01
True or false
1 point
A change in one organism's traits during its lifetime, by itself, is evolution.
Free Practice Quiz Question List
01 Evolution and Natural Selection Online Quiz Questions
Use this free practice quiz with 20 questions to review 01 Evolution and Natural Selection, test your knowledge, and prepare for your next test or exam.
20 questions
02
True or false
1 point
A trait that is an adaptation in an organism's current environment must also increase its reproductive success if the environment changes in the future.
- A
True
- B
False
03
Choose one
1 point
A new geographic barrier separates two populations, which subsequently diverge. Which term describes the speciation process that begins with this separation?
- A
Sympatric speciation
- B
Allopatric speciation
- C
Natural selection
- D
Gene flow
04
Choose one
1 point
Which description best matches the biological species concept?
- A
Organisms that have identical inherited characteristics
- B
Populations whose members can potentially interbreed and produce viable, fertile offspring
- C
Populations that live in the same geographic area
- D
Organisms that share the same adaptation
05
Fill in the blank
1 point
An antibiotic selects among bacterial variants; it does not bacteria to become resistant.
06
Fill in the blank
1 point
Sympatric speciation occurs without between the populations.
07
Choose all
1 point
Select all processes identified as sources through which genetic variation arises.
- A
Mutation
- B
Genetic drift
- C
Recombination
- D
Gene flow
08
Choose all
1 point
Which conditions are required for natural selection? Select all correct answers.
- A
Individuals in the population vary in traits.
- B
Some of the trait variation is inherited.
- C
The population has a predetermined evolutionary goal.
- D
Individuals with certain inherited traits leave more surviving offspring on average.
09
Choose one
1 point
Which description best defines an adaptation?
- A
Any trait that an organism develops during its life
- B
An inherited feature that contributes to survival or reproductive success in a particular environment
- C
A trait that every member of a species must have
- D
A purposeful change that an organism makes when conditions change
10
Choose one
1 point
A variant becomes more common in a population because of chance, rather than because its carriers leave more offspring. Which process best explains this change?
- A
Natural selection
- B
Genetic drift
- C
Gene flow
- D
Recombination
11
Open ended
1 point
A change in available seeds favors some beak sizes among Galápagos ground finches. Explain how natural selection could shift the population's average beak size over generations, and distinguish this population change from change in an individual bird.
12
Choose one
1 point
A population of insects lives in an environment where a particular color pattern makes individuals less visible to predators. Which description best fits that color pattern if it is inherited and contributes to reproductive success there?
- A
A behavior an organism learns during its lifetime, whether or not it is inherited
- B
An inherited feature that contributes to survival or reproductive success in a particular environment
- C
Any trait that is beneficial in every environment
- D
A change an individual makes because it needs to survive
13
Choose one
1 point
A bacterial population contains both susceptible bacteria and a few bacteria with an inherited antibiotic-resistance variant. After antibiotic treatment, which outcome best illustrates natural selection?
- A
The antibiotic causes each susceptible bacterium to become resistant because resistance is needed.
- B
Individual bacteria intentionally change their traits in response to the antibiotic.
- C
Resistant bacteria are more likely to survive and reproduce, so resistance variants can become more common.
- D
The population stops evolving once the antibiotic is removed.
14
Choose one
1 point
Which observation is evidence that a population has evolved?
- A
The frequency of an inherited variant changes in the population across generations.
- B
One animal grows larger as it ages.
- C
An individual changes its behavior during its lifetime.
- D
An organism moves to a new location without reproducing.
15
True or false
1 point
True or false: If individuals in a population vary in a trait, natural selection will necessarily change the trait's frequency, even if the variation is not inherited or does not affect reproductive success.
- A
True
- B
False
16
Written response
1 point
What evolutionary process changes variant frequencies in a population by chance rather than because those variants produce different reproductive success?
17
Choose one
1 point
If a change in available seeds favors finches with a particular inherited beak size, what could happen over several generations?
- A
Individual finches change their beaks during their lives to match the available seeds.
- B
Finches with inherited beak sizes better suited to the available seeds may leave more offspring, shifting the population's average over generations.
- C
The seeds directly cause each finch to develop a useful beak size.
- D
The population's average beak size must change in the same direction whenever the environment changes.
18
Written response
1 point
What term describes barriers that reduce or prevent gene flow between populations?
19
Written response
1 point
A population encounters a new environmental challenge. Does natural selection make a useful mutation arise simply because the population needs it? Answer yes or no.
20
Written response
1 point
As populations diverge gradually, what can be difficult to identify between populations and distinct species? Enter the singular two-word term.