3. If the assertion is true but the reason is false

  4. If both the assertion and reason are false

  5. If the assertion is false but reason is true
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The assertion correctly defines natural selection as differential survival and reproduction based on trait variation. The reason correctly explains that adaptive traits persist while less adaptive ones decline, which is the mechanism driving the process described in the assertion.

Multiple choice zoology production of food from animals animal breeding animal husbandry and its importance introduction to animal husbandry

Animal husbandry and plant breeding programmes are the examples of

  1. Reverse evolution

  2. Artificial selection

  3. Mutation

  4. Natural selection
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation
Animal husbandry and plant breeding programmes are the examples of artificial selection. The artificial selection is the modification of species by selective breeding. Animals or plants with desirable characteristics are interbred with the aim of altering the genotype and producing a new strain of the organism for a specific purpose. Traditional breeding techniques have been supplemented by more recent methods of genetic engineering, genetic testing and embryo manipulation. Sequencing of genomes of commercially important animals and plant species has enabled the inheritance of desired genes to be monitored directly by molecular methods.

So, the correct answer is 'Artificial selection'.

Multiple choice population and how it changes human population ecology and environment zoology

Smallest unit to evolve through natural selection is

  1. Cell

  2. Clade

  3. Organism

  4. Population

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

According to Darwin, evolution happens through natural selection which is a differential success in reproduction and adaptation of the organisms to their environment. The population is defined as a group of interbreeding organisms belonging to a particular species and sharing a common geographic area. Thus the smallest unit that can evolve through natural selection is the population. Thus, the correct answer is option D.

Multiple choice population and how it changes human population ecology and environment zoology

Which one of the following sequences was proposed by Darwin and Wallace for organic evolution?

  1. A) overproduction, variations,constancy of population size, natural selection

  2. B) variations, constancy of population size, over production, natural selection

  3. C) over production, constancy of population size, variations and natural selection

  4. D) variations, natural selection,over production, constancy of population size
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The sequence proposed by Darwin and Wallace for organic evolution is Overproduction, variations, constancy of population size, natural selection.First the species produces enormous number of offspring which contains variation. Then extra population is eliminated because not all the offspring can survive because of population stress. Lastly the natural selection operates for the survival of the fittest.

Multiple choice population and how it changes human population ecology and environment zoology

The smallest unit that can evolve through natural selection is

  1. Cell

  2. Clade

  3. Organism

  4. Population

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

The differential success in the reproduction of individual organisms is a natural selection that takes place due to the interactions between individual organisms and their environments. Studies however, show that individual organisms do not evolve but it is the population that evolves. Hence, the correct answer is option D.