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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What do scientists attribute to organs that cannot be explained by natural selection?
(a) Overuse.
(b) Use.
(c) Inheritance.
(d) Disuse.

2. What is the best example of traits that continue to vary?
(a) Primary sexual characteristics.
(b) Migration characteristics.
(c) Mating habits.
(d) Secondary sexual characteristics.

3. What does the absence of complete facts with Darwin's theory open the theory up to?
(a) Success.
(b) Objections.
(c) Confusion.
(d) Failure.

4. What is one geographical change that affects islands and continents?
(a) Sea level changes.
(b) Animal variations.
(c) Climate changes.
(d) Rainfall changes.

5. What happens to a species if their traits and characteristics are not passed down to the next generation?
(a) They will become unique species.
(b) They will grow.
(c) They will become extinct.
(d) They will change.

Short Answer Questions

1. What term refers to change from one generation to the next?

2. What happens when two species from different climates interbreed?

3. What type of populations experience more variations?

4. Who is one individual that Darwin mentions as helping him in every way prior to the publication of The Origin of Species?

5. What type of populations may be more likely to become extinct?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why isn't it safe to assume that regions that are physically connected in the present day were connected in the past?

2. Regarding Darwin's example of the pigeon in Chapter 1, why is the pigeon easily determined to be descended from a single species?

3. Is there a cycle to the struggle for existence? Explain.

4. Why is a flying mammal such as a bat difficult to explain through natural selection?

5. Why would, on some islands, nature select for beetles that do not fly?

6. Why does Darwin suggest his methods of study are inadequate?

7. How does natural selection explain why organisms pair with other organisms?

8. How can the geology of mountains and valleys be related to natural selection?

9. Why are polymorphic species considered an extreme illustration of variation?

10. What factors contribute to the slowdown in reproduction in a species?

(see the answer keys)

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