Q&A Hero

Q: Mutations to which of the following cells are most likely to have significant evolutionary consequences?a. sex cells (gametes) b. red blood cells c. skin pigment cellsd. brain cells

Q: The clinal decrease in type B blood from East Asia to Western Europe is probably the result ofa. founder effect. b. stabilizing selection. c. mutation.d. gene flow.

Q: Which of the evolutionary forces is most likely to decrease variation between populations?a. gene flow b. founder effect c. mutationd. natural selection

Q: Another name for the evolutionary force called gene flow isa. founder effect. b. disruptive selection. c. admixture.d. transposition.

Q: The ABO and MN blood-type frequencies of the Dunkers differ significantly from those of current American and German populations due toa. genetic drift. b. natural selection. c. gene flow.d. mutation.

Q: Which of the following is not a genetic disorder that decreases susceptibility to malaria?a. G6pd deficiency (favism) b. sickle-cell anemia c. Huntington's choread. thalassemia

Q: Which African people's southern migration may have led to a significant increase in the incidence of malaria?a. Masai b. Turkana c. Efed. Bantu

Q: The type of selection that favored progressively larger brain size in human evolution isa. natural selection. b. directional selection. c. stabilizing selection.d. disruptive selection.

Q: 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 ofa. microevolution. b. founder effect. c. equilibrium.d. macroevolution.

Q: 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.

Q: In certain species of nonhuman primates there are groups where only one dominant female has access to mates. The other females must wait until the opportunity to gain mate access presents itself. This will have direct impacts on "fitness," influencing which of the following?a. reproductive success b. aggressiveness c. strengthd. age at death

Q: When geneticists talk about the gene pool, they refer specifically to variation at a genetica. chromosome. b. nucleus. c. address.d. locus.

Q: While conducting research with a small population in South America you note that an overwhelming majority of individuals exhibit signs of a specific genetic abnormality. This is most likely the result ofa. natural selection. b. founder effect. c. extinction.d. gene flow.

Q: Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium assumes a. strong selection pressure on the trait(s) being studied. b. a significant mutation rate from generation to generation. c. gene flow that is equal both into and out of the population. d. no gene flow, mutation, genetic drift, or natural selection.

Q: Together, all of the alleles contained within a group of interbreeding individuals are known as aa. gene pool. b. population. c. clinal distribution.d. polymorphism.

Q: Malaria is caused bya. bites from infected mosquitoes. b. a genetic mutation. c. drinking bad water.d. eating spoiled food.

Q: Spontaneous mutations are defined as a. errors caused by some external agent such as X-rays or exposure to toxic chemicals. b. errors caused by random changes in DNA. c. errors occurring during mitosis. d. b and c only.

Q: The effects of ________ have increased from 10,000 years ago to the present.a. mutations b. gene flow c. genetic driftd. natural selection

Q: Which of the following is the result of a single-point mutation on chromosome 11?a. Marfan syndrome b. Down syndrome c. Kleinfelter's syndromed. Sickle-cell anemia

Q: Klinefelter's syndrome results a. from males passing on an extra copy of chromosome #21. b. from females passing on an extra copy of chromosome #21. c. from females passing on an extra copy of the Y chromosome (resulting in a 47-chromosome, XXY karyotype). d. from males passing on an extra copy of the X chromosome (resulting in a 47-chromosome, XXY karyotype).

Q: Which of the following is key to the development of individual species?a. Microevolution b. Gene flow c. Reproductive isolationd. Equilibrium

Q: ________ is the force of evolution that is most powerful when acting on very small populations.a. Gene flow b. Mutation c. Genetic driftd. Founder effect

Q: Population geneticists refer to a reproductive population as a(n)a. allelic pool. b. deme. c. micropopulation.d. macropopulation.

Q: Mutation a. works most effectively on small populations. b. is the only source of new alleles. c. is one of many sources of new alleles. d. works to decrease variation between populations.

Q: Define polygenic and pleiotropic traits and explain their significance for researchers' efforts to link human genotypes to phenotypes.

Q: What is the evolutionary significance of meiosis?

Q: Discuss homeotic or Hox genes. What purpose do they serve in the genome?

Q: Describe the steps involved in protein synthesis.

Q: Use what you know about meiosis to explain Mendel's law of segregation and law of independent assortment.

Q: A doctor finds that the mammary glands of a woman are not functioning due to a genetic abnormality that influences the structural design of the thoracic cavity. This is likely a. the result of a mutation on the sex chromosomes. b. the result of a mutation on a Hoxgene. c. the result of a mutation in HSV-1. d. none of the above.

Q: In his experiments with garden peas, Mendel found that one physical unit is inherited from the father and one from the mother. This provided evidence for a. Mendel's law of independent assortment. b. Thomas Hunt Morgan's ideas of mutation. c. Mendel's law of segregation. d. Mendel's concept of nondisjunction.

Q: The two alleles that result in the expressed phenotype for hemoglobin are equally expressed. This is an example ofa. polymorphism. b. codominance. c. pleiotropy.d. Mendelian inheritance.

Q: Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) differs from ribonucleic acid (RNA) in that a. it was studied during Darwin's lifetime. b. it is the "recipe" for all biological characteristics and functions. c. it was discovered by Mendel. d. it is stored in ribosomes.

Q: Chromosome number is reduced duringa. mitosis. b. recombination. c. translation.d. meiosis.

Q: DNA a. is single stranded. b. contains six different nucleotide bases. c. is the template for every aspect of an organism. d. contains the base uracil.

Q: Homologous chromosomes a. are genetically identical. b. carry genetic information that influences the same trait. c. are inherited only from the mother. d. are members of different pairs.

Q: Somatic cells are characterized by all of the following except a. each includes a nucleus. b. they are used in multiple tissues throughout the body. c. each contains half a copy of an organism's DNA. d. each contains a complete copy of all of an organism's DNA.

Q: A trait's heritability a. is the proportion of its variation that is genetic. b. is the proportion of its variation that cannot be explained. c. is the proportion of its variation that is the product of genes and environment. d. is the proportion of its variation that results from the environment alone.

Q: The expression of polygenic traits a. is never influenced by environmental factors. b. is determined by genes at several loci in conjunction with environmental factors. c. is determined solely by genes at two or more loci. d. none of the above.

Q: The presence of a recessive allele a. can always be determined from the phenotype. b. is usually masked in the phenotype. c. is expressed in the phenotype alongside a dominant allele. d. none of the above.

Q: Individuals whose blood type is A and who carry both dominant and recessive genes at this locus have a genotype ofa. AA. b. AO. c. AB.d. none of the above.

Q: An individual that is homozygous at the locus that determines ABO blood type may have any of the following excepta. type AB blood. b. type O blood. c. type A blood.d. type B blood.

Q: Microsatellites are a. small satellite transmitters used in genetic research. b. useful for determining group but not individual identification. c. highly individualized repetitive stretches of nuclear DNA. d. known from Watson and Crick's 1950s research.

Q: Human ABO blood types area. determined by regulatory genes. b. controlled by multiple alleles. c. controlled by multiple genes.d. none of the above.

Q: Homeotic (Hox) genes are:a. structural genes.b. responsible for the development and location of key body parts.c. responsible for determining the sex of offspring.d. not used during embryonic development.

Q: Meiosis results in the production ofa. two gametes. b. four gametes. c. a single gamete.d. none of the above.

Q: Hoxgenes a. appear to function in similar ways across diverse groups of organisms. b. function only in fruit flies. c. control which amino acids get plugged into polypeptide chains. d. control the development of language in humans.

Q: The gene responsible for lactose persistence among adults in Europe is aa. structural gene. b. dominant gene. c. regulatory gene.d. Hox gene.

Q: Transfer RNA a. seeks complementary triplet strands of mRNA codons. b. contains codons that correspond to specific amino acids. c. brings amino acids together to form polypeptide chains. d. all of the above.

Q: RNA differs from DNA in that it usesa. uracil instead of adenine. b. uracil instead of guanine. c. guanine instead of uracil.d. uracil instead of thymine.

Q: Transcriptiona. occurs in the nucleus.b. occurs in the ribosome.c. results in the production of proteins.d. results in the transformation of mitochondria.

Q: Proteins consist ofa. genes. b. RNA plus mRNA. c. chains of DNA nucleotides.d. chains of amino acids.

Q: 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.

Q: In his work on pea plants, Mendel found that plant height was inherited independently of the type or color of the seed coat. This finding a. applies to genes on the same chromosome. b. applies to the law of independent assortment. c. explains gene linkage. d. explains inheritance in simple organisms.

Q: Down syndrome can occur a. as a result of translocation during mitosis. b. because of nondisjunction, which yields an extra chromosome. c. most frequently in the offspring of women under the age of 40. d. all of the above.

Q: 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.

Q: Gametes area. diploid. b. haploid. c. produced during mitosis.d. none of the above.

Q: In mammals, the male parent's gametes determine the sex of his offspring because a. the X chromosome originates only from females. b. sperm are more powerful than eggs. c. the Y chromosome is present in males only. d. the X chromosome determines sex.

Q: DNA replication producesa. four identical daughter cells. b. two identical daughter cells. c. two single strands of DNA.d. none of the above.

Q: The following are complementary bases in DNAa. adenine and thymine. b. adenine and cytosine. c. guanine and thymine.d. guanine and uracil.

Q: Nucleotide bases in nuclear DNA include all of the following excepta. thymine. b. adenine. c. uracil.d. cytosine.

Q: ________ DNA is heteroplasmic, meaning it can differ among different parts of a person's body.a. Nuclear b. All c. Ribosomald. Mitochondrial

Q: Prokaryotes first appeareda. 10,000 years ago. b. 1 mya. c. 3.7 bya.d. 65 mya.

Q: Somatic cells include all of the following excepta. lung cells. b. sex cells. c. skin cells.d. brain tissue.

Q: Which of the following is an inherited disorder of the regulatory genes that control connective tissue leading to long, thin extremities?a. Kleinfelter's syndrome b. Marfan syndrome c. Edward's syndromed. Down syndrome

Q: Within the kingdom Animalia a. mammals have differing numbers of sex chromosomes. b. mammals have the same number of chromosomes. c. mammals have differing number of chromosomes. d. all mammals have the same DNA.

Q: What makes up a human karyotype? a. 23 autosomal chromosome pairs and one pair of sex chromosomes b. 24 autosomal chromosome pairs and one pair of sex chromosomes c. 22 autosomal chromosome pairs and one pair of sex chromosomes d. 21 autosomal chromosome pairs and one pair of sex chromosomes

Q: In order for traits to respond to natural selection a. they must be acquired prior to gamete production. b. they must be heritable. c. they must be found in the mitochondrial DNA. d. they must be found in cells.

Q: Most human nuclear DNA is coded to produce ________ .a. amino acids b. proteins c. RNAd. mutations

Q: DNA replication takes place a. prior to cell division. b. only during the production of new gametes. c. only during meiosis. d. only during mitosis.

Q: Mitochondrial DNA isa. contained within the cell's nucleus. b. passed from father to son. c. passed from mother to offspring.d. found only in bacteria.

Q: The complete set of genes in an individual cell is calleda. amino acids. b. proteins. c. the genome.d. the gene pool.

Q: ________ are organisms lacking any internal compartments.a. Fungi b. Plants c. Prokaryotesd. Eukaryotes

Q: Why is Linnaeus's taxonomic system called a "nested hierarchy"? Considering that Linnaeus was not an evolutionist, why is his system still used today by evolutionary biologists?

Q: What is the significance for evolutionary theory of Darwin's analysis of the Galpagos finches? Provide at least one example in your answer.

Q: What are some of the important scientific discoveries that laid the groundwork for Darwin's theory of evolution?

Q: Why was Darwin's 1859 published theory of natural selection not widely accepted by his peers? What later scientific advance was critical to the subsequent broad acceptance of natural selection as a major force in evolutionary change?

Q: Detail Darwin's major contribution to the theory of evolution.

Q: Darwin was a crew member on ________ , a ship whose voyage informed his later theory of natural selection.a. the HMS Labrador b. the HMS Beagle c. the HMS Papillond. the HMS Elizabeth

Q: Gene flow differs from genetic drift because a. it is the random change in the frequency of alleles. b. it is the random change in a gene or chromosome. c. it is the guiding force of evolution. d. it is the spread of new genetic material from one gene pool to another.