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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. About 2 million years ago - two groups developed: the australopithecines - generally smaller brained and not users of tools; and the line that led to genus _________ - larger brained and makers and users of tools.






2. Humans are ____________ - meaning we walk on two of our limbs. The amount of melanin in our skin is representative of the environment we live in - i.e. dark skinned people occupy hotter climates.






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






4. The _______-_________ Law states that an equilibrium of allele frequencies in a gene pool remains in effect in each succeeding generation of a sexually reproducing population if five conditions are met.






5. 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






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






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






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






9. Almost all living organisms use the same basic biochemical molecules - including DNA - ATP - and many identical or nearly identical enzymes. Organisms utilize the same DNA triplet base _________ and the same 20 amino acids in their proteins






10. 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.






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






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






13. The ______-____-______ Hypothesis proposes that some Homo erectus remained in Africa and continued to evolve into Homo sapiens - and left Africa about 100 -000-200 -000 years ago. From a single source - Homo sapiens replaced all populations of Homo e






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






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






16. 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.






17. Any change of _________ frequencies in a gene pool indicates that evolution has occurred. The Hardy-Weinberg law proposes that those factors that violate the conditions listed - cause evolution.






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






19. 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).






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






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






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






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






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






25. _________ ______ 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






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






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






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






29. 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.






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






31. ___________ is a specific explanation of similarity of form seen in the biological world. In genetics - it is used in reference to protein or DNA sequences - meaning that the given sequences share ancestry.






32. 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






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






34. 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.






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






36. Some important structural changes during the evolution of horse are: Increase in size from 11' (Eohippus) to about 60' (Equus) - and ___________ of the head and neck so as that it can reach the ground.






37. ____________ reproduction - whether reproduction proceeds with lesser or greater success - is central to the process of natural selection; it determines whether a given mutation becomes established in the general population.






38. 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.






39. Jean Baptiste de Lamarck (1744-1829) developed one of the first theories on how species changed. Lamarck - in 1809 - concluded that organisms of higher complexity had __________ from preexisting - less complex organisms.






40. 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.






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






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






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






44. 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.






45. 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.






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






47. 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.






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






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






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