Evolution Quiz

Example Questions From the Test

• 1A bat wing and a human arm contain a similar arrangement of major bones but perform different functions. What does this similarity most strongly indicate?
  • Bats developed wings because their ancestors repeatedly exercised their forelimbs.
  • The structures were inherited from a common ancestor and modified along different lineages.
  • The structures evolved independently and only happen to share the same internal pattern.
  • Humans and bats experience identical environmental pressures.
• 2Sharks and dolphins have similar streamlined bodies, although sharks are fish and dolphins are mammals. This similarity is best explained by what?
  • Inheritance of the streamlined shape from a recent shared species
  • Gene flow between shark and dolphin populations
  • Convergent evolution under similar environmental pressures
  • Genetic drift occurring in the same direction in both groups
• 3Two populations of the same ancestral species become geographically separated. Much later, they can no longer produce fertile offspring together. What does this outcome most directly demonstrate?
  • Both populations stopped evolving after their separation.
  • The populations became genetically identical through gene flow.
  • Reproductive isolation developed, indicating that speciation occurred.
  • Natural selection always produces organisms with greater complexity.