SC 139 - First Exam 2000

ANSWER KEY

MULTIPLE CHOICE. 

On the line to the left, place the letter of the choice that best answers the question.
Four Points Each. NOTE: "e" answers are never the correct answer.

                    1.  The fact that many fossils lay in what was obviously layer after layer of
                                        ancient ocean sediments led directly to the idea that
_______            a. Living things had evolved over time
                          b. Some whole groups of living things had become extinct
                          c. The Earth was much older than people thought
                          d. The Earth's surface once was covered entirely in water
                          e. Maybe some guys were spending too much time playing with rocks

                    2. On the Origins of Species was written by
_______             a. Darwin & Wallace                      b. Darwin alone
                           c. Lamarck                                     d. Hardy & Weinberg
                                                      e. Regis Philbin

                    3. Mutations are most likely to produce
_______             a. Major changes in traits
                           b. Entirely new traits
                           c. No change or a change for the worse
                           d. All of the variation in a population
                           e. Game show hosts

                    4. Changes may accumulate in two separated groups of the same species
                                    which are more due to chance than selection - this process
                                    is called
_______             a. Genetic drift                                 b. Mutation
                           c. Recombination                             d. Las Vegas effect
                           e. What happens when you never call, you never write...

                    5. The early discovery of fossils first presented which "blasphemous" idea?
_______             a. Evolution                 b. Giant serpents                 c. Extinction
                           d. Man as just type of animal             e. Ancient fanged Pope

                    6. A hermaphrodite is
_______            a. An asexual reproducer
                           b. A population that is both male and female
                           c. An individual that is both male and female
                           d. A genetically-identical offspring
                           e. Probably a bad thing to call an in-law

                    7. The fitness of a trait is
_______             a. Always positive                      b. Always negative
                           c. Determined by alleles             d. Determined by circumstances
                                   e. Related to how much it exercises

                    8. If two species are considered ecospecies, then they should be
_______             a. Similar in appearance                     b. Doing the same job
                           c. Genetically related                          d. Living in the same place
                                                   e. Very politically correct

                    9. Which group would most likely have the most complete fossil record?
_______             a. Humans                 b. Clams                 c. Whales
                           d. Dinosaurs                     e. Have the Fossils made any cd's?

                    10. Thomas Malthus produced some very influential ideas about how
_______             a. Living things evolve                  b. Fossils are produced
                           c. Genes work                             d. Populations are limited
                                                  e. To be a millionaire

SHORT ANSWER.  

Answer any six of the following questions for 6 Points Each.
Note: if you answer more than six, only the first six will be corrected.

You can get partial credit on these answers.

1. What is an allele?

2. Why would the sequence of fossil-bearing rock "skip" large blocks of time in a particular place?

3. a. What types of environments turned out to be most important to Darwin in forming his Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection?

b. Why were those types of environments so useful?

4.  Briefly explain how the founder effect can have a huge impact on a descendant group.

5. What is taxonomy?

6.  What are two examples of human diseases that display hybrid vigor.

7. What, exactly, is a gene?

8. a. What is artificial selection?

b. Why was the concept of artificial selection important to growing ideas of evolution?

9. What impact does genetic redundancy have on evolution?

10. Briefly explain how sexual selection works, in evolutionary terms.

11. In modern-day ideas of Natural Selection, what actually is being selected by the environment?

12. What prediction of evolutionary species is supported by observations in the field of biogeography?

13. Briefly explain (don't just give the name) of the idea Lamarck had about how evolution works.

LONG ANSWER. 

Answer any three of the following questions for Eight Points Each.
Note: if you answer more than three, only the first three will be corrected.

You can get partial credit on these answers.

1. What are three "givens," statements easily acceptable that lead into Darwin's Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection?

2. Based on the accepted "givens," explain how, according to Darwin, organisms evolve in a particular environment. There are at least three steps, more depending upon how you explain them.

3. Answer the following for the process of sexual reproduction:

4. What are four conditions that the Hardy-Weinberg Law insists are necessary to keep allele proportions in a population constant over time?

5. Describe (don't just give a simple label) four different ways that groups can become isolated from each other.

BONUS QUESTIONS. Answer as many as you are able. Wrong answers will not result in points being lost from the main exam. You can get partial credit on these answers.

What were the first fossil bones and shells explained away as? Two Points.

What discoveries made this last explanation hard to support? Two Points.

What reasons motivated Charles Darwin to sign onto the crew of the HMS Beagle? Two Points each.

What reasons other than scientific study may have led Charles Darwin to spend as much time ashore during his voyage on the HMS Beagle? Three Points each.

Where did Alfred Russel Wallace do his work (2 Points), and why was that a good place to develop his theories (Three Points)?

Why is the really good evidence that exists for evolution in the real world largely ignored? Three Points.