Human Variation Sample Midterm Questions

 

1 Darwin's theory of natural selection

a. grew out of the atheistic views he held as a young student radical

b. was suggested to him by experience as an animal breeder

c. was a synthesis of his own ideas as well as those of Mendel

d. was stolen from him by A. R. Wallace

e. came to him during a bout of malaria

 

2 Galapagos finches appear to be a result of

a. convergent evolution operating on a variety of dissimilar species to adapt them to similar niches

b. the effects that population growth and natural selection have on geographically isolated populations

c. the effects of continuous gene flow between the islands and the mainland over many thousands of years

d. provide a good example of the artificial selection that is common in equatorial areas.

e. all have similar sized beaks because of their shared common ancestry.

 

3 Linneaus

a. developed the quadranomial system for the classification of plants and animals

b. believed that the types of plants and animals on earth were a product of God's divine wisdom and did not change

c. believed that if given enough time one species could gradually evolve into another species.

d. insisted that only biological traits be used in the classification of human

 

4 The "Great Chain of Being" or Scala Naturae

a. refers to Darwin's idea that all lifeforms evolved from simple to complex through the process of natural selection

b. refers to the idea that God arranged all living things into a hierarchy of unrelated organisms

c. refers to the genealogical link described in the Bible between Adam and his descendants.

d. is consistent with modern views of organic evolution

e. a and d above

 

5 Thomas Malthus proposed An Essay on Population that

a. the geometric growth of population inevitably outpaces the food supply

b. the only way to stop people from having so many children is to institute social security programs so that they will be confident that they will be taken care of in old age

c. famine, disease, warfare served to maintain a balance between population and resources

d. "Preventive" checks such postponing marriage, birth control, and so on are more effective than “negative” in maintaining a balance between population and resources

e. a and c

 

6 Uniformitarianism

a. refers to the view held by creationists that animal have not changed since the time of creation

b. refers to the idea that the geological processes operating at present are the same as those that have operated in the past

c. is the principle used by 18th and 19th century geologists to expand the age of the earth far beyond that suggested by a literal interpretation of the Bible

d. refers to the view held by Neptunian geologists that extinct animals were the victims of biblical floods

e. a and c above

 

7 Which of the following experiments would most likely have been conducted by Lamarck?

a. crossing fruit flies to study patterns of bristle variation

b. crossing begonias to study the phenomenon of co-dominance

c. chopping off rats' tails to study taillessness in there offspring

d. breeding true breeding strains.

e. b and d. above

 

8. While reading for anthropology 105 you have developed a callus on your index finger from turning so many pages. Someone tells you that your children will now have a greater tendency towards developing callused index fingers. This reflects the ideas of

a. Darwin

b. Malthus

c. Lamarck

d. Hutton

 

9. The impressive tail of the peacock

a. may not be favored by natural selection

b. is used by males as a shield during fights over females

c. may provide peahens with an index of the health status prospective mates

d. is most likely a result of the founder effect instead of natural selection

e. a and c above

 

10. The Founder Effect

a. can result in a loss of alleles from a population

b. occurs when a catastrophic event reduces the size of a population to a few individuals

c. may explain the distinctive head form of the Armenians

d. is a kind of natural selection

e. c and d above

 

11. Religious isolates are sometimes plagued by a high incidence of genetic diseases because of

a. the founder effect

b. natural selection

c. genealogical malfunctions

d. inbreeding

e. a and d above

 

12. Genetic Drift

a. refers to a change in gene frequency produced by artificial selection

c. refers to variation in gene frequencies of small populations due to accidents in sampling

d. is a kind of balanced polymorphism

e. is the concept that Neptunian geologists used in an attempt to debunk Lamarck

 

13. The Dunkers

a. are a religious isolate founded by a small number of families

b. encourage marriage with outsiders so they can spread the word of God

c. Have ABO allele frequencies that differ from West Germans in the area they came from and Americans in the area where they know live.

d. provide one of the best documented examples of the “Mason Jar” effect

e. a and b above

 

14. The sickle cell trait

a. is common in people whose ancestors came from areas where malaria was a significant health problem because of the bottleneck effect

b. is an example of hybrid vigor

c. results in an increase in the fitness of people who are heterozygous for the trait

d. results in resistance to malaria among people homozygous for the trait

e. a and e above

 

15. Adaptation through natural selection

a. could not possibly occur in a highly technological society such as our own

b. is more rapid than cultural adaptation

c. has a rate that depends on the length of a reproductive generation

d. is caused by random mating

e. a and b above

 

16. Artificial selection

a. has only become possible with the advent of gene splicing and embryo transplants

b. usually occurs in tribes that practice exogamy

c. often results form climatic fluctuations

d. is practiced by livestock breeders

e. explains the long canines of male baboons

 

17. Before the rediscovery of Mendel's theory many scientists, including Darwin, believed that traits were inherited

a. through the migration of "gemmules" from various parts of the body to the reproductive organs

b. through the blending of bloods

c. through the transmission of acquired traits to offspring

d. through the division of sex chromosomes

e. through a material called phlogiston

 

18. Biological Fitness

a. is best measured in terms of physical strength

b. varies with environmental conditions

c. is best measured in terms of reproductive success

d. is a meaningless concept since the idea of “fitness” is an ethnocentric, value laden, symbolic tool developed by elites for exploitation of poor people

e. b and c above

 

19. Stabilizing selection

a. results in a change in the average value of a trait

b. may explain differences in the average number of eggs laid by different bird species

c. probably accounts for the evolution of new a strains of antibiotic resistant bacteria

d. probably explains the evolutionary trends toward loss of toes

e. c and d above

 

20. Mutations that increase fitness

a. are more common than mutations that decrease fitness

b. are common in radiation victims

c. are just as common as ones that decrease fitness in populations with random mating

d. occur in a ratio predicted by the equation p2+2pq+q2

e. are more common during periods of environmental instability