Test Bank Ch1 Introduction To Evolutionary Fact And Theory

Biological Anthropology: Concepts and Connections, 3e (Fuentes)

Chapter 1 Introduction to Evolutionary Fact and Theory

1) In 1925, the Scopes "Monkey Trial":

A) legally established evolution as a valid scientific theory.

B) legally established evolution as a "coexistent theory on the creation of humankind."

C) overturned the State of Tennessee's ban on teaching the theory of evolution in public schools.

D) upheld the State of Tennessee's ban on teaching the theory of evolution in public schools.

2) Which of the following is NOT true about evolution?

A) It is accepted by virtually all scientists in every country of the world.

B) It inherently conflicts with the teachings of Christianity.

C) It is at the heart of anthropology.

D) It is an extremely well supported theory.

3) The main subfields of anthropology are:

A) archaeology, linguistic anthropology, cultural anthropology, and biological anthropology.

B) architectural anthropology, biological anthropology, linguistic anthropology, and cultural anthropology.

C) biological anthropology, evolutionary anthropology, cultural anthropology, and linguistic anthropology.

D) cultural anthropology, biological anthropology, archaeology, and evolutionary anthropology.

4) Biological anthropology is also called:

A) evolutionary anthropology.

B) forensic anthropology.

C) physical anthropology.

D) primatology.

5) ________ is the patterns of behavior we exhibit in our families, relationships, religions, laws, moral codes, songs, art, business, and everyday interactions.

A) Ethnography

B) Ethnology

C) Culture

D) Evolution

6) ________ is the comparative study of cultures around the world.

A) Ethnography

B) Ethnology

C) Anthropology

D) Holistic anthropology

7) Ecology is the study of:

A) fossils over a significant geological time period.

B) climatological influences on evolution.

C) animals.

D) interrelationships between living organisms and their environments.

8) Active participation in the learning process is called:

A) critical thinking.

B) the scientific method.

C) creative learning.

D) innovative learning.

9) Philosophical inquiries and religious doctrines are examples of:

A) holistic modes of investigation.

B) comparative methods of investigation.

C) scientific methods of investigation.

D) nonscientific modes of investigation.

10) The scientific method:

A) prevents biases resulting from personal and cultural factors.

B) is influenced by personal and cultural factors.

C) reduces the potential effects of personal and cultural factors through repetitive experimentation.

D) None of these answers are correct.

11) Evolution is:

A) factual.

B) theoretical.

C) both factual and theoretical.

D) neither factual nor theoretical.

12) ________ was the first individual to clearly lay out a theory of evolution.

A) Charles Darwin

B) Erasmus Darwin

C) Lamarck

D) Cuvier

13) ________ is the system of naming and classifying organisms.

A) Binomial nomenclature

B) Zoonomia

C) Taxonomy

D) Genus or species

14) ________ is the study of a specific culture.

A) Ethnography

B) Ethnology

C) Anthropology

D) Holistic anthropology

15) The study of the rock and soil layers of the earth is called:

A) stratigraphy.

B) geology.

C) strata chronology.

D) mineralogical anthropology.

16) The idea that the earth revolves around the sun is called:

A) ethnocentric theory.

B) heliocentric theory.

C) contracentric theory.

D) elliptocentric theory.

17) Which of the following is NOT true about the Greek and Roman philosophers' ideas on "essentialism"?

A) It provided an explanation for variations in the different forms of an organism.

B) It dictated that each organism has a true and ideal form.

C) It dictated that no organism has a true and ideal form.

D) It dictated that the representatives of an organism have slight deviations.

18) Identify a true statement about the Greek Scalae Natura, or Great Chain of Being.

A) It was the belief that all forms of life evolved from one "link."

B) It was the core idea from which Darwin developed his notion of natural selection.

C) It ranked all forms of life on the planet in order from the most important to the least important.

D) It was the belief in the fixity of nature.

19) The test portion of scientific methodology is designed to:

A) prove that a hypothesis is right.

B) prove that a hypothesis is wrong.

C) prove that a hypothesis is either right or wrong.

D) see which variables really need to be tested.

20) Comte du Buffon (1707-1788), a natural historian, believed that:

A) all structures have a function.

B) life-forms were the outcome of active processes.

C) one species could change into another.

D) organisms maintain a static relationship with their environment.

21) The hypothetical-deductive approach to scientific inquiry entails:

A) the first support for a hypothesis such that it does not need to be retested.

B) making baseline observations first rather than testing a hypothesis first.

C) making baseline observations on nonexisting knowledge first.

D) testing a hypothesis as a first step rather than making baseline observations first.

22) A ________ is a set of hypotheses that is supported again and again by multiple researchers.

A) theory

B) paradigm

C) fact

D) robust theory

23) A ________ consists of a set of supported hypotheses that all interconnect and act as a powerful tool for explaining natural phenomena.

A) paradigm

B) model

C) theory

D) robust theory

24) A ________ is a predominant way of thinking about ideas.

A) paradigm

B) hypothesis

C) theory

D) robust theory

25) A ________ is a testable explanation for observed facts.

A) paradigm

B) hypothesis

C) theory

D) robust theory

26) Which of the following is true of science?

A) It seeks to resolve disagreements by "expert" opinion.

B) It can answer questions such as "Why are we here?"

C) It is self-correcting.

D) It provides ultimate "truths."

27) An archaeological anthropology involves the study of:

A) the biological facets of the human species.

B) the material past of humans.

C) the extremely complex entity called human culture.

D) language use, meaning, patterns, structure, and evolution.

28) Evolution via natural selection:

A) is neutral.

B) is goal directed.

C) leads to increased structural complexity.

D) creates higher forms.

29) In the context of science, which of the following is the definition of parsimony?

A) dividing organisms into categories

B) separating species on the basis of similar anatomical traits

C) species evolving over a similar amount of time

D) the least complex explanation being the most likely

30) The modern geological concept of uniformitarianism refers to the fact that:

A) species' biological traits have been uniform over time.

B) geological processes at work on the planet are and have been uniform over time.

C) the geological environment has been uniform since the beginning of time.

D) the rate at which evolution occurs is uniform.

31) With regard to the 1925 Scopes "Monkey Trial," which of the following is NOT true?

A) One year after the trial, the law against teaching evolution was removed from Tennessee law books.

B) Scopes was fined $100.

C) One year after the trial, the verdict was overturned.

D) The trial ended with Scopes being convicted of breaking the law.

32) Which of the following is the best definition of reproductive success?

A) the number of offspring an organism has

B) the number of mating opportunities an organism has

C) the number of surviving offspring an organism has

D) the number of individuals with which an organism mates

33) When anthropologists take an integrative approach in their work, they:

A) apply the insights of previous scholars to their own work.

B) attempt to see the world through the lens of their own culture.

C) compare anthropological features across entities/cultures/organisms to elucidate differences.

D) draw on all subdisciplines of anthropology to attempt to answer questions about humans.

34) Carolus Linnaeus developed his system of classification by:

A) using a three-name system to identify different forms.

B) grouping together organisms with similar anatomical structures.

C) following the prevailing notions of a Great Chain of Being.

D) adopting the linear ranking of organisms.

35) Which of the following is true of the theory of evolution?

A) It claims that people are descended from monkeys or apes.

B) It validates the conflict between evolutionary views and religious values.

C) It tries to disprove the Bible.

D) It lies at the heart of anthropology.

36) Which of the following statements is true of science?

A) It is a belief system.

B) It is a system of expert validation.

C) It is a body of truth.

D) It is a methodology.

37) Which of the following was NOT believed by Linnaeus?

A) that organisms should be catalogued based on evolutionary historical similarities

B) that no new species could arise from others

C) that nature was constructed "in the hand of God"

D) that no substantial change could occur in living forms

38) Critical thinking means:

A) participating passively, rather than actively, in the learning process.

B) taking control of the information presented and examining it.

C) accepting everything at face value.

D) listening rather than asking.

39) Natural selection is defined as:

A) a process by which the better fit variants in a population become over-represented over time.

B) an evolutionary process in which a small group of individuals account for all of the genetic variation in a large population.

C) an evolutionary process whereby species come to share phenotypic characteristics due to similar environmental pressures.

D) a process whereby species share phenotypic characteristics due to recent common ancestry.

40) Lamarck proposed a process of evolution with three major components. Which one of the following was NOT one of the three components of evolution proposed by Lamarck?

A) the law of use and disuse

B) the inheritance of acquired characteristics

C) the capacity to change

D) the environment not able to challenge organisms

41) The belief that great disasters regularly wipe out much of life on earth is known as:

A) acosmism.

B) catastrophism.

C) deontologism.

D) hylozoism.

42) Which of the following is NOT a primate?

A) a human being

B) a presimian

C) a prosimian

D) an ape

43) Change in response to environmental challenges is called:

A) natural selection.

B) transcription.

C) adaptation.

D) parallel evolution.

44) Scientific collaboration is all of the following EXCEPT:

A) minimizing the quality of tests and data.

B) using the published results of other scientists' work.

C) performing experiments and observations together.

D) getting multiple views on various issues.

45) Which of the following best describes the term "niche"?

A) specific evolution

B) specific adaptation

C) specific environment

D) specific theory

46) Define anthropology. Explain what its four subfields are and what they encompass. In your answer, give an example of a specific study that could be conducted in each of the four subfields of anthropology.

47) Describe what science is and how it works. Discuss the steps of the scientific method. Explain how the scientific method proves something right/wrong.

48) Discuss whether evolution is a fact or a theory. Elaborate from where our ideas about evolution come. In your answer, be sure to name and mention the ideas of at least three of the following great thinkers: John Ray, Carolus Linnaeus, Comte de Buffon, Erasmus Darwin, Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, Georges Cuvier, or Charles Lyell.

49) Discuss three specific beliefs before and three specific beliefs after the scientific revolution that helped shape the way people viewed the natural world. In your answer, be sure to use and define concepts such as stasis, the fixity of nature, the Great Chain of Being, etc.

50) Darwin and Wallace realized that several conditions must exist/be met for evolutionary changes by natural selection to occur. Name and describe these conditions.