Uniformitarianism is the theory that:
a. the earth is very old, based on geologic evidence from stratigraphic layers in
Scotland.
b. the natural processes operating today are the same as the natural processes that
operated in the past.
c. the uniformity of species is derived from the common ancestor of all species.
d. processes such as earthquakes are evidence supporting catastrophism as proposed by
Lamarck.
If you are examining the fossil remains of the genus Dryopithecus, they are most likely
from where?
a. India
b. Bolivia
c. France
d. China
Prehensile tails:
a. are present in catarrhine primates.
b. are present in most primates.
c. are present only in some platyrrhines.
d. are made strictly of muscle.
Three key factors that contribute to a female primate’s success at feeding are:
a. speed, agility, and strength.
b. source, quantity, and safety.
c. quality, distribution, and availability of food.
d. cooperation, altruism, and quantity for sharing.
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.
The evolution of apes began in Africa and continued into:
a. Europe and Asia.
b. Asia and South America.
c. Europe and South America.
d. Greece and South America.
Which of the following is related to the biological process of homeostasis?
a. senescence
b. Wolff’s law
c. osteoporosis
d. adult stage
David Barker’s research on poor early health led to the hypothesis that:
a. poor fetal nutrition increases the likelihood of death from stroke.
b. low birth weight is correlated with death from coronary heart disease.
c. small babies are more likely to be underweight as adults.
d. poor health during the fetal period results in the reduced ability to maintain
homeostasis.
The Dmanisi B fossils from the Republic of Georgia are dated to:
a. 1.0 mya.
b. 800,000 yBP.
c. 1.7 mya.
d. 2.5 mya.
DNA is important for protein synthesis because:
a. it is biological code for the production of hormones and enzymes.
b. it serves as a template for protein production.
c. it provides the code to produce structural proteins.
d. all of the above
Two-thirds of calorie intake comes from the key cereal grains domesticated in the
earlier Holocene, especially:
a. barley, sorghum, and wheat.
b. wheat, barley, corn, and rice.
c. oats, wheat, and rice.
d. corn, rice, and beans.
Neandertals’ cold-adapted traits include:
a. a narrow nasal aperture.
b. short limbs.
c. a wide torso.
d. a projecting midface.
Catarrhines’ nostrils are:
a. far apart and face sideways.
b. close together and face downward.
c. large due to their heightened sense of smell.
d. wide and include a large nasal sinus.
The typical dental formula of lorises and lemurs is:
a. 2 / 1 / 3 / 3.
b. 1 / 1 / 3 / 3.
c. 2 / 1 / 3 / 2.
d. 2 / 1 / 2 / 3.
Primates are characterized by:
a. forward-facing eyes, varied diet, and nonviolent behavior.
b. arboreal adaptation, dietary plasticity, and male dominance.
c. docility, toolmaking, and parental investment.
d. arboreal adaptation, dietary plasticity, and parental investment.
The Upper Paleolithic is associated with the_________ method of stone tool
production:
a. Mousterin
b. Acheulean
c. Levallois
d. Solutrean
Using tools and tool making is an adaptation by hominins as a result of:
a. improved diet.
b. bipedalism.
c. sleeping.
d. becoming larger.
All fossils represent:
a. transitions.
b. dead end species.
c. an inability to adapt to changing local environments over time.
d. a new evolutionary lineage.
Phylogeny refers to:
a. evolutionary relationships that are based on shared characteristics including physical
traits, genetics, and behavior.
b. the fundamental anatomical features in primates that reflect their high degree of
diversity.
c. primates’ ability to get around in trees using an unusually wide range of motions
involving the limbs and trunk.
d. a set of behaviors and anatomical characteristics that is unique to mammals adapted
to life in the trees.
You are reading a scientific article about cheetahs that have stripes instead of spots. The
article refers to this as a genetic mutation. Though you see they have no negative impact
on the cheetahs’ fitness, the stripes are nevertheless considered a genetic mutation
because:
a. mutations can result in an evolutionary advantage.
b. mutations can result in an evolutionary disadvantage.
c. mutations may have no effect on the phenotype.
d. all of the above
The cladistic primate classification includes:
a. anthropods and haplorhines.
b. hominoids and chordata.
c. strepsirhines and haplorhines.
d. pongidae and omomyidae.
A species that is adapted to a wide range of environments, climates, and diets is:
a. biologically sound.
b. likely facing extinction.
c. biologically diverse.
d. is protected from extinction.
Bipedalism in primates means:
a. walking on two feet.
b. walking on four feet.
c. walking using two legs and a tail.
d. swinging from branch to branch.
An individual that is homozygous at the locus that determines ABO blood type may
have any of the following EXCEPT:
a. type AB blood.
b. type O blood.
c. type A blood.
d. type B blood.
The Acheulean complex:
a. emerged around 2.5 mya.
b. is used to describe simple pebble tools.
c. emerged around 1.5 mya.
d. is characteristic of Homo habilis.
The Oldowan Complex includes tools like:
a. hand axes, flakes, and cores.
b. cobbles, flakes, and side scrapers.
c. choppers, cobbles, flakes, and bone tools.
d. choppers, hand axes, and side scrapers.
Chimpanzee communication involves different combinations of sounds, such as:
a. screams, gnashing, and hissing.
b. grunts, pants, and hoots.
c. howling, hoots, and high-pitched screams.
d. pants, coos, and gurgles.
__________ DNA is heteroplasmic, meaning it can differ among different parts of a
person’s body.
a. Nuclear
b. All
c. Ribosomal
d. Mitochondrial
The maintenance of homeostasis:
a. involves all levels of any organism’s biology.
b. involves the study of populations in their natural environments.
c. involves using material culture to make living possible in certain settings.
d. involves the replication of environmental conditions and human responses to those
conditions.
Evolutionary synthesis is:
a. the concept of evolution and natural selection.
b. the melding of natural selection and Mendelian inheritance.
c. a combination of the inheritance of acquired characteristics and natural selection.
d. the theory of evolution and Linnaean taxonomy.
Painted perforated shells are evidence that Neandertals:
a. traded with modern humans.
b. used body ornaments.
c. used symbolism.
d. both b. and c.
Haplotypes are:
a. not likely to recombine during crossovers.
b. likely to recombine during crossovers.
c. genes that code for similar things.
d. genetic material that comes from one parent only.
Describe the steps involved in protein synthesis.
Why is a frameshift mutation far more likely to lead to a defective protein than a point
mutation?
What was the Piltdown Man? Why was it significant?
Discuss how natural selection has likely influenced the evolution of skin color in
humans.
Differentiate between absolute and relative dating techniques, giving one example of
each.
How do dating methods help to support the theory of natural selection and biological
evolution?
What are some of the important scientific discoveries that laid the groundwork for
Darwin’s theory of evolution?
Provide an imaginary example of the proper use of the scientific method.
Discuss how morphologic changes to modern humans’ faces, mandibles, and teeth
changed after the shift to agriculture and consumption of softer foods.
Discuss which forces of evolution are currently affecting human evolution. Also,
consider how these forces are influenced by human intervention and global warming.
Why are primates social?
What are the human biological consequences of global climate change and population
increase?
Define polygenic and pleiotropic traits and explain their significance for researchers’
efforts to link human genotypes to phenotypes.
Discuss the forces of evolution and their role in evolution.
Discuss which anatomical traits are used to contrast modern humans’ physical
appearance with that of similar hominids. Which are derived and which are ancestral?
Are these traits biological adaptation, as in the case of Neandertals?