The Human Genome Project has identified the location of genes that influence diseases
such as:
a. the common cold, flu, whooping cough, and meningitis.
b. high blood pressure, diabetes, sinus inflammation, and sickle-cell anemia.
c. sickle-cell anemia, breast cancer, Tay-Sachs, and cystic fibrosis.
d. thyroid disease, menopause, meningitis, and breast cancer.
Male primates most often compete for mates while female primates compete for other
resources, demonstrating that:
a. reproduction places different energy demands on males and females, resulting in
varying reproductive strategies.
b. reproduction has similar energy demands for both sexes, so males and females
respond accordingly.
c. primates do not vary in their ability to respond to differing energy requirements.
d. females acquire resources to ensure the survival of their offspring.
The most distinctive feature of ape dentition, which clearly distinguishes apes from Old
World monkeys, is:
a. a 2-1-2-3 dental formula.
b. a long canine tooth in males.
c. a Y-5 molar pattern.
d. bilophodont molars.
A cline:
a. is continuous variation that follows a continuum.
b. is variation that falls into discrete categories.
c. describes the pattern of occurrence of trisomy 18.
d. was used to describe human variation as early as the Renaissance.
The Patchy Forest hypothesis proposes that:
a. forests became patchy and food more dispersed.
b. forests became lush woodlands.
c. forests became wet and swamplike.
d. forests did not change.
Climate scientists predict that shifting patterns of precipitation and increasing dryness
in areas like the American Southwest and Midwest will result in:
a. increase in the thickness of the polar ice caps.
b. decreases in human population density.
c. dramatic increases in species extinction rates.
d. a reduction of agricultural production and therefore a reduced food supply.
The “silent tsunami” refers to:
a. increasing urbanization and human population growth.
b. increasing infectious disease.
c. both a. and b.
d. a global wave of poverty.
The biological profile of an individual includes their:
a. age, sex, height, and biological ancestry.
b. sex, weight, personal history, and age.
c. biological ancestry, sex, and skin color.
d. skin, hair, and eye color.
The mutation known as trisomy 21, in which an extra copy of chromosome 21 is
present, is more commonly known as:
a. Turner syndrome.
b. Down syndrome.
c. Klinefelter’s syndrome.
d. Williams syndrome.
African Homo erectus cranial features include:
a. thick cranial bones.
b. small browridges.
c. a rounded skull.
d. a sagittal crest.
Which two genera may be the ancestor to the orangutan?
a. Gigantopithecus and Sivapithecus
b. Gigantopithecus and Khoratpithecus
c. Khoratpithecus and Gigantopithecus
d. Sivapithecus and Khoratpithecus
Dietary plasticity in primates refers to:
a. eating a wide variety of foods.
b. diversity of diets over time.
c. diets composed of a variety of red meats.
d. diets composed of a variety of fruits.
Health conditions considered climate-sensitive and likely to increase with increasing
greenhouse gases include:
a. cardiovascular disease.
b. rickets.
c. malnutrition.
d. both a. and c.
Allen’s rule indicates that humans will have:
a. larger lungs in hot environments and smaller lungs in cold environments.
b. smaller bodies in cold environments and larger bodies in hot environments.
c. longer limbs in hot environments and shorter limbs in cold environments.
d. taller bodies in cold environments and shorter bodies in hot environments.
Thomas Malthus’s contribution to natural selection is:
a. the binomial taxonomic system of naming species.
b. the theory that the Earth’s old age is based on geologic evidence resulting from
cataclysmic events.
c. the theory that events like warfare, disease, and famine are necessary to control
population size and thereby reduce the risk of depleting resources.
d. the theory that environmental resources are subject to population pressures.
The discoverer of Pithecanthropus erectus was:
a. Eugene Dubois.
b. Time White.
c. Behane Asfaw.
d. Yohannes Haile-Selassie.
During the Miocene epoch of the Cenozoic era, there was an adaptive radiation of
which kind of primate?
a. prosimians
b. monkeys
c. apes
d. humans
Homo habilis had traits that include:
a. long, modern legs.
b. short legs.
c. a striding gait.
d. quadrupedalism.
When individuals of the same species are reproductively isolated, genetic differences
may accumulate in sufficient number so that new species could emerge. Such an event
would be an example of:
a. microevolution.
b. founder effect.
c. equilibrium.
d. macroevolution.
Multiple biological traits:
a. do not lead to clear-cut racial classifications.
b. are race specific.
c. help with biological profiling.
d. do not exist in humans.
Studies of Darwin’s finches have found that at certain points in time all finches on the
island have either wide beaks or sharp narrow beaks. The type of evolution that leads to
this phenotype distribution is:
a. directional selection.
b. natural selection.
c. disruptive selection.
d. stabilizing selection.
Which period saw the proliferation of mammals?
a. Holocene
b. Cenozoic
c. Jurassic
d. Mesozoic
Ecological evidence from the site where Ardi was found shows that:
a. early hominins lived in a lush jungle.
b. early hominins lived in a savannah.
c. early hominins lived in a forest.
d. early hominins migrated out of the area due to drought.
Which is a major contributor to the success of our species?
a. high fecundity
b. body variation
c. human adaptability
d. skin tone variation
Natural selection favored alleles for light skin in:
a. Africa.
b. Europe.
c. South America.
d. Australia.
Americans’ body weights vary according to socioeconomic status, inasmuch as:
a. lower-income families tend to consume less protein and fiber, and more sugar.
b. the rich eat more high-fat foods.
c. low-income families consume more saturated fat and sugar, because these cost less.
d. both a. and c.
Early Native Americans used which distinctive fluted spear points to hunt large-bodied
Ice Age mammals?
a. Mousterian points
b. Solutrean blades
c. Levallois flakes
d. Folsom points
A rapid temperature increase about 55 mya created tropical conditions around the
world, resulting in the:
a. adaptive radiation of Euprimates.
b. development of Dryopithecus.
c. spread of Sivapithecus.
d. extinction of many primate species.
A male and female gibbon that are similar in size are likely showing:
a. the lack of sexual dimorphism due to the polygamous social structure in gibbons.
b. the lack of sexual dimorphism as the result of unequal access to resources within
their environment.
c. the lack of sexual dimorphism due to decreased competition for mates in a
monogamous social structure.
d. the lack of sexual dimorphism, which is not related to social structure in gibbons.
Climate change brings about illness and death because of:
a. temperature extremes.
b. decline in air and water quality.
c. both a. and b.
d. interpersonal violence due to competition.
Basal anthropoids are:
a. Paleocene primates that may have been the first anthropoids.
b. Paleocene organisms that may have been the first primates.
c. Eocene organisms that may have been the first primates.
d. Eocene primates that are the earliest anthropoids.
The earliest australopithecines first show up in the fossil record more than:
a. .5 mya.
b. 1 mya.
c. 2 mya
d. 4 mya.
What is the most important feature of climate?
a. weather
b. sea levels
c. temperature
d. isotopes