The discovery of Kenyanthropus platyops was important mainly because:
a. it had a small brain like an ape’s.
b. it was discovered in Kenya.
c. it showed diversity in the hominin fossil record 3.5 mya.
d. it probably lived in woodlands.
Anthropoids include:
a. monkeys and apes, including humans.
b. African and Asian apes only.
c. tarsiers, monkeys, and apes only.
d. lemurs, lorises, galagos, and tarsiers.
While observing primates at the zoo, you notice that the particular monkey you are
watching uses its hands, feet, and tail to grasp branches while moving throughout the
trees in its enclosure. This is most likely a(n):
a. Old World monkey, because many of these species have a tail with grasping abilities
similar to those observed in nonhuman primate hands and feet.
b. lesser ape, because many of these species have a tail with grasping abilities similar to
those observed in nonhuman primate hands and feet.
c. New World monkey, because these are the only monkeys that live in trees.
d. New World monkey, because many of these species have a tail with grasping abilities
similar to those observed in nonhuman primate hands and feet.
Which era saw the proliferation of mammals?
a. Holocene
b. Cenozoic
c. Jurassic
d. Mesozoic
Cultural adaptation:
a. occurs at the population level via natural selection.
b. occurs at the individual level during childhood.
c. involves using material culture or learned practices to make living possible in certain
settings.
d. usually occurs in adults, not children.
The eminent British anatomist Sir Wilfrid E. Le Gros Clark (1895″1971) identified
three prominent tendencies. They are:
a. the presence of a rhinarium, increased mobility, and an opposable thumb.
b. increased mobility, arboreal adaptation, and brachiation.
c. arboreal adaptation, parental investment, and the presence of dietary plasticity.
d. the presence of a rhinarium, forward-facing eyes, and increased parental care.
Some Homo erectus specimens had very large and robust bones while others were:
a. small with robust bones.
b. tall with robust bones.
c. gracile.
d. small with thin bones.
Evidence indicating that Orrorin tugenensis was bipedal comes mainly from which part
of the skeleton?
a. femur (thighbone)
b. skull
c. foot
d. pelvis
The study of fossils is called:
a. phylogeny.
b. biology.
c. chronometry.
d. paleontology.
Southern and eastern African sites dating to 2.5 mya show habitats indicating:
a. the spread of C3 plants.
b. reduction both in habitat types and in dietary diversity.
c. a more frequent use of tools for the digging and processing of roots and tubers.
d. none of the above
Somatic cells include all of the following EXCEPT:
a. lung cells.
b. gametes.
c. skin cells.
d. neurons.
Stratigraphic correlation is:
a. matching strata by chemical composition and color from several sites across
distances.
b. correlating stratigraphic markers in one location.
c. matching stratigraphy from known sites only.
d. dating through the use of a chronometric method.
The scientist whose work provided the foundation for later understandings of genetics
was:
a. John Ray.
b. Gregor Mendel.
c. Charles Darwin.
d. Robert Hooke.
The Neolithic demographic transition resulted in:
a. a decrease in birthrate.
b. earlier weaning.
c. a slow increase in the world’s population.
d. a shift from low birthrate to high birthrate.
Why is the work of Alfred Russell Wallace considered when discussing the theory of
evolution?
a. He was an English naturalist who had arrived at many of the same conclusions as
Darwin through his own research.
b. His work is not considered, as he was mistakenly credited with the theory of natural
selection.
c. He was a British dog breeder who worked on artificial selection experiments in the
same way Mendel worked on sweet peas to determine inheritance.
d. He was the most prominent scientist of the time who opposed Darwin’s work on
evolution.
The angiosperm radiation hypothesis proposes that:
a. primates’ unique traits are an adaptation to living in trees.
b. primate traits arose as adaptations to preying on insects.
c. certain primate traits were responses to the acquisition of fruit during the Cenozoic.
d. primates could see predators in advance.
Individuals whose blood type is A and who carry both dominant and recessive genes at
this locus have a genotype of:
a. AA.
b. AO.
c. AB.
d. OO.
DNA:
a. is single stranded.
b. contains six different nucleotide bases.
c. directs cellular function.
d. contains the base uracil.
Familial hypercholesterolemia, an autosomal dominant disease, is five times more
frequent in the Afrikaner population of South Africa than in the original population of
Europe from which the ancestors to the Afrikaners immigrated. This represents an
example of:
a. natural selection.
b. bottleneck.
c. the founder effect.
d. kin selection.
The earliest fossil evidence for Homo erectus in Western Europe dates from:
a. 1.6 mya, from Sima de los Heusos.
b. 0.3 mya, from France.
c. 1.6 mya, from Dmanisi, Georgia.
d. 1.2 mya, from Sima del Elefante.
The controlled use of fire by hominids:
a. decreased the amount of food energy available in the hominid diet.
b. has been shown to contribute little to the digestive process of hominids.
c. limited the expansion of hominids into certain environments, such as dry grasslands.
d. contributed to geographical expansion and food production techniques in positive
ways.
Using tools and toolmaking is an adaptation by hominins linked to:
a. improved diet.
b. bipedalism.
c. sleeping.
d. becoming larger.
To increase early humans’ chances of hunting success, hunting:
a. was led by females.
b. was conducted with lithic tools and cooperative strategies.
c. was always well planned with a diagram.
d. strategies were developed to include children as bait.
Agricultural foods eventually shifted nutrition from a generalized diet to one focused
on:
a. carbohydrates.
b. high levels of fat.
c. poorer-quality protein.
d. both a. and c.
You find a fossil that you are sure shows evidence of bipedalism. You know this
because which of the following anatomical traits is present?
a. a narrow pelvis
b. a posterior position of the foramen magnum
c. an opposable hallux
d. thighbones that angle in toward the knees
The time it takes for 50% of an unstable isotope to decay to a stable form is called the:
a. semichron.
b. middlemorph.
c. demidose.
d. half-life.
According to John Relethford, the most likely reasons for modern humans to have
migrated out of Africa during the late Pleistocene include:
a. disease.
b. loss of food supply.
c. climate change.
d. both b. and c.
Euprimates represent the first true:
a. anthropoids.
b. primates.
c. mammals.
d. catarrhini.
A genetic study conducted over multiple generations found that the frequency of
genotypes in the first generation were AA: 0.36, Aa: 0.48, aa: 0.16. In the second
generation, genotype frequencies shifted to AA: 0.16, Aa: 0.48, aa: 0.36. According to
the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, we can assume:
a. random mating has altered gene frequencies.
b. gene flow has possibly shifted the gene frequencies.
c. mating in this population must be nonrandom mating.
d. both b. and c.
Greater body size and facial gracility documented in Homo erectus are likely related to:
a. changes in tool technology and increasing access to meat and other proteins.
b. the natural continuation of previous trends documented in hominid fossils, similar to
great brain size.
c. the global climate, as these trends are characteristic of an increasingly forested
environment
d. none of the above
Evolution can best be defined as:
a. the appearance of a new species.
b. a change in allele frequencies in a breeding population over time.
c. changes in the DNA of an individual over his or her lifetime.
d. a process that occurs only over extremely long periods of time.
Homo erectus skull morphology includes:
a. a long, low, wide base.
b. thick bones.
c. large browridges.
d. a long, low, wide base; thick bones; and large browridges.
Modern primates are characterized by arboreal adaptations, including:
a. opposable thumbs.
b. a precision grip.
c. short digits.
d. an expanded reliance on sense of smell.
Although Allen’s and Bergmann’s rules often explain body shape and morphology, we
occasionally see variations from the correct patterns. This sometimes indicates that:
a. the long-term association between body shape and climate is an example of
acclimatization.
b. body shape and morphology do not reflect both evolutionary and developmental
processes.
c. the association between body shape and morphology does respond to environmental
stressors.
d. the association between body shape, morphology, and the environment is not a result
of natural selection.