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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. 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.






2. 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






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






4. _____________ 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.






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






6. 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.






7. 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.






8. The ____________ mammals occupy Australia - and differ from placental mammals because they bear their young inside a pouch (instead of a placenta).






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






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






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






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






13. 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.






14. 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.






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






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






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






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






19. 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.






20. 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.






21. ___________ 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.






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






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






24. 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.






25. 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.






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






27. 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.






28. ____________ 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.






29. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






36. 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.






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






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






39. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






48. ____________ 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.






49. 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






50. 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.