Free Evolution MCQs with Answers

814 Evolution MCQs from Biology, each with the correct answer and a written explanation of why it is correct. Free and unlimited, with no account needed.

Evolution describes heritable change in populations over generations through variation, natural selection and adaptation. Lamarckism explains inheritance of acquired characteristics, while Darwinism explains selection of favourable inherited variations; these historical explanations must not be confused with the modern genetic account of evolutionary change.

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814 questions · page 17 of 41

  • A. Lamarck
  • B. Wallace
  • C. Margulis
  • D. Lyell

Explanation: This idea is known as the endosymbiont hypothesis (Fig.24.la) and was irst proposed by Lynn Margulis.

Correct answer: Margulis
  • A. Protists
  • B. Algae
  • C. Bacteria
  • D. Protozoans

Explanation: The evolutionary organism believed by bacteria in early evolutionary sequence via various chemicals is bacteria.

Correct answer: Bacteria
  • A. Offspring in numbers that match the available resources
  • B. Offspring to balance resource consumption
  • C. Offspring to increase resource availability
  • D. More offspring than the environment can support

Explanation: According to the theory of natural selection, organisms produce more offspring than the environment can support.

Correct answer: More offspring than the environment can support
  • A. No competition
  • B. No polymorphism
  • C. Polymorphism
  • D. Competition

Explanation: Competition is the correct answer because it serves as a natural mechanism for controlling population growth.

Correct answer: Competition
  • A. Appendix
  • B. Coccyx
  • C. Both Options A and B are correct
  • D. None of these

Explanation: Vestigial structures are anatomical remnants that were important in the organism's ancestors but are no longer needed in the same…

Correct answer: None of these
  • A. The balance of the genetic equilibrium of that population
  • B. No effect to the genetic equilibrium of that population
  • C. Change in the genetic equilibrium of that population
  • D. Genetic equilibrium doesn't apply in that population

Explanation: The genetic equilibrium of the population will be affected because green beetles can camouflage with green grass and as a result can be…

Correct answer: Change in the genetic equilibrium of that population
  • A. Homozygous dominant
  • B. Heterozygous dominant
  • C. Heterozygous recessive
  • D. Homozygous recessive
  • E. Blended genes

Explanation: q2 represents the homozygous recessive trait in the Hardy-Weinberg principle.It is calculated by squaring the frequency of the recessive…

Correct answer: Homozygous recessive
  • A. Inheritances
  • B. Dominance
  • C. Inheritance of acquired characteristics
  • D. All of the above

Explanation: Lamarck is best known for his Theory of Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics, first presented in 1809 (Darwin's first book dealing with…

Correct answer: Inheritance of acquired characteristics
  • A. Analogous
  • B. Homologous
  • C. Vestigial
  • D. Evolutionary convergent

Explanation: A great example of homologous structures is the wings of a bird and the forelegs of a horse.

Correct answer: Homologous
  • A. Protists
  • B. Algae
  • C. Bacteria
  • D. Protozoans

Explanation: Bacteria are considered one of the earliest and most primitive forms of life.

Correct answer: Bacteria
  • A. Analogous organs
  • B. Homologous organs
  • C. Convergent evolution
  • D. Divergent evolution

Explanation: Analogous organs have a similar function but with different embryonic origins and structures.

Correct answer: Analogous organs
  • A. Fitness
  • B. Evolution
  • C. Crossing over
  • D. Artificial Selection

Explanation: A mechanism of evolution in which allele frequencies of a population change over generations due to chance.Some chances favor more to a…

Correct answer: Evolution
  • A. Is similar to its parents
  • B. Inherits characters acquired by the parental generation
  • C. Shows struggle for existence
  • D. Repeats phylogeny in its ontogeny
  • E. None of these

Explanation: Lamarck's theory of organic evolution is centered on the idea that characteristics acquired during an organism's lifetime can be passed on…

Correct answer: Inherits characters acquired by the parental generation
  • A. Struggle for existence
  • B. Survival of the fittest
  • C. Inheritance of acquired characters
  • D. Cells come from pre-existing cells

Explanation: The concept attributed to Lamarck is the "inheritance of acquired characters." Lamarck proposed the idea that organisms can pass on traits…

Correct answer: Inheritance of acquired characters
  • A. Heritable
  • B. Non-heritable
  • C. Both A and B
  • D. Acquired

Explanation: The correct answer is heritable. Natural selection acts on variations that are genetically encoded, allowing these traits to be passed…

Correct answer: Heritable
  • A. None of these
  • B. Similarity in function from acquired characteristics
  • C. Study of different organs but with similar functions
  • D. Study of similar organs but with different functions

Explanation: The correct answer is Option D: Homology is the study of similar organs or structures that arise from a common evolutionary ancestor, even…

Correct answer: Study of similar organs but with different functions
  • A. Fitness
  • B. Heritability
  • C. Limited environmental resources
  • D. Overproduction of offspring
  • E. Phenotypic variation

Explanation: The correct answer is Option B: Heritability. Heritability refers to the proportion of observed variation in a particular trait that can…

Correct answer: Heritability
  • A. Increased
  • B. Decreased
  • C. No change
  • D. None of these options are correct

Explanation: Allele frequency, also known as gene frequency, refers to how common an allele is in a population.

Correct answer: Increased