1. The scientist who proposed the theory of natural selection was:
a) Lamarck
b) Darwin
c) Mendel
d) Pasteur
Answer: b) Darwin
- Which of the following is the oldest era?
a) Cenozoic
b) Paleozoic
c) Mesozoic
d) Proterozoic
Answer: b) Paleozoic
- Homologous organs provide evidence for:
a) Convergent evolution
b) Divergent evolution
c) Analogous evolution
d) Adaptive radiation
Answer: b) Divergent evolution
- When did life first appear on earth?
a) After 200 million years
b) After 300 million years
c) After 500 million years
d) After 250 million years
Answer: c) After 500 million years
- “The Origin of Species” is a book written by:
a) Lamarck
b) Charles Darwin
c) Hugo de Vries
d) Weismann
Answer: b) Charles Darwin
- According to Darwin, evolution occurs due to:
a) Inheritance of acquired characters
b) Mutations
c) Natural selection
d) Sudden changes
Answer: c) Natural selection
- The wings of a bird and an insect are:
a) Homologous
b) Analogous
c) Vestigial
d) Atavistic
Answer: b) Analogous
- The process of formation of a new species is called:
a) Evolution
b) Speciation
c) Mutation
d) Variation
Answer: b) Speciation
- The theory of use and disuse was proposed by:
a) Darwin
b) Lamarck
c) Wallace
d) Morgan
Answer: b) Lamarck
- Mutation theory was proposed by:
a) Darwin
b) Hugo de Vries
c) Oparin
d) Miller
Answer: b) Hugo de Vries
- The fossil study provides which type of evidence?
a) Embryological
b) Palaeontological
c) Morphological
d) Anatomical
Answer: b) Palaeontological
- Presence of tail in human embryo is an example of:
a) Adaptation
b) Mutation
c) Atavism
d) Vestigiality
Answer: c) Atavism
- Industrial melanism is an example of:
a) Mutation
b) Natural selection
c) Random drift
d) Sexual selection
Answer: b) Natural selection
- Evolution is a _______ process.
a) Fast
b) Gradual
c) Directional
d) Sudden
Answer: b) Gradual
- Who demonstrated by experiment that life comes from
pre-existing life?
a) Louis Pasteur
b) Oparin
c) Miller
d) Spallanzani
Answer: a) Louis Pasteur
- Which is a vestigial organ in humans?
a) Pancreas
b) Vermiform appendix
c) Liver
d) Kidney
Answer: b) Vermiform appendix
- The force that initiates evolution is:
a) Adaptation
b) Mutation
c) Variation
d) Extinction
Answer: c) Variation
- Which of the following statements is correct regarding
homologous organs?
a) Same structure and function
b) Similar structure, different function
c) Different structure and function
d) Different structure, same function
Answer: b) Similar structure, different function
- Which organism is the closest living relative of man?
a) Gorillas
b) Lemurs
c) Orangutans
d) Chimpanzees
Answer: d) Chimpanzees
- “Survival of the fittest” means:
a) The strongest survives
b) The cleverest survives
c) The most adaptable survives
d) The biggest survives
Answer: c) The most adaptable survives
- Analogous organs arise due to:
a) Divergent evolution
b) Convergent evolution
c) Adaptive radiation
d) Mutation
Answer: b) Convergent evolution
- The presence of gills in the tadpole of frog indicates:
a) Ability to swim in water
b) Evolutionary relationship with fish
c) Similar shape of head
d) Aquatic habitat
Answer: b) Evolutionary relationship with fish
- S.L. Miller’s experiment proved that:
a) Life came from pre-existing life
b) Life came from inorganic molecules
c) Life came from viruses
d) Life came from bacteria
Answer: b) Life came from inorganic molecules
- What is adaptive radiation?
a) Migration of organisms
b) Evolution of different species from a common ancestor in
a geologically short time
c) Radiation due to sun
d) Sudden mutation
Answer: b) Evolution of different species from a common ancestor in a
geologically short time
- The bones of forelimbs of mammals are similar in
structure because:
a) One organism gave rise to another
b) Common ancestry
c) Same function
d) Biochemical similarity
Answer: b) Common ancestry
- Which statement about Darwin's finches is correct?
a) Same beaks in all species
b) Different beaks evolved for different food types
c) No evolution observed
d) All are extinct
Answer: b) Different beaks evolved for different food types
- Industrial melanism supports the theory of:
a) Acquired characters
b) Natural selection
c) Artificial selection
d) Mutation
Answer: b) Natural selection
- Panspermia refers to:
a) Life originated on earth spontaneously
b) Spores transferred from another planet
c) Artificial life origin
d) Life originated from viruses
Answer: b) Spores transferred from another planet
- Which of the following best explains evolution?
a) Sudden change in an organism
b) Descent with modification
c) Artificial selection
d) Atavism
Answer: b) Descent with modification
- Who gave the concept of “Inheritance of Acquired
Characters”?
a) Darwin
b) Lamarck
c) De Vries
d) Wallace
Answer: b) Lamarck
- Which of the following is not a direct evidence for
evolution?
a) Fossils
b) Vestigial organs
c) Analogy
d) Homology
Answer: c) Analogy
- The first cellular organisms were:
a) Eukaryotes
b) Chemoheterotrophs
c) Photoautotrophs
d) Animals
Answer: b) Chemoheterotroph
- Which of these is an example of microevolution?
a) Evolution of new species
b) Change in gene frequency in a population
c) Appearance of new kingdom
d) Extinction of species
Answer: b) Change in gene frequency in a population
- Who is called the Father of Genetics?
a) Charles Darwin
b) Lamarck
c) Gregor Mendel
d) Wallace
Answer: c) Gregor Mendel
- Branching descent and natural selection are key
concepts of:
a) Mutation theory
b) Darwinian evolution
c) Catastrophic theory
d) Inheritance of acquired traits
Answer: b) Darwinian evolution
- Paleontological studies are based on:
a) Blood samples
b) Fossils
c) Homology
d) Chemistry
Answer: b) Fossils
- The term “survival of the fittest” was coined by:
a) Lamarck
b) Darwin
c) Herbert Spencer
d) Wallace
Answer: c) Herbert Spencer
- The wings of a bat and the flippers of a whale are:
a) Analogous
b) Homologous
c) Vestigial
d) Atavistic
Answer: b) Homologous
- Which of these is NOT considered a vestigial organ?
a) Appendix
b) Ear muscles
c) Tailbone
d) Heart
Answer: d) Heart
- The process that increases genetic variation in
populations is:
a) Mitosis
b) Meiosis
c) Cloning
d) Budding
Answer: b) Meiosis
- The correct order of geologic time eras is:
a) Proterozoic < Paleozoic < Mesozoic < Cenozoic
b) Mesozoic < Cenozoic < Paleozoic < Proterozoic
c) Cenozoic < Proterozoic < Paleozoic < Mesozoic
d) Paleozoic < Cenozoic < Mesozoic < Proterozoic
Answer: a) Proterozoic < Paleozoic < Mesozoic < Cenozoic
- Which gas was absent in the primitive atmosphere?
a) Oxygen
b) Ammonia
c) Methane
d) Water vapour
Answer: a) Oxygen
- The fossil Archaeopteryx links which two groups?
a) Mammals and reptiles
b) Birds and reptiles
c) Amphibians and reptiles
d) Birds and amphibians
Answer: b) Birds and reptiles
- Evolution by stages means:
a) Big changes suddenly
b) Complex organs arise from small, gradual changes
c) Creation by supernatural means
d) Direct transformation
Answer: b) Complex organs arise from small, gradual changes
- The “Big Bang” theory explains the origin of:
a) Stars
b) Life
c) Universe
d) Planets
Answer: c) Universe
- The process by which unrelated organisms develop
similar traits is called:
a) Divergent evolution
b) Convergent evolution
c) Parallel evolution
d) Coevolution
Answer: b) Convergent evolution
- Adaptive radiation is best represented by:
a) Darwin’s finches
b) Human–ape relationship
c) Industrial melanism
d) Atavism
Answer: a) Darwin’s finches
- The sudden appearance of variations in organisms is
termed:
a) Adaptation
b) Mutation
c) Variation
d) Selection
Answer: b) Mutation
- The main raw material for evolution is:
a) Adaptation
b) Variation
c) Selection
d) Mutation
Answer: b) Variation
- Which is not a Darwinian concept?
a) Overproduction of offspring
b) Use and disuse of organs
c) Survival of the fittest
d) Struggle for existence
Answer: b) Use and disuse of organs
