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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. 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.






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






3. _____________ can occur randomly - from radiation damage (impact with high energy g-rays or cosmic rays) - from exposure to chemical agents called mutagens - or simply by error in the DNA replication process.






4. A comparative study of physiology and biochemistry also supports the common origin for different organisms. The _____________ of all organisms cells is more or less same in composition.






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






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






7. _________ ______ 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






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






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






10. About 1.8 million years ago - early Homo gave rise to _______ ________ - the species thought to have been ancestral to our own.






11. The only kingdom which consists of prokaryotes is the __________ kingdom.






12. 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.






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






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






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






16. 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.






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






18. 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.






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






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






21. 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.






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






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






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






25. 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.






26. An allele may increase - or decrease - in frequency simply through ___________. Not every member of the population will become a parent and not every set of parents will produce the same number of offspring.






27. 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.






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






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






30. ____________ 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.






31. 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.






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






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






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






35. 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.






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






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






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






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






40. 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






41. ___________ 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.






42. 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






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






44. 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...






45. If a population began with a few individuals - one or more of whom carried a particular allele - that allele may come to be represented in many of the descendants. This is known as ____________.






46. 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.






47. 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






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






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






50. Speciation by ____________ Equilibrium involves a group of creatures which gets isolated from the rest of their species.