Name: Grade & Section:

Teacher: Score:
General Direction: This is a 50-item test, read each direction written in every type of test,
answer this test in one hour.
1. The change in populations over time
A. Evolution
B. Genetic Drift
C. Punctuated equilibrium
D. Natural Selection

2. A priest who served as a naturalist on the H.M.S. Beagle. Formed Theory of Evolution by
Natural Selection
A. Thomas Malthus
B. Alfred Russell Wallace
C. Charles Darwin
D. Jean Baptiste Lamarck

3. A group of small islands near the equator, about 1 000 km off the west coast of South
America. Observations of the island fauna lead to the Theory of Evolution by Natural
Selection
A. Fiji Islands
B. Falkland Islands
C. Galapagos Islands
D. Aleutian Islands
4. The key idea in natural selection is that individuals that have hereditary characteristics
that give them an advantage over others will:
A. live to an older age
B. live to reproduce
C. maintain their environments
D. undergo new mutations
5. According to natural selection, which individuals tend to survive?
A. Those that have characteristics their parents acquired through greater use
B. Those that have characteristics that animal and plant breeders value
C. Those that have characteristics best suited to the environment
D. Those that have characteristics that they needed

6. Which statement is NOT part of the natural selection process?

A. There is a struggle for existence
B. The environment can support only a limited number of individuals
C. Adaptive traits are passes on to offspring
D. There is little or no variation within species
7. Two organisms that have a body part that functions differently but arose from a
common ancestor (for example, whale flipper and human arm) are said to have

INTERFACE COMPUTER COLLEGE 2nd UNIT EXAM

HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT GRADE 9 SCIENCE

 A. evolutionary structures
B. vestigial structures
C. analogous structures
D. homologous structures

8. Two organisms that have a body part that functions similarly but arose from a different
ancestor (for example, butterfly wing and bat wing) are said to have
A. evolutionary structures
B. vestigial structures
C. analogous structures
D. homologous structures

9. Which best describes the fossil record?

A. Complete and clear
B. All organisms are represented
C. Informative and incomplete
D. Totally incomprehensible

10. The human embryo and all other vertebrate embryos have gill slits. This best supports
the idea that
A. Humans are descended from fish
B. Embryos can breathe under water
C. Vertebrates are evolutionarily related
D. Humans become fish before they become human
11. Which is an example of evidence for the theory of evolution?
A. Fossils (comparing ancient evidence of life)
B. Biochemistry (comparing the chemical composition of living things)
C. Embryology (comparing embryo development)
D. Morphology (comparing body structures)
E. All of the above

12. Galapagos finches

A. resulted from convergent evolution operating on a variety of dissimilar species
to adapt them to similar niches
B. resulted from the effects that population growth and natural selection have on
geographically isolated populations
C. resulted from the effects of continuous gene flow between the islands and the
mainland over many thousands of years
D. provide a good example of the artificial selection that is common in equatorial
areas.

13. The structural similarities between the flippers of whales and the arms of humans are
used to show that:
A. the human species began life in the ocean B. humans and whales
have a common ancestor

INTERFACE COMPUTER COLLEGE 2nd UNIT EXAM

HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT GRADE 9 SCIENCE

 C. whales are older than the human species D. whales evolved
from humans

14. Bird and insect wings are similar because they carry out the same type of function.
However, structurally they are very different. They are examples of
A. homologous structures B. convergent evolution
C. mutation D. acquired characteristics

15. Which of the following is (are) true of species, according to the biological species
concept?
A. Species consist of a group of plants or animals which all look very similar to
one another.
B. A species is a group of plants or animals that has the potential to evolve as a
unit.
C. A species is a group of plants or animals which can interbreed under natural
conditions and produce fertile offspring.
D. Both b and c are true.

Word bank: Use the word bank to fill in the blanks questions 1–6.

Analogous structures Evolution Hutton

Aristotle Fossil Lamarck
Darwin Homologous structures
Vestigial structures

1. Change of a population over time: _______________________________

2. Scientist who proposed the idea of use and disuse:
_______________________________
3. Scientist who proposed the idea of natural selection:
_______________________________
4. Scientist who proposed that Earth was millions of years old:
_______________________________
5. Structures that are similar but have different functions:
_______________________________

INTERFACE COMPUTER COLLEGE 2nd UNIT EXAM

HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT GRADE 9 SCIENCE

 6. Structures that that are reduced in size and have no clear function:
_______________________________
7. True/False: Circle the correct answer for questions 15–17.

12. T F Bacteria becoming resistant to antibiotics is one example of evolution.

13. T F Darwin’s theory of evolution was influenced by his knowledge of DNA.

14. T F Organisms can choose to adapt to their environment in order to survive.

Short answer: Answer questions 16 AND 17 using complete sentences. ( 5 points each)

16. What is the definition of evolution?

17. What did Darwin notice about the tortoises and finches of the Galapagos Islands?

INTERFACE COMPUTER COLLEGE 2nd UNIT EXAM

HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT GRADE 9 SCIENCE

INTERFACE COMPUTER COLLEGE 2nd UNIT EXAM

HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT GRADE 9 SCIENCE