5. Once concept of evolution has been based on the idea that a new kind of organism would emerge by a sudden, large mutation in an individual. This new type of individual would then exploit a new way of life and proliferate as a new species. Which of the following statements makes the strongest argument against this hypothesis?
a) A single, sudden mutation cannot produce that much difference in an individual.
b) Such a large mutation would most likely be lethal.
c) Natural selection takes longer than one generation to produce a new species.
d) There would be no mate for the first individual of the new species.
e) The new species would begin with too little genetic variation and would rapidly become extinct.
6. Which of the following would best test the hypothesis that two populations of very similar squirrels, isolated from contact with each other, are different species?
a) Examine many individuals to determine whether there are any morphological differences between the two populations.
b) Examine DNA from many individuals to assess genetic differences between the two populations.
c) Examine the environments in the two locations to determine whether the same selection pressures would be operating.
d) Capture live individuals from both populations and determine whether they can crossbreed and produce viable, fertile offspring.
e) Look for hybrids between the two populations in the wild.
7. Sequences of strata in sedimentary rocks are very useful in the working out of evolutionary sequences. Occasionally, however, anomalous patterns are observed that seem to be due to later inversion of many strata. Which of the following observations would be evidence of secondary inversion of strata?
a) Unusual sequences of fossils in strata.
b) Human and dinosaur fossils in the same strata.
c) Strata tilted from the horizontal plane.
d) Raindrop imprints and ripple marks on the bottoms of strata.
e) Sudden changes from one type of rock to another in the horizontal plane within one layer.
8. Fossils found in rock suggest that
Life started on Earth 3,500 million years ago (mya)
Plants live on land 400 mya
Flowering plants (monocots) "develop" 80 mya
Dinosaurs "vanish" 65 mya
Humans "appear" 150,000 years ago
Compare these time spans by changing the scale from years to seconds: let 1 yr = 1 sec.
Thus, in this scale the average biology student is 20 seconds old.
a) In this scale, how many days ago did humans appear?
b) How many years ago did the dinosaurs vanish?
c) How many years ago did flowering plants begin to dominate?
d) How many years ago did plants start to live on land?
e) How many years ago did cells first fossilize?