Evolution Questions and Answers

1. Find the mis-match from the following pairs—
A. Natural selection ——> Industrial melanism
B. Divergent evolution —> Thorn of Bougainvillia and tendril of Cucurbita
C. Genetic drift —> constant gene frequency
D. Adaptive radiation —> Australian marsupials

2. Which one of the following is reptilian ancestor of birds?
A. Hesperornis
B. Ichthyornis
C. Archaeopteryx
D. Lycaenops

3. Assertion : Darwin’s finches are a classical example of natural selection.
Reason : Darwin explained that the difference in size and shape of the beaks of the species was a result of the adaptation of the species to different food habits.
A. if both assertion and reason are true and reason is the correct explanation of assertion.
B. if both assertion and reason are true but reason is not the correct explanation of assertion.
C. if assertion is true but reason is false.
D. if both assertion and reason are false.

4. The wings of a bird and the wings of an insect are—
A. phylogenetic structure and represent divergent evolution.
B. homologous structures and represent convergent evolution.
C. homologous structures and represent divergent evolution.
D. analogous structures and represent convergent evolution.

5. Industrial melansim is an example of-
A. Mutation
B. Neo—Lamarckism
C. Neo—Darwinism
D. Natural selection

6. Two related but geographically isolated species are known as-
A. sibling species
B. sympatric species
C. allopartic species
D. taxonomic species

7. Archaeopteryx is a connecting link between—
A. pisces and amphibians
B. amphibians and reptiles
C. reptiles and birds
D. birds and mammals

8. Oparin and Haldane proposed-
A. the theory of natural selection.
B. the migration affects genetic equilibrium.
C. that mutations caused speciation.
D. that the first form of life could have come from pre-existing non-living organic molecules.

9. The idea of Natural Selection as the fundamental process of evolutionary changes was reached—
A. independently by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace in 1990.
B. by Charles Darwin in 1866.
C. independently by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russle Wallace in 1859.
D. by Alfred Russel Wallace in 1901.

10. The formation of two species from one ancestral species is known as—
A. convergent evolution
B. phyletic evolution
C. allopatry
D. divergent evolution

11. The ancestors of modern day frogs and salamanders are—
A. Jawless fish
B. Coelacanth
C. Icthyophis
D. Amphioxus

12. Foot prints, trails, tracks and tunnels of various organisms made in mud are rapidly filled in with sand and covered by sediments. This is an example of which of the following type of fossil?
A. Petrified fossils
B. Impressions
C. Imprints
D. Coprolites

13. Biogenetic law was given by-
A. Charles Darwin
B. Hugo de Vries
C. Ernst Haeckel
D. Freiderich Miescher

14. The concepts of ‘struggle for existence‘ and ‘survival of the fittest‘ are essential parts of the evolutionary theory given by—
A. Lamarck
B. Sumner
C. T H Morgan
D. Charles Darwin

15. Stanley Miller and Urey proved abiotic origin of life by using one of the following sets of chemicals in the lab.
A. CH4, H2, NH3
B. CH4, H2, NH3, 02
C. CH4 and NH3
D. CH4, H2, O2

16. Fossils act as evidences of organic evolution. Which one of these features does not justify the features of fossils?
A. They are remains of hard parts of life forms that existed in the past.
B. They are the remains of decayed and decomposed body parts.
C. Fossils present in the lower strata of the earth are older than those present in the upper strata.
D. Study of fossils in different sedimentary layers indicates the geological period in which they existed.

17. According to the theory of spontaneous generation—
A. life originated from outer space.
B. life originated from decaying and rotting matter like straw, mud etc.
C. Life came from pre-existing life.
D. life came from both living and non-living matter

18. Select the correct sequence for Homo erectus.
A. erecuts —> Homo —> primata —> chordata animalia
B. Homo —> erectus —-> primata —> animalia —> chordata
C. Homo —> erectus —> primata -—> chordata —-> animalia
D. erectus —> Homo —> animalia —> primate chordata.

19. In a population of 1000 individuals 360 belong to genotype AA, 480 to Aa and the remaining 160 to aa. Based on this data, the frequency of allele A in the population is—
A. 0.4
B. 0.5
C. 0.6
D. 0.7

20. Forelimbs of cat, lizard used in walking; forelimbs of whale used in swimming and forelimbs of bats used in flying are an example of-
A. analogous organs
B. adaptive radiation
C. homologous organs
D. convergent evolution.

21. The hominid fossils discovered in Java in 1891 revealed a stage in the human evolution, which was called—
A. Homo erectus
B. Dryopithecus
C. Australopithecus
D. Homo habilis

22. In Bougainvillea thorns are the modifications of-
A. stipules
B. adventitous root
C. stem
D. leaf

23. In Hardy-Weinberg equation, the frequency of heterozygous individual is represented by—
A. p2
B. 2pq
C. Pq
D. q2

24. Genetic drift operates in—
A. small isolated population
B. large isolated population
C. non-reproductive population
D. slow reproductive population

25. Which of the following is the correct sequence of events in the origin of life?
I. Formation of protobionts
II. Synthesis of organic monomers
III. Synthesis of organic polymers
IV. Formation of DNA-based genetic systems
A. I, II, III, IV
B. I, III, II, IV
C. II, III, I, IV
D. II, III, IV, l

26. The chronological order of human evolution from early to the recent is—
A. Australopithecus —-> Romopithecus ——> Homo habilis —> Homo erectus
B. Ramapithecus —> Australopithecus -> Homo habilis —> Homo erectus
C. Romapithecus —> Homo habilis —-> Australopithecus —> Homo erectus
D. Australopithecus —> Homo habilis —-> Ramapithecus —> Homo erectus.

27. Following are the two statements regarding the origin of life.
(A) The earliest organisms that appeared on the earth were non-green and presumably anaerobes.
(B) The first autotrophic organisms were the chemoautotrophs that never released oxygen.
Of the above statements which one of the following options is correct?
A. both (A) and (B) are correct
B. both (A) and (B) are false.
C. (A) is correct but (B) is false
D. is correct but (A) is false.

28. Which of the following structures is homologous to the wing of a bird?
A. Hindlimb of rabbit
B. Flipper of whale
C. Dorsal fin of a shark
D. Wing of a moth

29. Analogous structures are a result of-
A. shared ancestry
B. stabilising selection
C. divergent evolution
D. convergent evolution

30. Assertion : Hardy-Weinberg principle states that in the absence of disturbing influences, gene frequencies of large populations of sexually reproducing organisms do not change, provided that matchings, occur at random.
Reason : The disturbing influences include mutation, gene flow, genetic drift, genetic recombination and natural selection.
A. If both assertion and reason are true and reason is the correct explanation of assertion.
B. If both assertion and reason are true but reason is not the correct explanation of assertion.
C. If assertion is true but reason is false.
D. If both assertion and reason are false

31. In a population, a gene has two alleles ‘A’ and ‘a’. The frequency of allele ‘A’ is 0.4. What will be the frequency of allele ‘a’?
A. 0.4
B. 0.6
C. 0.48
D. 0.16

32. Evolution of different species in a given geographical area, starting from a point and spreading to other geographical areas is known as—
A. geographic isolation
B. migration
C. parallel evolution
D. adaptive radiation

33. Which of these are examples of evolution by anthropogenic action?
(i) Adaptive radiation of marsupials of Australia.
(ii) Appearance of antibiotic resistant microbes.
(iii) Evolution of finches in Galapagos Island.
(iv) Appearance of dark winged moth in England during post industrialisation period.
(v) Convergent evolution of placental mammals in Australia.
A. (i) and (iii) only
B. (v) only
C. (ii) only
D. (ii) and (iv) only

34. Choose the wrong statement :
A. Louis Pasteur demonstrated that life comes only from pre-existing life.
B. S L Miller observed that electric discharge in a flask containing CH4, H2, NH3and water vapour at 800°C formed amino acids.
C. Flippers of penguins and dolphins are examples for homology.
D. Homology indicates common ancestry.

35. Thorns of Bougainvillea and tendrils of Cucurbita are examples for—
A. adaptive radiation
B. convergent evolution
C. co-evolution
D. divergent evolution

36. Which compounds were used by Miller in his experiment for obtaining amino acids and other organic substances —
A. ammonia, methane, hydrogen and water vapour
B. carbon dioxide, water vapour and methane
C. ammonia, methane and carbon dioxide
D. methane, ammonia, water vapour and hydrogen cyanide

37. An evolutionary pattern observed in a common ancestor which enables it to occupy diverse habitat is called—
A. convergent evolution
B. divergent evolution
C. non directional selection
D. parallel evolution

38. Concept of natural selection was introduced in ___ by ___.
A. 1859, Charles Darwin
B. 1839, J. B. Lamarck
C. 1864, Herbert Spencer
D. 1915, T. Malthus

39. Hardy-Weinberg law can be used to predict inheritance of which of the following types?
A. Autosomal dominant
B. Autosomal recessive
C. X-linked dominant
D. X-linked recessive

40. Which mechanism of evolution affects the genetic makeup in a population?
A. Natural selection
B. Adaptation
C. Genetic drift
D. Gene mutation

41. The study of ancient life, mainly carried out by means of fossils is—
A. palynology
B. genetics
C. palaeontology
D. phylogeny

42. According to Darwin, the organic evolution is due to—
A. competition within closely related species
B. reduced feeding efficiency in one species due to the presence of interfering species
C. intraspecific competition
D. interspecific competition

43. The eye of octopus and eye of cat show different patterns of structure, yet they perform similar function. This is an example of—
A. analogous organs that have evolved due to convergent evolution.
B. analogous organs that have evolved due to divergent evolution.
C. homologous organs that have evolved due to convergent evolution.
D. homologous organs that have evolved due to divergent evolution.

44. In Miller’s experiment, he used a mixture of CH4, NH3, H2 and water vapour in a closed flask to mimic early earth conditions. What was the temperature at which this flask was kept?
A. 800°c
B. 1200°c
C. 200°C
D. 400°C

45. Wing of pigeon is homologous to the-
A. ear of bat
B. wing of butterfly
C. fore-leg of horse
D. tail of rabbit

46. Which of the following is not vestigial organ in human beings?
A. rudimentary ear muscles and third molars
B. coccygeal tail vertebrae and scalp muscles
C. vermiform appendix and nictitating membrane of the eye
D. ear pinna, patella, olecranon process

47. Which gas was probably least abundant in the early atmosphere?
A. H2O
B. O2
C. NH3
D. CO2

48. In his laboratory apparatus, Stanley Miller synthesized-
A. Proteins
B. DNA
C. amino acids
D. protobionts

49. Genetic variation in a population arises due to—
A. recombination only
B. mutation as well as recombination
C. reproductive isolation and selection
D. mutations only

50. Dinosarus dominated the world in which of the following geological eras?
A. Coenozoic
B. Jurassic
C. Mesozoic
D. Devonian

51. The finch species of Galapagos islands are grouped according to their food sources. Which of the following is not a finch food?
A. Carrion
B. Insects
C. Tree buds
D. Seed

52. Populations are said to be sympatric when—
A. two populations live together and freely interbreed to produce sterile offspring.
B. two populations are physically isolated by natural barriers.
C. two populations are isolated but occasionally come together to interbreed.
D. two populations share the same environment but cannot interbreed.

53. A connecting link which provides evidence for organic evolution is—
A. Sphenodon between reptiles and birds
B. lung fishes between pisces and reptiles
C. Archaeopteryx between reptiles and birds
D. duck—billed platypus between reptiles and mammals.

54. The rise of first primates occurred in _________ epoch.
A. palaeocene
B. oligocene
C. Miocene
D. eocene

55. Selection in a population subject to rapid changing environments with highly fluctuating food sources is called-
A. stabilising selection
B. k-selection
C. r-selection
D. disruptive selection