Free Concept of Evolution MCQs with Answers

31. Darwin noted that populations produce far more offspring than the environment can support, which leads to

• A. universal survival
• B. genetic uniformity
• C. competition, the struggle for existence
• D. instant formation of new species

Explanation: Overproduction plus limited food and space means only some individuals survive to breed, and which ones depends on their traits. This competition is the engine that makes natural selection operate.

32. The phrase survival of the fittest was coined by

• A. Charles Darwin
• B. Alfred Wallace
• C. Charles Lyell
• D. Herbert Spencer

Explanation: Spencer, the philosopher, coined the phrase after reading Darwin, and Darwin later adopted it in later editions of the Origin. The wording is often credited to Darwin himself, which is the trap here.

33. In natural selection, the selecting agent is

• A. human beings
• B. parasites only
• C. the largest individual in the population
• D. the environment

Explanation: Climate, food, predators and disease together decide which variants survive and reproduce. When humans do the choosing, as in crop breeding, the process is called artificial selection instead.

34. The resemblance of a stick insect to the twig on which it rests is best explained by

• A. natural selection favouring camouflaged variants over many generations
• B. the insect stretching its body towards twigs
• C. Lamarck's inner need for safety
• D. pure chance in every individual

Explanation: Birds removed the conspicuous insects generation after generation, leaving the better disguised to breed, until resemblance became remarkable. The insect does not change on purpose; selection filters what variation offers.

35. The modern theory of evolution, often called neo Darwinism, combines Darwin's natural selection with

• A. Lamarck's inheritance of acquired characters
• B. genetics and the study of mutation
• C. the idea of spontaneous generation
• D. the theory of catastrophes

Explanation: Mendel's genetics supplied the missing mechanism of inheritance, and mutation supplied the source of variation, completing what Darwin lacked. Lamarckism was discarded, not incorporated.

36. The joint papers of Darwin and Wallace on natural selection were read in 1858 before the

• A. Vatican Academy
• B. French Academy of Sciences
• C. Linnean Society of London
• D. Royal Institution of Edinburgh

Explanation: Lyell and Hooker arranged for both men's work to be presented together at the Linnean Society, establishing their joint priority a year before the Origin appeared. The date 1858 and the Society are standard recall points.

37. Homologous structures indicate

• A. Convergent evolution
• B. Divergent evolution
• C. No evolutionary relationship
• D. Analogous functions

Explanation: Homologous structures (same origin, different function) indicate divergent evolution from a common ancestor.

38. Allopatric speciation requires

• A. Same habitat
• B. Geographic isolation
• C. Polyploidy
• D. Sympatric conditions

Explanation: Allopatric speciation occurs when populations are separated by a geographic barrier, leading to reproductive isolation.

39. Analogous structures result from

• A. Common ancestry
• B. Convergent evolution
• C. Divergent evolution
• D. Vestigial development

Explanation: Analogous structures (different origin, same function) result from convergent evolution, e.g., wings of bats and insects.

40. Vestigial organs are

• A. Essential for survival
• B. Reduced non-functional remnants
• C. Newly evolved structures
• D. Only found in embryos

Explanation: Vestigial organs (appendix, coccyx) are reduced remnants of structures functional in ancestors.