Free Evolution MCQs with Answers

41. Darwin's concept of the struggle for existence was inspired by the essay on population written by

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

Explanation: Malthus argued that human populations grow faster than food supply, and Darwin saw the same pressure in nature: far more offspring are born than can survive. Lyell's geology shaped Darwin's timescale, but the struggle came from Malthus.

42. Natural selection is best described as

• A. the survival of the largest individuals
• B. the differential survival and reproduction of the individuals best suited to their environment
• C. the deliberate breeding of the best plants by farmers
• D. the migration of animals to better habitats

Explanation: What matters is leaving more offspring, not mere survival or size, so the fittest are those whose inherited traits match the environment. Deliberate breeding is artificial selection, the human guided version of the same idea.

43. 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.

44. 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.

45. 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.

46. 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.

47. 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.

48. 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.

49. Natural selection was proposed by

• A. Lamarck
• B. Darwin
• C. Mendel
• D. Wallace

Explanation: Charles Darwin proposed the theory of natural selection in 'On the Origin of Species' (1859).

50. Industrial melanism in peppered moth is an example of

• A. Directional selection
• B. Stabilizing selection
• C. Disruptive selection
• D. Genetic drift

Explanation: Industrial melanism demonstrates directional selection, where the dark phenotype became favored in polluted environments.