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Q1. Darwin travelled in which ship?

• H.N.S. Eagle
• D. Matrica
• H.M.S. Beagle
• Titanic

Solution

Darwin travelled round the world on the ship H.M.S. Beagle with a surveying expedition for 5 years.

Q2. The extinct human who lived 1,00,000 to 40,000 years ago in Europe, Asia and parts of Africa, with short stature, heavy eye brows, retreating fore head, large jaws with heavy teeth, stocky bodies, a lumbering gait and stooped posture was:

• Homo habilis
• Neanderthal human
• Cro-magnon human
• Ramapithecus

Solution

Neanderthal human who had a cranial capacity of 1300-1600 cubic centimeter had flat cranium, sloping forehead, thin large orbits, heavy brow ridges, protruding jaws

Q3. Which of the following is not a notable feature of the mutation theory put forth by Hugo de Vries?

• Mutations are the raw material for evolution.
• Mutations can occur only in a specific direction.
• Mutations are recurring.
• Mutations appear suddenly.

Solution

According to the mutation theory put forth by Hugo de Vries, mutations can occur in all directions.

Q4. An isolated population of humans with equal number of blue-eyed and brown-eyed individuals was decimated by an earthquake. Only a few brown-eyed remained to form the next generation. This kind of change in the gene pool is called

• Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium
• Blocked gene flow
• Bottle neck effect
• Founder effect

Solution

Natural calamities like earthquake reduce the size of a population. The brown-eyed individuals formed the next generation though the genetic pool of the small surviving population is not a representative of genetic pool of the original population which is called as bottle neck effect.

Q5. What is the rate of multiplication in Paramecium?

• Once in 48 hours
• Twice in 48 hours
• Thrice in 48 hours
• Four times in 48 hours

Solution

Paramoecium divides at the rate of three times in 48 hours.

Q6. Ancestors of mammals belong to:

• Chelonia
• Silusidea
• Therapsida
• Ornithischia

Solution

Therapsida includes mammals and their ancestors whose traits are very unique including an erect posture.

Q7. Wings of butterfly and bats are:

• Vestigeal and Analogous Organs
• Analogous organs
• Homologous organs
• Evolutionary Organs

Solution

The wings of a bat and a butterfly, both perform the same function of flight aid, but structurally have different origin and hence are considered as analogous organs. 

Q8. Darwin's theory states that

• Characters are acquired through inheritance
• Nature selects species which can adapt
• Species change morphologically with nature
• Affect of environment on evolution

Solution

The species with the best adaptations to its environment will be the one that will be able to survive and reproduce which is stated by Charles Darwin.

Q9. The difference in the DNA content of chimpanzee and man is about

• 1.8%
• 18%
• 28%
• 58%

Solution

The difference in the DNA content of chimpanzee and man is about 1.8%.

Q10. Cranial cavity of man nearly equals to:

• Australopithecus
• Java ape man
• Cro-magnon man
• Neanderthal man

Solution

Cro-magnon man had a cranial capacity (brain size) of 1650 cc about the same as in the living man.

Q11. Giraffe has long neck because:

• Due to evolution and adaptation
• Their ancestors were long necked
• Environment is suitable for its long neck
• They have become long due to their need from past

Solution

According to Lamarck, evolution is a gradual process and it occurs by accumulation of changes over generations. Giraffe had to feed on leaves that were the only food available by continuous stretching of neck and forelimbs. This increase in neck length passed on to generations in which further elongation occurred due to similar efforts.

Q12. Which among the following had the smallest cranial capacity?

• Homo sapiens
• Australopithecus
• Java man
• Pecking man

Solution

  Cranial capacity Primate 1200-1600 cm³ Homo sapiens 450-650 cm³ Australopithecus  800-1000 cm³ Java man 900-1000 cm³ Pecking man    

Q13. The wings of bat and birds are

• Vestigeal
• Homologous
• Analogous
• Both homologous and analogous

Solution

Wings of bats and birds have an ancestral condition leading to the similarity of forelimb structure and so are homologous.

Q14. Darwin's theory does not include

• Natural selection
• Survival of the fittest
• Evolution through inheritance
• Struggle for existence

Solution

Genetic variations are produced by mutations and sexual recombination (molecular inheritance).    This concept was not included in Darwin’s theory.

Q15. Which one of the following is considered as common ancestor of old world monkeys, apes and man?

• Oligopithecus
• Shivapithecus
• Ramapithecus
• Parapithecus

Solution

The evolutionary lines of monkeys and apes diverged from the earliest fossil to represent the ancestors of monkeys, apes and humans called the Parapithecus.

Q16. Marble is formed from

• Lava
• Limestone
• Granite
• Sea salt

Solution

When the sedimentary rock limestone melts and resolidifies, it forms a metamorphic rock called marble.

Q17. Connecting (should be missing link) link between apes and man is:

• Cro-magnon man
• Australopithecus
• Neanderthal man
• Lemur

Solution

Australopithecus was the first ape-man whose features were similar to modern man like erect posture.

Q18. Abiogenesis means

• Spontaneous generation
• Germplasm theory
• Origin of panspermia
• Physico-chemical origin of life

Solution

Abiogenesis is the natural process by which life arose from non-living matter such as simple organic compounds which is a technical term for spontaneous generation.

Q19. Hardy-Weinberg operates in the absence of:

• Mutations
• Natural selection
• Recombination
• All of these

Solution

Mutation, Natural selection and recombination do not play any role in Hardy-Weinberg genetic equilibrium.

Q20. Which one of the following describes correctly the homologous organs?

• Organs which have no function now but had an important function in ancestors
• Organs appear only in embryonic stage and disappearing later in adult
• Organs with anatomical dissimilarities, but performing same function
• Organs with anatomical similarities, but performing different functions

Solution

Organs which look different and perform different functions, having similar basic structure and similar embryonic origin are called homologous organs.

Q21. The phenomenon of "Industrial melanism" shows:

• Natural selection
• Induced Mutation
• Geographical isolation
• Reproductive isolation

Solution

Industrial melanism is an example of natural selection in which it offers protection in the form of camouflage which can resemble to the particular surrounding, replacing light species with dark species.

Q22. Convergent evolution of two species is associated with:

• Analogous organs
• Recent common ancestor
• Homologous organs
• Different habitats

Solution

Convergent evolution is the development of different structures evolving for the same function and has similarity. Wings of birds and butterfly do not have similar structures though they perform similar functions. So analogous organs are a result of convergent evolution.

Q23. The theory of natural selection had a number of observations. Of these, what can be inferred from the observation of ‘variation’ and ‘struggle of existence’?

• Survival of the fittest
• Formation of new species
• Rapid multiplication
• Stability in population

Solution

From the observation of ‘variation’ and ‘struggle for existence’, we can infer that in the ever changing environment, only the organisms which are best suited for the surrounding and adapted to it survive, i.e. survival of the fittest.

Q24. Which of the following is the correct order of evolutionary history of man?

• Peking man, Homo sapiens, Neanderthal, Cro-magnon
• Peking man, Neanderthal, Homo sapiens, Cro-magnon
• Heidelberg man, Peking man, Neanderthal, Cro-magnon man
• Peking man, Neanderthal, Homo sapiens, Heidelberg man

Solution

Homo erectus or Heidelberg man evolved 1.7 million years ago which is followed by Peking man which is the fossils of Homo erectus. After a gap of 50,000 years came the Homo neanderthalensis called Neanderthal man. The early or fossil modern man is called Cro-magnon man.

Q25. Miller performed an experiment to demonstrate that organic materials developed from inorganic materials on primitive Earth. In his experiment, he introduced gases such as methane, ammonia and hydrogen, which were present in the Earth’s primitive atmosphere. The ratio in which he introduced these gases (methane:ammonia:hydrogen) was

• 1:1:1
• 1:2:1
• 1:2:2
• 2:2:1

Solution

In his experiment, Miller introduced the gases methane, ammonia and hydrogen in the ratio of 2:2:1 and water vapours at 800°C.

Q26. Fossils are generally found in:

• Sedimentary rocks
• Igneous rocks
• Metamorphic rocks
• Any type of rock

Solution

Fossils are commonly found in sedimentary rocks. Sedimentary rocks are the most common type of rock since they are formed by the earth's natural forces like wind and water.

Q27. Being all mammals, whale, dolphin, bat, monkey and horse have some common characters but they also show conspicuous differences due to:

• Divergence
• Genetic drift
• Convergence
• Normalisation

Solution

Mammals, whale, dolphin, bat, monkey and horse have different functions but have similar embryonic origin which are said to be homologous organs which is based on divergent evolution.

Q28. Cro-magnon man was

• Frugivorous
• Carnivorous
• Herbivorous
• Omnivorous

Solution

All the fossils found for human were carnivores which included Australopithecus africanus, Homo habilis, Homo erectus and Cro-magnon man.

Q29. Mesohippus became extinct because of

• Sympatric speciation
• Phyletic speciation
• Allopatric speciation
• Gradual speciation

Solution

Phyletic speciation is the speciation process wherein the new species replaces the old species, but the number of individuals does not increase leading to gradual extinction. A classic example of this is the extinction of Mesohippus which evolved from Eohippus and become extinct. 

Q30. Swan-necked flask experiment was done by:

• Aristotle
• Robert Koch
• Louis Pasteur
• Francesco Redi

Solution

Louis Pasteur used a special flask whose neck was shaped like an S or the neck of a swan, hence the name ‘Swan Neck Flask.’ He showed that minute organisms, such as protists and bacteria arise from pre-existing organisms.

Q31. Which of the following was missing in the Earth’s primary atmosphere?

• O₃
• O₂
• O
• All of the above

Solution

The Earth’s primary atmosphere lacked oxygen and all its forms.

Q32. The cranial cavity was largest among the:

• Peking man
• African man
• Neanderthal man
• Java ape man

Solution

The fossils of Homo erectus were found in three regions- Java ape man, Peking Man and Heidelberg man. Their brain capacity was 800 to 1300 cubic centimeter. Neanderthal man was found after 50,000 years whose cranial capacity was 1300-1600 cubic centimeter.

Q33. Hand of man, wing of bat and flipper of seal represent:

• Vestigeal organs
• Analogous organs
• Evolutionary organs
• Homologous organs

Solution

The forelimbs of man, bats and seal are homologous organs. These forelimbs have same structure and perform different functions such as hand of man is for grasping; wing of bat is for flying and flippers of seal for swimming.

Q34. Among the human ancestors, the brain size was more than 1000 c.c. in

• Homo habilis
• Homo neanderthalensis
• Homo erectus
• Ramapithecus

Solution

Homo neanderthalensis had cranial capacity of 1300-1600 cubic centimeters about the same as that of the modern man which is more as compared to Homo habilis (650-800 cubic centimeters),Homo erectus (800 cubic centimeters) and Ramapithecus (300-350 cubic centimeters).

Q35. The most apparent change during the evolutionary history of Homo sapiens is traced in:

• Loss of body hair
• Walking upright
• Shortening of the jaws
• Remarkable increase in brain size

Solution

Homo sapiens had a remarkable increase in the cranial capacity (brain capacity) of 1300-1600 cubic centimeters which arose to a superior brain power.

Q36. Stanley Miller proposed origin of life by:

• Chemical synthesis
• Abiogenesis
• Biogenesis
• None of these

Solution

Chemical synthesis of organic compounds from inorganic molecules proposed the origin of life by Stanley Miller and Harold C. Urey which included a glass apparatus and a mixture of methane, ammonia and hydrogen.

Q37. Mutation theory does not explain:

• Mimicry
• Connecting link
• Adaptive radiation
• Origin of new species

Solution

Mutation theory is the modern concept of evolution which is the major source of genetic variation. It explains about the origin of new species, adaptive radiation and connecting link between two species. But mimicry is not explained in mutation theory.

Q38. The Earth’s atmosphere contains what percentage of oxygen?

• 0.25%
• 28.26%
• 20.95%
• 15.85%

Solution

The Earth’s atmosphere consists of 20.95% of oxygen.

Q39. Scientific name of Java man is:

• Homo habilis
• Homo sapiens neanderthalensis
• Homo erectus erectus
• Australopithecus bisei

Solution

Fossils of man found near Java was said to be Java- ape man or Homo erectus erectus.

Q40. The bones of forelimbs of whale, bat, cheetah and man are similar in structure, because:

• one organism has given rise to another
• they share a common ancestor
• they perform the same function
• they have biochemical similarities