Evolution

Given below are four statements (A-D) each with one or two blanks. Select the option which correctly fills up the blanks in two statements.

1. C - (i) vestigial, (ii) anatomical, D - (i) mutations, (ii) multiplication
2. D - (i) small variations, (ii) survival, A - (i) convergent
3. A - (i) convergent, B - (i) oxygen, (ii) nucleosides
4. B - (i) water vapour, (ii) amino acids, C - (i) rudimentary, (ii) anatomical

The most apparent changes during the evolutionary history of Homo sapiens are traced in

1. Remarkable increase in the brain size
2. Walking upright
3. Loss of body hair
4. Shortening of the jaws

Darwin's finches are a good example of –

1. Convergent evolution
2. Connecting link
3. Industrial melanism
4. Adaptive radiation

In the case of peppered moth ( Biston betularia) the black-coloured form became dominant over the light-coloured form in England during industrial revolution. This is an example of -

1. Natural selection whereby the darker forms were selected
2. Protective mimicry
3. Inheritance of darker colour character acquired due to the darker environment
4. Appearance of the darker coloured individuals due to very poor sunlight

Which one of the following pairs of items correctly belongs to the category of organs mentioned against it?

1. Nephridia of earthworm and Malpighian tubules of cockroach - excretory organs
2. Wings of honey bee and wings of crow - homologous organs
3. Thorn of Bougainvillea and tendrils of Cucurbita - analogous organs
4. Nictitating membrane and blind spot in human eye - vestigial organs

Darwin's finches are a good example of –

1. Convergent evolution
2. Adaptive radiation
3. Connecting link
4. Industrial melanism

Which one of the following scientist's name is correctly matched with the theory put forth by him?

1. Mendel — Theory of pangenesis
2. de Vries — Natural selection
3. Pasteur — Inheritance of acquired characters
4. Weismann — Theory of continuity of germplasm

Which one of the following is incorrect about the characteristics of protobionts (coacervates and microspheres) as envisaged in the abiogenic origin of life?

1. They could separate combinations of molecules from the surroundings
2. They were able to reproduce
3. They were partially isolated from the surroundings
4. They could maintain an internal environment

Thorn of Bougainvillea and tendril of Cucurbita are examples of:

1. analogous organs
2. homologous organs
3. vestigial organs
4. retrogressive evolution

The concept of chemical evolution is based on-

1. Crystallization of chemicals
2. Effect of solar radiation on chemicals
3. Possible origin of life by combination of chemicals under suitable environmental conditions
4. Interaction of water, air and clay under intense heat

The finches of Galapagos islands provide an evidence in favour of-

1. Special Creation
2. Biogeographical Evolution
3. Evolution due to Mutation
4. Retrogressive Evolution

When two species of different genealogy come to resemble each other as a result of adaptation, the phenomenon is termed:-

1. Microevolution
2. Convergent evolution
3. Co-evolution
4. Divergent evolution

Adaptive radiation refers to:-

1. Adaptations due to Geographical isolation
2. Migration of members of a species to different geographical areas
3. Evolution of different species from a common ancestor
4. Power of adaptation in an individual to a variety of environments

If the mean and the median pertaining to a certain character of a population are of the same value, the following is most likely to occur:-

1. A normal distribution
2. A T-shaped curve
3. A skewed curve
4. A bi-modal distribution

Which one of the following statements is correct?

1. Ontogeny repeats phylogeny.
2. There is no evidence of the existence of gills during embryogenesis of mammals.
3. Stem cells are specialized cells.
4. All plant and animal cells are totipotent.

Which one of the following is not a living fossil?

1. Peripatus
2. King crab
3. Sphenodon
4. Archaeopteryx

An important evidence in favour of organic evolution is the occurrence of-

1. Homologous organs only
2. Homologous and vestigial organs
3. Homologous and analogous organs
4. Analogous and vestigial organs

Which one of the following amino-acids was not found to be synthesized in Miller's experiment?

1. Aspartic acid
2. Alanine
3. Glycine
4. Glutamic acid

The Jurassic period of the Mesozoic era is characterized by-

1. Radiation of reptiles and origin of mammal-like reptiles
2. Flowering plants and first dinosaurs appear
3. Gymnosperms are dominant plants and first birds appear
4. Dinosaurs become extinct and angiosperms appear

Using imprints from a plate with complete medium and carrying bacterial colonies, you can select streptomycin resistant mutants and prove that such mutations do not originate as adaptation. These imprints need to be used -

1. On plates with minimal medium
2. Only on plates with streptomycin
3. Only on plates without streptomycin
4. On plates with and without streptomycin

Which one of the following experiments suggests that simplest living organisms could not have originated spontaneously from non-living matter?

1. Meat was not spoiled, when heated and kept sealed in a vessel
2. Larvae could appear in decaying organic matter
3. Microbes appeared from unsterilized organic matter
4. Microbes did not appear in stored meat

De Vries gave his mutation theory on organic evolution while working on -

1. Althaea rosea
2. Oenothera lamarckiana
3. Pisum sativum
4. Drosophila melanogaster

There are two opposing views about origin of modern man. According to one view Homo erectus in Asia were the ancestors of modern man. A study of variation of DNA however suggested African origin of modern man. What kind of observation of DNA variation could suggest this?

1. Variation only in Asia and no variation in Africa
2. Similar variation in Africa and Asia
3. Greater variation in Africa than in Asia
4. Greater variation in Asia than in Africa

Which one of the following phenomena supports Darwin's concept of natural selection in organic evolution?

1. Prevalence of pesticide resistant insects
2. Development of organs from 'stem' cells for organ transplantation
3. Production of 'Dolly', the sheep by cloning
4. Development of transgenic animals

Which of the following is the relatively most accurate method for dating of fossils?

1. Radio-carbon method
2. Uranium-lead method
3. Potassium–argon method
4. Electron-spin resonance method

At a particular locus, frequency of 'A' allele is 0.6 and that of 'a' is 0.4. What would be the frequency of heterozygotes in a random mating population at equilibrium?

1. 0.48
2. 0.24
3. 0.36
4. 0.16

Which of the following is not true for a species ?

1. Variations occur among members of a species
2. Gene flow does not occur between the populations of a species
3. Each species is reproductively isolated from every other species
4. Members of a species can interbreed

Diversification in plant life appeared

1. due to long periods of evolutionary changes
2. due to abrupt mutations
3. suddenly on earth
4. by seed dispersal

Presence of gills in the tadpole of frog indicates that

1. fish were amphibious in the past
2. fish evolved from frog-like ancestors
3. frog will have gills in future
4. frog evolved from gilled ancestors

Age of fossils in the past was generally determined by radio-carbon method and other methods involving radioactive elements found in the rocks. More precise methods, which were used recently and led to the revision of the evolutionary periods for different groups of organisms include -

1. Electron spin resonance (ESR) & fossil DNA
2. Study of carbohydrates/proteins in fossils
3. Study of the conditions of fossilization
4. Study of carbohydrates/proteins in rocks