01
True or false
1 point
True or false: Every step from one classification rank to the next represents an equal amount of evolutionary difference.
Free Practice Quiz Question List
02 Classification and Diversity of Life Online Quiz Questions
Use this free practice quiz with 20 questions to review 02 Classification and Diversity of Life, test your knowledge, and prepare for your next test or exam.
20 questions
02
Fill in the blank
1 point
In binomial nomenclature, a species’ scientific name consists of the followed by the .
03
Written response
1 point
What field of biology studies organisms’ diversity and evolutionary relationships?
04
Written response
1 point
What term describes traits that are similar because of shared ancestry?
05
Fill in the blank
1 point
A group containing a common ancestor and all of its descendants is called a .
06
True or false
1 point
True or false: Viruses are usually included among the three domains of cellular life.
- A
True
- B
False
07
Open ended
1 point
Explain how biological classification relates to common ancestry, what kinds of evidence can inform evolutionary relationships, and why a classification might change.
08
True or false
1 point
True or false: Rotating branches around a point on a phylogenetic tree changes which taxa are most closely related.
- A
True
- B
False
09
Choose one
1 point
A newly examined organism has cells with a nucleus. Which domain does it belong to?
- A
Bacteria
- B
Eukarya
- C
Archaea
- D
Viruses
10
Written response
1 point
In the scientific name Homo sapiens, what is the genus?
11
Choose one
1 point
A biologist compares DNA from several organisms to infer their evolutionary relationships. Which field most directly describes this work?
- A
Taxonomy, because it studies how organisms evolved
- B
Taxonomy, because it names and classifies organisms
- C
Systematics, because it studies diversity and evolutionary relationships
- D
Systematics, because it assigns every organism to a species based only on appearance
12
Choose one
1 point
Birds and bats both fly, and each has wings formed from modified forelimbs. Which interpretation best distinguishes the evolutionary histories of these traits?
- A
Both the forelimbs and flight ability are analogous.
- B
Both the forelimbs and flight ability are homologous.
- C
The forelimbs are analogous, while flight ability is homologous.
- D
The forelimbs are homologous, while flight ability is analogous.
13
Written response
1 point
What level of biodiversity describes variation among individuals and populations within a species?
14
Choose one
1 point
A researcher is trying to classify two fossil populations using the biological species concept. What is the main limitation of this approach in this case?
- A
It cannot be applied straightforwardly because the organisms are fossils.
- B
It directly applies because fossils preserve evidence of fertile offspring.
- C
It directly applies whenever two organisms have similar body structures.
- D
It cannot be applied because the concept concerns only genetic differences.
15
Choose one
1 point
Two groups of organisms are both classified at the same taxonomic rank. What can you conclude from that fact alone about their evolutionary histories?
- A
The taxa must have experienced the same amount of evolutionary change.
- B
The taxa must have existed for the same length of time.
- C
Their shared rank alone does not show that they represent equal amounts of evolutionary time or difference.
- D
They must belong to the same species.
16
Choose one
1 point
A conservation team wants to compare the species diversity of two areas. Which information should it consider?
- A
The number of habitats in the region, regardless of organisms present
- B
The variety of species, including their number and relative abundance
- C
The amount of genetic variation within only the most abundant species
- D
The total number of individual organisms, regardless of species
17
Choose one
1 point
A researcher proposes a group based on a phylogenetic tree. Which membership rule makes the group a clade?
- A
A set of organisms that share a habitat, whether or not they share ancestry
- B
A group of species with similar traits, even if those traits evolved independently
- C
A group containing a common ancestor but only some of its descendants
- D
A group containing a common ancestor and all of its descendants
18
Choose one
1 point
A survey of a forest documents distinct streams, canopy, and forest-floor habitats. Which aspect of biodiversity is most directly represented by the variety of these habitats?
- A
Ecosystem diversity
- B
Species diversity
- C
Variation among individuals of one species
- D
Evolutionary relatedness among organisms
19
Choose all
1 point
Which statements about patterns of biodiversity are supported? Select all that apply.
- A
Different environments can support different communities.
- B
Isolated habitats can foster distinctive species found only in a restricted area.
- C
Environmental change and extinction can alter which lineages persist.
- D
All regions should support the same communities if they contain the same number of habitats.
20
Choose all
1 point
A team surveys a region's habitats and organisms. Which conclusions are supported by the material? Select all that apply.
- A
Recording several habitat types can provide information about a region's biodiversity.
- B
Including microorganisms gives a broader view of life's diversity because they make up major branches of life.
- C
Extinction can change which lineages are present in the diversity observed today.
- D
A biodiversity survey can be complete if it includes only organisms familiar to people.