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CLEP Biology: Principles Of Evolution

Subjects : clep, science, biology
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. A ___________ can be defined as one or more populations of interbreeding organisms that are reproductively isolated in nature from all other organisms.






2. ___________ speciation happens when members of a population develop some genetic difference that prevents them from reproducing with the parent type.






3. For humans - the complete classification is: Kingdom (Animalia); Phylum (__________); Class (Mammalia); Order (Primates); Family (Hominidae); Genus (Homo); Species (Sapiens).






4. Primates evolved about approximately 30 million years ago in ___________. One branch of primates evolved into the Old and New World Monkeys - the other into the hominoids (the line of descent common to both apes and man).






5. There are at least ___________ of animals. Humans are members of the phylum Chordata.






6. Homology has to be distinguished from ___________; for instance - the wings of insects and the wings of birds are analogous but not homologous.






7. Heritable variations are called _____________ variations. Such variations arising from changes in DNA are passed on within families and to the offspring from the parents.






8. A Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium provides a ___________ by which to judge whether evolution has occurred.






9. Darwin reported that all organisms tend to _____________ in a geometric ratio provided there are no environmental checks. Even slow breeding animals like the elephant may theoretically give rise to 19 million descendants in a period of 750 years.






10. The Regional ___________ Hypothesis suggests that regional populations of H. erectus evolved into H. sapiens through interbreeding between the various populations.






11. Such a dual level designation is referred to as a _________ nomenclature.






12. Differential reproduction allows one species to gradually evolve into a new species. This is the process of ____________.






13. The highest category in the Linnaean system of classification is the __________. At this level - organisms are distinguished on the basis of cellular organization and methods of nutrition.






14. As populations diverge - they form similar but related species. When are two populations new species? When populations no longer _____________ they are thought to be separate species.






15. ______________ struggle is the struggle of organisms against the physical environment.






16. Homology is also seen in the structure of eye - brain - joint appendages of arthropods - etc. It is thus evidence for ____________.






17. The study of ____________ ____________ supports the claim of a common origin of organisms.






18. __________ are the remains of organisms that lived in the past.






19. An important step toward the modern theory of evolution came in the 1760's - when Count George-Louis Leclerc de Buffon (1707-1788) published his Natural History of Animals with the idea that species __________ over time.






20. Homo erectus was the first hominid to use ___________ - and have social structures for food gathering.






21. Scientific classification sorts living organisms by _________ levels of classification - kingdom; phylum; class; order; family; genus; and species.






22. Because organisms are continually tested by their changing ______________ - their forms change to suit new conditions.






23. _____________ struggle takes place between the individuals of different species.






24. Members of the phylum _____________ have soft - unsegmented bodies that are usually - but not always - enclosed in hard shells.






25. The mutation may be harmful (resulting in a reduced probability of survival for the organism involved) - ____________ (it might also do its intended job better) or merely neutral (no effect at all).






26. The early stages of development of the ___________ of fish - salamander - tortoise - hen and man show remarkable similarity.






27. Organisms struggle for existence. Organisms with advantageous characters survive - while those which lack such variations perish. The advantageous characters are passed on to the offsprings generation after generation and the organisms become better






28. Most anthropologists agree that the ______ _______ was populated by a series of three migrations over the temporary land connection between Asia and North America.






29. Darwin's Finches illustrated ___________ ____________. This is where species all deriving from a common ancestor have over time successfully adapted to their environment via natural selection.






30. Almost all _________ organisms are either plants or animals.






31. _________ evidence shows that the horse has undergone considerable evolutionary change over a period of 60 million years.






32. As the finch population began to flourish in these advantageous conditions - ______________ competition became a factor - and resources on the islands were squeezed and could not sustain the population of the finches for long.






33. The most recent mass extinction - the K-T extinction at the end of the Cretaceous period - is best known for having wiped out the __________ .






34. Linnaeus placed all monkeys and apes along with humans into the order _________






35. Animals and plants show variations in physical structure. Some of these variations are simply caused by external conditions (environmental) - such as accidents - temperature - food abundance - etc.. ___________ variations have no effect on evolution






36. In species which reproduce _____________ - extinction of a species is generally inevitable when there is only one individual of that species left - or only individuals of a single sex.






37. In a genetic drift the entire population may become homozygous for the allele or - equally likely - the allele may disappear. Before either of these fates occurs - the allele represents a Polymorphism. This is a case of polymorphism through...






38. Extinctions - mostly at the level of species - have been occurring constantly at a low 'background rate' - usually matched by the rate at which new species appear - with the result that ____________ is constantly increasing.






39. When carriers have advantages that allow a detrimental allele to persist in a population - ______________ polymorphism is at work.






40. In general if two genes have an almost identical DNA sequence - it is likely that they are ____________.






41. A ____________ tree is a graphical means to depict the evolutionary relationships of a group of organisms.






42. There are certain animals with intermediate characters between two major groups of animals. They are called ___________ _____.






43. According to Darwin - in spite of the high reproductive potential - the number of individuals in a species remains relatively constant - suggesting _____________ for existence.






44. Populations begin to diverge when gene flow between them is restricted. Geographic isolation is often the first step in ____________ speciation.






45. ___________ evolution is an evolutionary process in which organisms not closely related independently acquire some characteristic or characteristics in common.






46. When Charles Darwin was in the Galapagos islands - one of the first things he noticed is the variety of ___________ that existed on each of the islands.






47. At some time in their life cycle - chordates have a pair of lateral gill slits or pouches used to obtain __________ in a liquid environment.






48. Immediately below kingdom is the _________ level of classification. At this level - animals are grouped together based on similarities in basic body plan or organization.






49. Despite their image as brutish simpletons - _____________were the first humans to bury their dead with artifacts - indicating abstract thought - perhaps a belief in an after-life.






50. Humans who have produced offspring that successfully live in a ________ environment tend to be broader and smaller in stature while hotter environments are occupied by thinner taller humans.