51. Which concept explains evolution driven by genetic variation and selection?
A) Mutation theory
B) Darwinism ✅
C) Lamarckism
D) Orthogenesis
Darwin’s principle of divergence explains:
A) Speciation by adaptation to different environments ✅
B) Genetic drift
C) Mutation accumulation
D) Lamarckian inheritance
Who emphasized the role of population pressure in evolution?
A) Weismann
B) Thomas Malthus ✅
C) Lamarck
D) Huxley
Which of the following is a post-Darwinian evolutionary theory?
A) Lamarckism
B) Mutation theory ✅
C) Natural selection
D) Fitness
In Darwinian theory, extinction occurs because:
A) Organisms stop mutating
B) Organisms cannot compete successfully ✅
C) Species are static
D) Orthogenesis
Which factor can cause rapid evolution in isolated populations?
A) Genetic drift ✅
B) Lamarckism
C) Fitness
D) Orthogenesis
According to Darwin, the source of variation is:
A) Mutation
B) Heritable variation already present in population ✅
C) Use and disuse
D) Lamarckian inheritance
Who coined the term “evolution”?
A) Charles Darwin
B) Jean-Baptiste Lamarck ✅
C) Wallace
D) Huxley
Evolutionary trends in a lineage independent of adaptation are described by:
A) Orthogenesis ✅
B) Natural selection
C) Mutation
D) Genetic drift
Polyploidy as a mechanism of speciation is common in:
A) Animals
B) Plants ✅
C) Bacteria
D) Fungi
The fossil record shows:
A) Direct observation of natural selection
B) Transitional forms ✅
C) Only extinction events
D) Lamarckian use-disuse
Which is an example of microevolution?
A) Evolution of mammals from reptiles
B) Antibiotic resistance in bacteria ✅
C) Formation of new phyla
D) Cambrian explosion
Allopatric speciation often leads to:
A) Sympatric evolution
B) Geographic isolation and divergence ✅
C) Lamarckian adaptation
D) Orthogenesis
Sympatric speciation often involves:
A) Polyploidy ✅
B) Fossil evidence
C) Use-disuse
D) Orthogenesis
Genetic polymorphism refers to:
A) Only harmful mutations
B) Multiple alleles in a population ✅
C) Fixed traits
D) Orthogenetic trends
Evolution by natural selection is considered:
A) Directed
B) Non-random ✅
C) Random
D) Lamarckian
Darwin observed variations in:
A) Domestic pigeons ✅
B) Elephants
C) Humans only
D) Horses
Which scientist emphasized statistical methods in evolution?
A) Francis Galton ✅
B) Darwin
C) Lamarck
D) Wallace
Which is an example of adaptive evolution?
A) Peppered moth color change ✅
B) Elephant tusks
C) Vestigial wings
D) Genetic drift
In mutation theory, new species arise:
A) Gradually
B) Through large mutations ✅
C) Only by natural selection
D) Orthogenetically
Darwin’s theory is mainly:
A) Progressive
B) Descriptive and explanatory ✅
C) Prescriptive
D) Orthogenetic
Which type of evolution produces similar traits in unrelated species?
A) Convergent ✅
B) Divergent
C) Parallel
D) Orthogenetic
Parallel evolution occurs when:
A) Two species share common ancestor and evolve similarly ✅
B) Unrelated species evolve similarly
C) Mutation occurs randomly
D) Drift dominates
Homology in structures indicates:
A) Functional similarity
B) Common ancestry ✅
C) Random mutation
D) Genetic drift
Which evolutionary concept accounts for equilibrium periods?
A) Phyletic gradualism
B) Punctuated equilibrium ✅
C) Mutation theory
D) Lamarckism
The main mechanism of speciation is:
A) Genetic drift
B) Natural selection ✅
C) Use-disuse
D) Saltation
Hox genes are significant in evolution because they:
A) Control embryonic development patterns ✅
B) Cause mutations
C) Affect only adults
D) Influence fitness only
Evolutionary convergence results from:
A) Shared ancestry
B) Similar environmental pressures ✅
C) Random drift
D) Orthogenesis
Polyphyletic groups indicate:
A) Single common ancestor
B) Multiple unrelated ancestors ✅
C) Gradual evolution
D) Lamarckism
The evolutionary importance of mutations is:
A) Always harmful
B) Source of genetic variation ✅
C) Always neutral
D) Non-heritable
Vestigial structures indicate:
A) Adaptation
B) Evolutionary history ✅
C) Random mutation
D) Orthogenesis
Microevolution refers to:
A) Species-level evolution ✅
B) Phylum-level evolution
C) Family-level evolution
D) Class-level evolution
Macroevolution refers to:
A) Small-scale variation
B) Large-scale changes over time ✅
C) Genetic drift
D) Polymorphism
Darwin’s “Origin of Species” was published in:
A) 1859 ✅
B) 1845
C) 1865
D) 1872
The “Weismann barrier” separates:
A) Somatic and germ cells ✅
B) Mutation and selection
C) Adaptation and fitness
D) Evolution and extinction
Neutral theory of molecular evolution was proposed by:
A) Motoo Kimura ✅
B) Darwin
C) Lamarck
D) Wallace
Genetic drift can lead to:
A) Increased fitness only
B) Random fixation of alleles ✅
C) Lamarckian adaptation
D) Directed evolution
Which scientist argued against inheritance of acquired traits?
A) Hugo de Vries
B) Weismann ✅
C) Lamarck
D) Darwin
Evolutionary tempo and mode were described by:
A) Darwin
B) Simpson ✅
C) Lamarck
D) Wallace
Which of the following is an example of speciation in action?
A) Cichlid fishes in African lakes ✅
B) Human evolution only
C) Whale evolution
D) Fossil formation
Genetic recombination contributes to evolution by:
A) Increasing variation ✅
B) Decreasing fitness
C) Eliminating mutations
D) Producing clones
Evolutionary bottleneck can cause:
A) Increased diversity
B) Loss of genetic variation ✅
C) Lamarckian adaptation
D) Orthogenetic trends
Which evidence supports Darwin’s theory in molecular biology?
A) DNA and protein sequence comparisons ✅
B) Fossilized bones only
C) Embryology only
D) Orthogenesis
Directional selection favors:
A) Intermediate traits
B) One extreme trait ✅
C) Both extremes
D) Random traits
Stabilizing selection favors:
A) Intermediate traits ✅
B) Extremes
C) Random traits
D) Mutation only
Disruptive selection favors:
A) Extremes ✅
B) Intermediate traits
C) Random traits
D) Mutation
Genetic drift is strongest in:
A) Large populations
B) Small populations ✅
C) Populations with high mutation
D) Populations under stabilizing selection
Orthogenesis suggests evolution:
A) Randomly
B) In a straight, predetermined path ✅
C) By mutation only
D) By natural selection only
Comparative embryology supports:
A) Orthogenesis
B) Common ancestry ✅
C) Mutation theory only
D) Neutral theory
100. The Modern Evolutionary Synthesis was completed in:
A) 1920–1940 ✅
B) 1859–1870
C) 1900–1910
D) 1950–1960