Biological Basis of Human Behavior Practice Exam
Course Introduction
This course explores the fundamental biological mechanisms that underpin human behavior, integrating concepts from genetics, neurobiology, physiology, and evolutionary biology. Students will examine how the brain and nervous system influence emotions, cognition, and social interactions, and will investigate the roles of hormones, neurotransmitters, and heredity in shaping behavior. Emphasis is also placed on the interplay between biology and the environment, helping students understand how factors such as stress, nutrition, and early experiences impact behavioral development and psychological health.
Recommended Textbook
Essentials of Physical Anthropology 9th Edition by Robert Jurmain
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14 Chapters
832 Verified Questions
832 Flashcards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Introduction to Physical Anthropology
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is not an important reason why primatology has become increasingly important since the late 1950s?
A) Behavioral studies have implications for understanding natural forces that have shaped human behavior.
B) The behavioral studies of any species provide a wealth of data on adaptation.
C) Nonhuman primates are our closest living relatives.
D) Many nonhuman primates are threatened or seriously endangered.
E) Recommendations can be made to better ensure treatment of humans
Answer: E
Q2) Ethnographies
A) are studies of only Western European societies
B) are studies of nonhuman primates
C) emphasize, among other topics, religion, ritual, myth, diet, gender roles, and child-rearing practices
D) are studies done by archaeologists
E) are the practical application of anthropological theories
Answer: C
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Chapter 2: The Development of Evolutionary Theory
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Sample Questions
Q1) Many people argue that evolution is "only a theory." Define theory, and then describe how evolution does or does not fit the definition.
Answer: Will vary
Q2) __________________ proposed that population size increases at a faster rate than food supplies.
A) Erasmus Darwin
B) Alfred Russel Wallace
C) Thomas Malthus
D) Charles Lyell
E) Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
Answer: C
Q3) Who was the first to recognize the role of the environment as a significant factor in evolutionary change?
A) Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
B) Georges Cuvier
C) Thomas Malthus
D) Charles Darwin
E) Charles Lyell
Answer: A
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Page 4
Chapter 3: The Biological Basis of Life Connections
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Sample Questions
Q1) Transfer RNA forms a copy of the DNA molecule during translation.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) Regulatory genes produce enzymes and other proteins that either switch on or turn off other segments of DNA.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) Meiosis occurs ONLY in ovaries.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q4) Which of the following nitrogenous bases in not found in DNA?
A) Uracil
B) Guanine
C) Thymine
D) Adenine
E) Cytosine
Answer: A
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Chapter 4: Heredity and Evolution
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Sample Questions
Q1) In regions where malaria is present, it acts as a selective agent that favors the heterozygous phenotype, because people with sickle-cell trait produce more offspring than those with only normal hemoglobin, who may die of malaria.
A)True
B)False
Q2) At a hypothetical locus, a man's genotype is Aa. What proportion of his gametes would be expected to receive the A allele?
A) All
B) ½
C) ¾
D) ¼
E) None
Q3) The relationship between malaria and the Hb<sup>S</sup> allele is an example of natural selection as a factor that can cause directional change in allele frequencies.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Explain Mendel's principle of independent assortment.
Q5) What is the effect of genetic bottlenecks on human and nonhuman species?
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Chapter 5: Processes of Macroevolution
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Sample Questions
Q1) Contrast the two schools of taxonomy: evolutionary systematics and cladistics.
Q2) Epochs are categories of geological time ; the Cenozoic contains seven.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Give an overview of the modes of evolutionary change, including both microevolution and macroevolution. Why does the textbook author indicate that the major differences between the two seem to be one of scale?
Q4) What is the term for the rapid expansion and diversification of groups of organisms into newly available ecological niches?
A) generalization
B) homology
C) parallel evolution
D) adaptive radiation
E) specialization
Q5) Why is geographic isolation important to the process of speciation?
Q6) Much of what we know about the history of life comes from studying fossils.
A)True
B)False
Q7) Contrast ancestral traits with derived traits.
Page 7
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Chapter 6: An Overview of the Primates
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Q1) The fact that Strepsirhinis evolved before the anthropoids indicates that anthropoids are more evolved.
A)True
B)False
Q2) All Old World monkeys belong to which family?
A) Ominidae
B) Cercopithecidae
C) Callitrichidae
D) Pongidae
E) Monquidae
Q3) Currently, there are approximately _______ species of non-human primates.
A) 230
B) 23
C) 30
D) 2300
E) 2
Q4) In the classification of the primates, the lemurs, lorises, and tarsiers would be placed in the suborder Strepsirhini.
A)True
B)False
Page 8
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Chapter 7: Primate Behavior
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Q1) Permanent male-female bonds are
A) common among nonhuman primates
B) not common among nonhuman primates
C) the basis of monogamous pairing typical of all nonhuman primate species
D) nonexistent in primates
E) known only in orangutans
Q2) Female primates
A) assume most of the responsibility for infant care
B) have the same nutritional requirements as males
C) use the same strategies as males for avoiding predators
D) spend almost one-half of their lives pregnant or lactating
E) are the same size as males
Q3) Human language can be characterized by all of the following except
A) uses symbols
B) is limited to communicating about the present
C) is an open system of communication
D) cannot be said to be the same as communication evidenced by the Great apes
E) evolved directly from nonhuman primate communication
Q4) Contrast autonomic responses and behaviors with intentional behaviors that serve as communication.
9
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Chapter 8: Primate and Hominin Origins
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Q1) What is the contribution of investigations at Olduvai Gorge to paleoanthropological research?
Q2) The terms Sivapithecus, Proconsul, and Dryopithecus¸ applied to different groups of Miocene hominoids, refer to a distinction made at what taxonomic level?
A) species
B) genus
C) subfamily
D) family
E) order
Q3) Where have the fossil remains of the Miocene Hominoids not been found?
A) Africa
B) Europe
C) Asia
D) North America
E) Turkey
Q4) Habitual bipedalism is the only form of hominin terrestrial locomotion.
A)True
B)False
Q5) What traits best distinguish Homo habilis from the australopiths?
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Chapter 9: The First Dispersal of the Genus Homo: Homo
Erectus and Contemporaries
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Q1) The cranial remains from Dmanisi are characteristic of all of the following except A) are easily distinguishable from modern Homo sapiens
B) bear some similarities to early Homo specimens from East Africa
C) bear similarities to australopithecus specimens
D) have very small cranial capacities
E) are different from other hominins outside Africa
Q2) Homo erectus differs most distinctly from both early Homo and Homo sapiens in A) the postcranial skeleton
B) the way they walked
C) height
D) cranial size
E) weight
Q3) An analysis of the WT 15000 specimen suggests it would only have been about 4 feet tall at maturity.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Describe the attributes and important uses of the biface as part of the Acheulian tool kit.
Q5) List the characteristics of Homo erectus discoveries in Java and China.
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Chapter 10: Premodern Humans
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Q1) Describe the injuries and pathologies evident in the Shanidar I skeleton. What, if anything, does this tell us about Neandertal lifestyle and/or cultural behavior?
Q2) Different stone tool industries coexisted in some areas for long periods during the Middle Pleistocene.
A)True B)False
Q3) The Mousterian stone tool tradition
A) was developed by Homo erectus.
B) is associated with Neandertals only.
C) is found in Asia only.
D) is found in Western Europe only.
E) is not always associated with just Neandertals, since sometimes it is found with modern humans.
Q4) Genetic evidence suggests that Neandertal DNA is remarkably similar to modern humans.
A)True B)False
Q5) List two pieces of genetic evidence that will help determine when fully human language first emerged.
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Chapter 11: The Origin and Dispersal of Modern Humans
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Q1) The Upper Paleolithic culture period is divided into categories based on stone tool technologies. These include all of the following except
A) Solutrean
B) Magdalenian
C) Aurignacian
D) Chatelperroonian
E) Grottevian
Q2) Summarize the main points of the various Replacement Models.
Q3) Current evidence indicates that the earliest anatomically modern Homo sapiens fossils are from which geographical location?
A) China
B) India
C) Germany
D) France
E) Africa
Q4) As a group, the specimens from Skh l all have modern human features and none show any hints of premodern features.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 12: Human Variation and Adaptation
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Sample Questions
Q1) Dark skin is found in populations near the equator. Why?
A) It protects from frostbite.
B) It protects from overexposure to ultraviolet radiation.
C) It helps prevent rickets.
D) It protects from the damaging effects of UV radiation on folate.
E) It increases the skin's exposure to ultraviolet radiation.
Q2) Discuss developmental acclimatization to high altitude.
Q3) Forensic anthropologists must deal with the race concept because they are asked by law enforcement agencies to identify an individual's race from skeletal remains.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Categorizing people on the basis of skin color
A) is mostly a twentieth century phenomenon
B) has been practiced only by Western Europeans
C) is a valid approach to racial taxonomy
D) has a long history and has been practiced by many peoples
E) began with Christopher Columbus
Q5) What does it mean when one states that humans are members of the same polytypic species?
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Chapter 13: Legacies of Human Evolutionary History: Effects on
the Individual
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Sample Questions
Q1) The human brain reaches 95 percent of its adult size by what age?
A) 3 years
B) 5 years
C) 10 years
D) 15 years
E) 21 years
Q2) In the United States, old age is usually associated with all of the following except
A) physical ailments
B) decreased activity
C) a well-defined concept
D) negativity
E) unwelcome attitudes
Q3) Explain the way a woman's diet during pregnancy can have an impact on her future child and grandchildren.
Q4) The language centers of the human brain develop in the first three years of life.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Define senescence. Discuss one hypothesis that attempts to explain senescence.
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Chapter 14: The Human Disconnection
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Q1) The 1990 typhoon and floods that killed over 10,000 in Bangladesh is a direct result of A) The way infrastructure development is set back by population increases
B) Deterioration of dams along tributaries of the Indus River
C) Problems derived from an increase of people living in low lying permanent settlements and keeping prey species
D) Domestication of plants and animals
E) Destruction of natural resources in the past
Q2) Using evolution to solve health problems requires medical researchers have training that includes evolutionary theory.
A)True
B)False
Q3) In 1990, the people of Bangladesh were unable to cope with the floods since they had no knowledge of irrigation systems.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Why are scientists concerned about the loss of ecosystems?
Q5) Given the impact of humans on the Earth's ecosystems, speculate on the future of Homo sapiens.
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