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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. 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.






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






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






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






5. Homology was defined by Darwin as similarity of structure and position - and distinguished from 'analogy -' which was defined as similarity of _____________ but not necessarily of structure and position.






6. Except for the tail fins - whales greatly resemble fish in outline - but are instead descended from four-legged land ___________.






7. 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






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






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






10. _____________ is the accumulation of small changes in a gene pool over a relatively short period.






11. Insect ____________ is also an example of convergent evolution - as for example when an edible (palatable) butterfly develops a color pattern similar to a relatively unrelated inedible (unpalatable) butterfly - and by so doing escapes being eaten.






12. 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.






13. The Neolithic transition - about 10 -000 years ago - involved the change from __________-__________ societies to agricultural ones based on cultivation of plants and domesticated animals.






14. 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.






15. Mammals developed from primitive mammal-like reptiles during the __________ Period - some 200-245 million years ago.






16. 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.






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






18. 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.






19. Charles Darwin published a book The Origin of Species in the year 1859. He proposed that the new species came about by a process called ___________ __________.






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






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






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






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






24. ____________ organs are formed on the same basic plan though they may be modified variously to perform different functions. They must have a common ancestral structure which gave rise to different modifications.






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






26. _____________ struggle takes place between the individuals of the same species.






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






28. The __________ kingdom consists of one-celled organisms as well - but differs from the Monera kingdom in that it consists of eukaryotes.






29. _________ ______ disease causes anemia - joint pain - a swollen spleen - and frequent - severe infections. It illustrates balanced polymorphism because carriers are resistant to malaria - an infection by the parasite that causes cycles of chills and






30. In the 1680s Ariaantje and Gerrit Jansz emigrated from Holland to South Africa - one of them bringing along an allele for the mild metabolic disease porphyria. Today more than 30000 South Africans carry this allele and - in every case examined - can






31. Prior to the scientific discoveries of the past 200 years - _____________ from the Book Of Genesis described how living things came into being.






32. Biodiversity crashes during ________ extinctions. This has been a powerful force in evolution - wiping the slate clean of up to 96% of all species - and providing the survivors with a world full of opportunities into which they can diversify.






33. 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.






34. 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...






35. All organisms are placed into one of five kingdoms: Monera - Protista - ________ - Plantae - Animalia.






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






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






38. The Linnaean system uses two Latin name categories - ________ and species - to designate each type of organism.






39. 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.






40. _____________ is the end of a particular evolutionary line - the end of a species - a family - or a larger group of organisms.






41. At the molecular level - life's ability to reproduce begins with the replication of ____________ - during which two new spirals are created that are exact replicas of the original molecule.






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






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






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






45. _______________ is that branch of biology dealing with the identification and naming of organisms.






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






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






48. 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.






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






50. A ___________ can be defined as one or more populations of interbreeding organisms that are reproductively isolated in nature from all other organisms.