Human Evolution
Exam Answer Key
Course Introduction
Human Evolution explores the biological and cultural development of Homo sapiens from our earliest primate ancestors to modern times. The course examines key fossil discoveries, evolutionary theory, genetic evidence, and environmental changes that have shaped human adaptation and diversity. Topics include primate biology, bipedalism, tool use, brain evolution, language, and the interplay between genetics and culture in human history. Through interdisciplinary approaches, students gain a comprehensive understanding of how humans have evolved and the scientific methods used to study our origins.
Recommended Textbook
Essentials of Physical Anthropology 9th Edition by Robert Jurmain
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Introduction to Physical Anthropology
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Q1) What is the initial step in the scientific method?
A) the formation of a theory
B) the formation of a hypothesis
C) to perform an experiment
D) to publish a scientific article
E) to collect data under precise conditions
Answer: B
Q2) What is a hypothesis?
A) It is a statement that has been proven to be true.
B) It is equivalent to a theory.
C) It is a provisional statement regarding certain scientific facts or observations.
D) It is proof of a theory.
E) It is a fact from which conclusions can be drawn.
Answer: C
Q3) All cultures share the same worldview.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Chapter 2: The Development of Evolutionary Theory
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Q1) In Europe during the Middle Ages, it was believed that
A) all species had evolved from a common ancestor
B) evolution was the result of natural selection acting upon genetic variation
C) all forms were created by God and did not change over time
D) most species had become extinct over time
E) life was created slowly, over millions of years
Answer: C
Q2) Charles Darwin recognized the importance of beak variation in finches while visiting the Galápagos Islands.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) Who coined the term "biology"?
A) Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
B) Georges Cuvier
C) Thomas Malthus
D) Charles Darwin
E) Charles Lyell
Answer: A
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Chapter 3: The Biological Basis of Life Connections
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Q1) Scientists use _______ to produce many copies of small DNA fragments, such as those obtained at crime scenes or from fossils.
A) transcription
B) polymerase chain reactions
C) nondisjunction
D) trisomies
E) random assortment of alleles
Answer: B
Q2) In protein synthesis, the process called transcription is which of the following?
A) manufacture of tRNA
B) assembly of polypeptide chains
C) formation of a mRNA molecule
D) production of amino acids
E) manufacture of ribosomal RNA
Answer: C
Q3) The Human Genome Project was successfully completed in 1952.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Heredity and Evolution
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Q1) Explain Mendel's principle of independent assortment.
Q2) Two people both heterozygotes) are able to taste a chemical substance called PTC. The ability to taste PTC is caused by a dominant allele T). The inability to taste PTC is caused by a recessive allele t). What proportion of their children would be expected to have the ability to taste PTC?
A) 3/4
B) 1/2
C) All
D) 1/4
E) 2/3
Q3) New alleles are the results of mutations.
A)True
B)False
Q4) All human genetic disorders are inherited as recessive traits.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Genetic drift is the random factor in evolution.
A)True
B)False
Q6) Define genetic drift. How are founder effect and genetic drift related?
Page 6
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Chapter 5: Processes of Macroevolution
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Q1) What is the evolutionary process that produces analogous structures called?
A) speciation
B) homology
C) homoplasy
D) founder effect
E) evolutionary systematics
Q2) Epochs are categories of geological time ; the Cenozoic contains seven.
A)True
B)False
Q3) What are the influences of long-term continental drift on the evolution of terrestrial life forms?
Q4) What are structural similarities between species that are based on common function and not on common evolutionary descent called?
A) acquired
B) generalized
C) non-adaptive
D) analogies
E) homologies
Q5) Define the term "adaptive radiation" and why it is important to the principle of evolution.
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Chapter 6: An Overview of the Primates
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Q1) List five traits used to define the order Primates.
Q2) There are less than 650 Mountain Gorillas left in existence.
A)True
B)False
Q3) As an order, primates
A) have highly specialized traits
B) can be easily defined by one or two traits
C) lack traits that define the mammals
D) have generalized traits
E) have very narrow, or specialized, dietary preferences
Q4) Why are nonhuman primate populations endangered? Why is their extinction of grave concern?
Q5) Today, where are lorises not found?
A) India
B) Africa
C) Southeast Asia
D) North America
E) Sri Lanka
Q6) List five traits that distinguish the Anthropoids.
Q7) Compare chimpanzee and bonobo anatomy and social behavior.
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Chapter 7: Primate Behavior
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Q1) Ecological factors influencing primate social behavior include which of the following?
A) the distribution of food and water, predators, and nutritional value of foods
B) levels of testosterone among predators
C) Ancestry of primates
D) Gene codes for behaviors
E) learning
Q2) Chimpanzees have never been observed to modify twigs for termite fishing before actually arriving at the termite mound.
A)True
B)False
Q3) In many primate species, ________ have/has a central role in reinforcing social relationships.
A) play
B) coalition formation
C) dominance hierarchies
D) food-sharing
E) grooming
Q4) What altruistic behaviors have been observed in nonhuman primates?
Q5) Discuss the evolutionary explanation of infanticide in Hanuman langurs.
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Chapter 8: Primate and Hominin Origins
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Q1) The fossil evidence indicates that the Eocene primates were
A) mostly extinct by the end of the Eocene
B) not widely distributed
C) likely provide direct evidence of a close connection to humans
D) ectothermic
E) water animals
Q2) What is the dating method that uses the principle that undisturbed underlying geologic deposits are older than overlying geologic deposits?
A) stratigraphic dating
B) paleomagnetism
C) carbon-14 dating
D) K/Ar dating
E) fluorine analysis
Q3) Habitual bipedalism is the only form of hominin terrestrial locomotion.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Contrast obligate bipedalism with habitual bipedalism.
Q5) What general conclusions can be drawn regarding the Miocene hominoids?
Q6) What are some of the hypotheses purporting to explain the evolution of bipedalism?
Page 10
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Chapter 9: The First Dispersal of the Genus Homo: Homo
Erectus and Contemporaries
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Q1) What have scientists been able to ascertain about the Homo erectus lifestyle at Zhoukoudian? Include any disagreements within the scientific community. What is the nature of the evidence?
Q2) The Nariokotome Homo erectus specimen
A) was discovered at Olduvai Gorge
B) is estimated to have been about 65 years old at death C) is a young female
D) would have reached an adult height of around 6 feet E) was destroyed in dating analysis
Q3) New evidence from Zhoukoudian cave has substantiated the long held notion that Homo erectus used controlled fire.
A)True
B)False
Q4) List the differences between the cranium and brain size of Homo erectus and modern Homo sapiens.
Q5) All archaeologists agree that Homo erectus appears to have been an efficient big game hunter who rarely gathered wild plant foods.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 10: Premodern Humans
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Q1) The Middle Pleistocene humans are morphologically
A) diverse and broadly dispersed throughout time and space
B) diverse but not broadly dispersed throughout time and space
C) similar and broadly dispersed throughout time and space
D) similar and not broadly dispersed throughout time and space
E) similar and broadly dispersed through time, but not space
Q2) The majority of Neandertal fossils been found in _____________where they have been most studied.
A) South America
B) Asia
C) India
D) Africa
E) Europe
Q3) Upper Pleistocene premodern Homo sapiens that have their evolutionary roots in western Europe include
A) Homo sapiens sapiens
B) anatomically modern humans
C) Neandertals
D) Homo ergaster
E) late Homo erectus
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Chapter 11: The Origin and Dispersal of Modern Humans
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Q1) The hypothesis that all modern humans descended from an African lineage A) has been conclusively proven to be correct B) is supported by mtDNA evidence C) is supported by evidence from researchers in India D) is conclusively proven as incorrect E) is based on archaeological evidence obtained from caves in Spain
Q2) During the last glaciation in Eurasia, A) human habitation was impossible B) the entire area was permanently covered with ice-sheets C) a warming trend at about 30,000 ya partially melted the glacial ice D) hunting was impossible because there were no animals in the region E) Neandertals became extinct.
Q3) Discuss the Upper Paleolithic cultural period, including innovations in technology, art and burials.
Q4) Describe the remains found in African sites that indicate accomplishments in Upper Paleolithic art and technology.
Q5) Lagar Velho is an important Upper Paleolithic site located in the Near East. A)True B)False
Q6) Review the evidence relative to the human occupation of Australia.
Page 13
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Chapter 12: Human Variation and Adaptation
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Q1) What is the term for the philosophy of "race improvement" through the forced sterilization of some groups and the encouraged reproduction of others?
A) eugenics
B) genetics
C) monogenism
D) polygenism
E) polytpyic
Q2) What does it mean when one states that humans are members of the same polytypic species?
Q3) Melanocytes
A) are cells that produce carotene
B) are found in the dermis
C) only occur in dark-skinned individuals
D) produce melanin
E) cause cancer
Q4) Explain what HIV is and the hypothesis of its origin. Describe why it is seen as the best example of evolution and adaptation in a pathogen.
Q5) What polymorphisms exist at the DNA level?
Q6) Explain the historical views on human variation.
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Chapter 13: Legacies of Human Evolutionary History: Effects
on the Individual
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Q1) Infectious diseases have their greatest effect on growth and development during which life phase?
A) adulthood
B) menopause
C) the postreproductive years
D) childhood
E) senescence
Q2) The contemporary diet typical of industrialized societies is basically unchanged from preagricultural diets.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Describe the pattern of human brain growth. What is the importance of delayed brain growth in humans?
Q4) Environmental factors
A) have no effect on growth and development
B) have not been studied in regards to their effects on growth and development
C) definitely have effects on growth and development
D) always have negative effects on growth
E) call into question any effect of hormone glands
Q5) Define the term adolescent growth spurt.
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Chapter 14: The Human Disconnection
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Q1) Which of the following statements is false?
A) The United States produces 25 to 30 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions.
B) The average American consumes 400 times the resources of the average person in Bangladesh.
C) The United States has the highest rates of overpopulation.
D) For all people on the planet to match the consumption levels of the United States, we would need four more planets.
E) The ecological footprint in the U.S. is 24 acres, compared to 2.5 acres in non-industrialized nations.
Q2) The geological record indicates there have been at least _____ mass extinction events in the past 570 million years.
A) 5
B) 100
C) 15
D) 150
E) 1,000
Q3) What factors are implicated in the near extinction of the bald eagle?
Q4) What impacts have human-invented antibiotics had on bacteria?
Q5) Give examples of recent proposed goals of the UN to be reached by 2020.
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