1) How do scientists define the term theory?
B) proven facts that never change
A) a hypothesis that has not yet been tested
D) an explanation of findings supported by repeated testing
C) someone's best guess as to what will happen

2) Which example relates to biological evolution?
A) The positions of rock layers are changed by a volcanic eruption.
D) The average woman's dress size has increased over the past 50 years.
C) A moth is the same color as the tree bark it rests upon
B) A tree branch is broken off and another grows in its place.

3) Which description would be considered a scientific theory like the theory of evolution?
A) a theory about why an apple falls to the ground when dropped
C) a theory about which of your classmates is the source of your cold
D) a theory about why blue is your favorite color
B) a theory about why your neighbor has the nicest car in the neighborhood

4) Why are some lice able to survive permethrin treatments whereas others cannot survive?
D) Some lice will become resistant after exposure to low levels of permethrin.
B) Offspring become resistant after parents are exposed to permethrin
A) Exposure to other antilice treatments makes lice resistant to all lice treatments.
C) Some lice are naturally resistant due to genetic variation.

5) Why can evolution in mosquitoes be more easily observed than evolution in a population of squirrels?
D) Mosquitoes lay eggs rather than bear live young.
C) Mosquitoes feed only on blood
A) Mosquitoes have a shorter generation time.
B) Mosquitoes have a higher mutation rate.

6) What characteristics should be considered for model organisms used in laboratory evolutionary studies?
C) The organism should produce relatively few offspring.
A) The organism should be large.
B) The organism should have a short generation time
D) The organism should have a complete fossil record of its ancestry.

7) What macroevolutionary concept is considered controversial by some people?
C) the concept of species being subdivided into separate populations
A) the appearance of new traits in existing populations
D) the concept that genes can vary spontaneously
B) the common descent of all organisms from one ancestral cell

8) According to the theory of common descent, how should each species on Earth today compare?
A) They should look very similar to all other species.
B) They should not have ancestors in common with members of other species.
C) They should have a single ancestor in common.
D) They should have DNA that is mostly unique from other species.

9) Which statement best describes the now-discredited theories of Lamarck?
C) Organisms acquire traits during their lifetime and pass those traits on to their offspring.
B) Modern life forms are the descendants of past individuals who were the most fit.
D) Earth is extremely old and has undergone many changes.
A) All life was created in the form we see today.

10) What geographic conditions of the Galápagos Islands affected the diversity of organisms observed by Darwin?
A) The islands are in the Pacific.
C) The islands are very dry.
D) There are no mammals on the islands.
B) The islands are in a chain.

11) Why were Darwin's ideas so widely accepted by scientists of his day?
A) He published his book soon after he returned to England, and all his recollections were fresh in his mind.
B) Darwin's ideas fit well with what most people already understood about evolution.
C) Darwin presented extensive evidence from many areas of biology to support his ideas.
D) Darwin was from a rich and powerful family.

12) Which taxonomic level would contain members that are the most similar?
B) genus
A) phylum
C) kingdom
D) family

13) What information would be most useful for studying the evolution of a worm species?
A) comparisons with other invertebrates in the same area
D) similarities in histone genes between other worms and the studied worm
B) the diet of birds in the area that eat the worms
C) the locations where the worms are found

14) What is the molecular clock?
A) the rate at which mutations accumulate in DNA within a species
B) the rate at which new species diverge from ancestral species
D) the rate at which new discoveries are made about gene homology
C) the rate at which structures no longer needed become small and insignificant

15) Darwin observed that tortoises of the nearby islands, although slightly different, belonged to the same species. How might he have known they were the same species?
D) He may have moved one group of tortoises to a new island to observe accumulated changes.
C) He may have heard that tortoises of different islands could mate with each other.
B) He probably compared the metabolism of the different tortoises and observed similar enzymes.
A) He probably compared DNA sequence data from the different tortoises.

16) Which event would result in the development of large numbers of fossils?
D) a volcano
C) a fire
B) an earthquake
A) a drought

17) Why would the DNA of cats and dogs be more similar than the DNA of cats and hamsters?
D) Cats and dogs have fewer offspring than hamsters for less genetic transfer.
A) Cats and dogs have lived together with humans for a longer time.
B) Cats and dogs have a more recent common ancestor than cats and hamsters.
C) The ancestors of cats and the ancestors of dogs evolved in similar environments.

18) Why is common descent considered a scientific theory?
D) It's the only idea about life on Earth that can be tested by observation of the material universe.
A) Overwhelming evidence supports it from many areas of biology.
C) It's an idea from more than 100 years ago and thus is not a modern idea.
B) Scientists are reasonably sure it's true, but there's little evidence to support it.

19) Why are bat wings homologous to the front legs of cats?
B) Bat wings contain different molecular structures than cat legs.
D) The common ancestor of bats and cats had limbs that functioned as wings.
A) Bats and cats both developed from a bird-like ancestor.
C) The common ancestor of bats and cats contained a similar bone structure.

20) Why are fossils from older species found deeper in the ground than those from more recent species?
C) Modern species can swim better than older species.
B) Older species were more likely to burrow underground.
A) Layers of sediments accumulate every year, covering older fossils in more layers.
D) Older species were more likely to be trapped in sediments and form fossils than modern species.

1) How do scientists define the term theory? B) proven facts that...