How Humans Evolved 7th Edition by Robert Boyd – Test Bank
CHAPTER 1: Adaptation by Natural Selection
MULTIPLE CHOICE
- Adaptations are defined as the components of an organism that
| a. | allow it to survive and reproduce. | c. | occur by random chance alone. |
| b. | allow it to evolve more rapidly. | d. | absolutely never change. |
ANS: A DIF: Medium REF: Explaining Adaptation Before Darwin
OBJ: Describe why our modern understanding of the diversity of life is based on the ideas of Charles Darwin. MSC: Remembering
- Which of the following is an adaptation?
| a. | The human eye. |
| b. | Design by a divine creator. |
| c. | Both the human and the fish eye, but humans are better adapted to their environments than fish are to theirs. |
| d. | The Grand Canyon. |
ANS: A DIF: Easy REF: Explaining Adaptation Before Darwin
OBJ: Explain how natural selection can produce very complex adaptations like the human eye.
MSC: Applying
- Influential nineteenth-century scientists like Charles Darwin concluded that the complex adaptations we see in plants and animals are problematic and require a special explanation because
| a. | a divine creator designed them. |
| b. | it is very unlikely that they arose by random chance alone. |
| c. | they occur in most plants and animals. |
| d. | they have no real function. |
ANS: B DIF: Easy REF: Explaining Adaptation Before Darwin
OBJ: Describe why our modern understanding of the diversity of life is based on the ideas of Charles Darwin. MSC: Understanding
- Before Charles Darwin proposed his theory of natural selection by adaptation, many scholars argued that adaptations are proof that
| a. | evolution is a process based on random chance alone. |
| b. | because of their ability to adapt quickly, humans are better than all other species. |
| c. | God exists and designs all things to fit a specific purpose. |
| d. | there is no way that God can exist. |
ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: Explaining Adaptation Before Darwin
OBJ: Describe why our modern understanding of the diversity of life is based on the ideas of Charles Darwin. MSC: Remembering
- Charles Darwin is known for his revolutionary argument that
| a. | plants and animals are not designed by God and do not change over time. |
| b. | plants and animals change slowly over time. |
| c. | fossil plants and animals changed, but existing plants and animals do not. |
| d. | plants and animals are created by chance and then evolve through divine intervention. |
ANS: B DIF: Easy REF: Darwin’s Theory of Adaptation
OBJ: Describe why our modern understanding of the diversity of life is based on the ideas of Charles Darwin. MSC: Remembering
