Tag: darwin's theory of evolution

Questions Related to darwin's theory of evolution

Which is not a concept of Lamarckism ?

  1. Rate and survival of organisms are different due to variations

  2. Environmental pressure produces variations

  3. An organ in constant use will grow in size

  4. Inheritance of acquired characters


Correct Option: A

Which is not Lamarckian concept?

  1. Environmental pressure causes variations.

  2. Rate of survival of organisms is different due to variations.

  3. Inheritance of acquired characters.

  4. If an organ is used constantly, it will continuously increase its size.


Correct Option: B
Explanation:

According to the Lamarckian concept :

  • According to the theory of inheritance, the characters acquired in a lifetime are transferred to the next generation.
  • According to this theory of use and disuse, the organs used most develops most and organs which are left idle reduces in size and function.
  • Lamarckism did not put variations under consideration being responsible for the rate of survival of organisms.
So, the correct option is 'Rate of survival of organisms is different due to variations'.

Who was the first to discard the idea of fixity of species?

  1. Darwin

  2. Lamarck

  3. Robert Hooke

  4. Willian Harvey

  5. Stanley Cohen


Correct Option: B
Explanation:
Fixity of species is a term which means all species remained unchanged throughout the history of the earth. It was discarded by Lamarck. According to his theory of inheritance of characters, the characters acquired in life time are transferred to the next generation and do not remain fixed.
So, the correct answer is 'Lamarck'

Match the columns and choose the right option:

   LIST I   LIST II 
 A  Thomas Malthus  1  Branching descent
 B  Hugo Vries  2  Studies on populations
 C  Charles Darwin  3  Use and disuse theory
 D  Lamarck  4  Saltation
  1. A - 4, B - 1, C - 2, D - 3

  2. A - 3, B - 2, C - 1, D - 4

  3. A - 4, B - 3, C - 1, D - 2

  4. A - 2, B - 4, C - 1, D - 3


Correct Option: D
Explanation:
  1. Thomas Malthus stated through his studies on population that human populations grow exponentially while food production grows at an arithmetic rate. This scenario predicted a future when humans would have no resources to survive on. 
    2. Hugo de Vries regarded single, large step mutations called saltation as the reason for evolution.
    3. Darwin regarded natural selection and branching descent as the key concepts of the theory of evolution. Branching descent may be defined as the process by which new species originate from a single common descendant.
    4. Lamarck proposed the theory of use and disuse of Organs which state that if an organ is constantly used, it would be better developed whereas disuse of organ results in its degeneration.
    So, the correct answer is 'A - 2, B - 4, C - 1, D - 3'


The use and disuse principle of evolution was proposed by

  1. Charles Darwin

  2. Jean Baptiste de Lamarck

  3. August Weismann

  4. Hugo de Vries


Correct Option: B
Explanation:

Charles Darwin proposed the principle of natural selection , August Weismann proposed the theory of  continuity of germ plasm , Hugo de Vries proposed mutation theory of evolution , and Jean Baptiste de Lamarck proposed the use and disuse theory of evolution .

Choose the correct answers from the alternatives given.
Which of the following was most likely a proponent of the hypothesis of acquired traits

  1. Charles Darwin

  2. Jean Baptiste Lamarck

  3. August Weismann

  4. H. W. Bates


Correct Option: B
Explanation:

Lamarck is best known for his "Theory of Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics", first presented in 1801. If an organism changes during life in order to adapt to its environment, those changes are passed on to its offspring.

So correct answer is B, Jean Baptiste Lamarck.

According to Lamarckism, long necked giraffes evolved because

  1. Nature selected only long necked ones

  2. Humans preferred only long necked ones

  3. Short necks suddenly changed into long necks

  4. Of stretching of necks over many generations by short necked ones


Correct Option: D
Explanation:

According to Lamarckism, the ancestors of giraffe had small neck and forelimbs and were like horses. They were residing in places with no surface vegetation, therefore, they had to stretch their neck and forelimbs to take the leaves for food. This led to slight elongation of these parts. Whatever they acquired in one generation was transmitted to the next generation with the result that a race of long necked and long forelimbed giraffes were developed. So, the correct answer is 'Of stretching of necks over many generations by short necked ones'.

Write in one sentence the main idea in Lamarck's theory about evolution.

  1.  Inheritance of acquired characteristics

  2.  Inheritance of phenotypic characteristics

  3. Survival of fittest

  4. None of the above


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

Lamarck is best known for his theory of Inheritance of acquired characteristics, which states that if an organism changes during life in order to adapt to its environment, those changes are passed on to its offspring. It said that change is made by what the organisms wants or needs. He used it to explain the long necks of giraffes, long trunks of elephants and vestigeality of the appendix. 

So, the correct option is 'Inheritance of acquired characteristics'.

The term for Lamarck's theory is

  1. Soft inheritance

  2. Speciation

  3. Natural selection

  4. None of the above


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

Lamarck's second law, the theory of inheritance of acquired characters, also called as soft inheritance states that modifications which the organism acquires in adaptation to the environments which it meets during its lifetime are automatically handed down to its descendants, and so become part of heredity. 

So, the correct option is 'Soft inheritance'.

Who out of the following, had the strong opinion that acquired characteristics are inherited?

  1. Lamarck

  2. Lysenko

  3. Mendel

  4. Huxley


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

Lamarck suggested "Inheritance of Acquired Characters" and was of the opinion that the characters that an organisms acquires during his lifetime are passed on to the next generation. However, he failed to understand the distinction between inherited and non-inherited characters.