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.

Last updated

Read the Evolution notesFree MDCAT chapter notes with key terms

814 questions · page 39 of 41

  • A. Heritable
  • B. Non-heritable
  • C. Both A and B
  • D. Acquired

Explanation: Natural selection can amplify or diminish only those variations that are heritable.

Correct answer: Non-heritable
  • A. Convergent evolution
  • B. Divergent evolution
  • C. Natural selecting
  • D. Common ancestory

Explanation: Convergent evolution is a process by which organisms that are not closely related independently evolve similar traits as a result of…

Correct answer: Convergent evolution
  • A. Survival of the fittest
  • B. The most fit individuals adapt to their environment better than less fit individuals
  • C. Those who eat better, arc healthier, and live longer are the most fit within a population
  • D. Preservation of traits that lead to increased survival and reproduction

Explanation: Natural selection is the process by which organisms with traits that are better suited to their environment are more likely to survive and…

Correct answer: The most fit individuals adapt to their environment better than less fit individuals
  • A. Some individuals are more successful in surviving and reproduction than others
  • B. Individuals within a population are variable
  • C. The survival and reproduction of individuals is not random
  • D. The survival and reproduction of individuals are random

Explanation: Survival in the struggle for existence is not random,, but depends in part on the hereditary constitution of the surviving individuals.

Correct answer: The survival and reproduction of individuals are random
  • A. Homologous organs are functionally different but structurally alike.
  • B. Examples of homologous structures are arms of man, forelimbs of cat and flippers of whale.
  • C. Examples of analogous structures are wings of bats, birds and insects.
  • D. Analogous organs are functionally different but structurally alike.

Explanation: Analogous organs are those which have different structures, but their function is the same in different organisms.

Correct answer: Analogous organs are functionally different but structurally alike.
  • A. Hardy-Weinberg
  • B. Malthus
  • C. Lamarck
  • D. Alfred Wallace

Explanation: Alfred Wallace, a young naturalist working in the EastIndies, developed a theory of natural selection essentially identical to Darwin's.

Correct answer: Alfred Wallace
  • A. The frequency of alleles does not change within the population.
  • B. It reduces the number of heterozygous individuals, preventing beneficial alleles from being efficiently selected.
  • C. It increases the number of homozygous individuals, allowing potentially harmful recessive alleles to express themselves more frequently.
  • D. All of these.

Explanation: Inbreeding does not alter the allele frequency. In this way, it does not allow the individual to adapt to its environment by changing its…

Correct answer: All of these.
  • A. Which lives 45 years and produces 3 offspring.
  • B. Which lives 70 years and produces no offspring.
  • C. Which lives 27 years and produces no offspring.
  • D. Which lives 36 years and produces 6 offspring.

Explanation: An organism is said to be biologically fit if produces more offspring than other organisms in its population.

Correct answer: Which lives 36 years and produces 6 offspring.
  • A. The number of offspring produced by the organism.
  • B. How much food the organism consumes in its lifetime.
  • C. How large the organism grows.
  • D. The number of offspring produced by the organism's own offspring.

Explanation: The fitness of an organism is typically determined by its ability to produce offspring that can survive and reproduce themselves, rather…

Correct answer: The number of offspring produced by the organism.
  • A. They have the same organs.
  • B. They have similar appearance
  • C. They have common ancestors
  • D. All of above

Explanation: The correct answer is They have common ancestors. Homology is the similarity between structures in different organisms that are the result…

Correct answer: They have common ancestors
  • A. Dmitri lvanovsky
  • B. Dmitry Anuchin
  • C. Nikolay Shatsky
  • D. Alexander Oparin

Explanation: Primordial soup is a fundamental aspect of the heterotrophic theory of the origin of life, first proposed by Alexander Oparin.

Correct answer: Alexander Oparin
  • A. Darwin's theory of natural selection.
  • B. Lamarck's theory of inheritance of acquired characteristics.
  • C. Hardy-Weinberg principle
  • D. None of these options are correct

Explanation: Darwin's theory of natural selection is the correct answer because it describes how species adapt to their environments over time through…

Correct answer: Darwin's theory of natural selection.
  • A. They have the same organs.
  • B. They have a similar appearance.
  • C. They have common ancestors.
  • D. All of the above.

Explanation: The correct answer is that they have common ancestors. Genetic and protein similarities are key indicators of evolutionary relationships…

Correct answer: They have common ancestors.
  • A. Every man and every woman likes my father; he is the perfect gentleman.
  • B. Every man and every woman likes my father, he is the most perfect gentleman.
  • C. Every man and every woman likes my father: him being the perfect gentleman.
  • D. Every man and every woman likes my father which is the perfect gentleman.

Explanation: This option is correct. The semicolon (;) correctly separates two related but independent clauses.

Correct answer: Every man and every woman likes my father; he is the perfect gentleman.
  • A. Convergent evolution
  • B. Divergent evolution
  • C. Coevolution
  • D. Parallel evolution

Explanation: The pattern of evolution in which different species have evolved from different ancestors in a common habitat is known as convergent…

Correct answer: Convergent evolution
  • A. Homologous organs
  • B. Analogous organs
  • C. Vestigial organs
  • D. Saltatory organs
  • E. Vital organs

Explanation: Explanation for this question will be added soon.

Correct answer: Homologous organs
  • A. Natural selection
  • B. Artificial selection
  • C. Evolution
  • D. Genetic drif

Explanation: When humans purposefully apply selection pressure to populations, such as in breeding programs for plants or animals, it is known as…

Correct answer: Artificial selection
  • A. Amphibians and reptiles
  • B. Reptiles and birds
  • C. Birds and mammals
  • D. None of these

Explanation: Archaeopteryx is known to be a communicating connection between reptiles and birds because it looks like a bird and has bird wings.

Correct answer: Reptiles and birds
  • A. Analogous organs
  • B. Homologous organs
  • C. Convergent organs
  • D. Divergent organs

Explanation: Analogous organs are similar in function but different in structure. These organs have evolved independently in different species to…

Correct answer: Analogous organs
  • A. Darwin's theory of evolution
  • B. Lamarckism
  • C. Neo-darwinism
  • D. Endosymbiont Hypothesis

Explanation: This statement aligns with the endosymbiotic theory, which suggests that mitochondria and chloroplasts were once free-living bacteria that…

Correct answer: Endosymbiont Hypothesis