High School Test on The Theory of Evolution

When debating creationists, I am always amazed by their ignorance of the science of evolution.  For the most part, Creationists are not stupid people but often very intelligent and highly productive members of society.  Unfortunately, they don't understand the science.  This would not matter until they begin attacking evolution through their own misunderstandings and misconceptions.

To test some basic knowledge, I am going to post some of the questions from the actual test that I give to my students on The Theory of Evolution.

1.  Natural selection can best be defined as _______.

a.     Survival of the biggest and strongest organisms in a population

b.     Elimination of the smallest organisms by the biggest organisms

c.      Survival and reproduction of the organisms that are best adapted to the environment.

d.     Survival and reproduction of the organisms that occupy the largest area

2.  Within a decade of the introduction of a new insecticide, nearly all of the descendants of the target pests are immune to the usual-sized does.  The most likely explanation for this immunity is that _____.

a.     Eating the insecticide caused the bugs to become resistant to it.

b.     Eating the insecticide caused the bugs to become less resistant to it.

c.      It destroyed organisms that cause disease in the insects, thus allowing them to live longer.

d.     Those pests already resistant to the pesticide survived and reproduced.

3.  Which of the following is required for Natural Selection to occur?

a.     More individuals must be born than will survive to reproduce.

b.     A range of phenotypes must be present in the population

c.      Limited resources must lead to competition among individuals.

d.     All of the Above

4.  Geographic and reproductive isolation can result in _______.

a.     Vestigial structures

b.     Speciation

c.      Natural Selection

d.     Coevolution

5.  Over time, the harmless King Snake has evolved an appearance similar to the poisonous Coral Snake.  Their colored bands are so similar, only a rhyme can help tell them apart.  This is an example of ___________.

a.     Camouflage

b.     Resistance

c.      Mimicry

d.     Coevolution

6.  Which of the following DOES NOT describe the Modern Theory of Evolution?

a.     Provides a variety of evidence for evolution (including fossils and DNA)

b.     Predicts the relationships of all species through common ancestry

c.      Incorporates the ideas of natural selection and genetics.

d.     Remains the same theory from 1859.

7.  Which of the following best explains the peacock’s large, colorful tail?

a.     Artificial Selection

b.     Sexual Selection

c.      Natural Selection

d.     Directional Selection

8.  Hummingbirds and their local flowers have a close relationships.  As the flowers length grows, the population of hummingbirds will also evolve longer beaks.  What type of evolution is this?

a.     Convergent Evolution

b.     Divergent Evolution

c.      Coevolution

d.     Symbiotic Evolution

9.  Punctuated equilibrium explains _________.

a.     Rapid Bursts of change with long periods of genetic stability

b.     The slow accumulation of adaptations

c.      The slow and gradual change of species over time.

d.     All of the above

10.  What type of population would be most affected by genetic drift?

a.     Large isolated populations

b.     Small isolated populations

c.      Small populations connected to other populations

d.     Large populations connected to other populations

11.  Which of the following statements are NOT TRUE?

a.     Evolution could be considered changes in allele frequencies.

b.     Individuals evolve to survive in their environment.

c.      The Modern Synthesis combines evolution with genetics

d.     Natural selection requires variation within a population

The answers are listed in order in white font between the parentheses. See how you do. You can get at most an 11 out of 10 or 110%!

(1. C  2. D  3. D  4. B  5. C  6. D  7. B  8. C  9. A  10. B  11. B)