Given below are two statements: Statement I: Darwin's finches arose on the Galapagos from a seed-eating stock into forms with altered beaks, including insectivorous ones. Statement II: The likeness between the Tasmanian wolf and the placental wolf is explained by convergent evolution. Choose the correct answer.

Both Statement I and Statement II are correct

Statement I is incorrect but Statement II is correct

Both Statement I and Statement II are incorrect

Statement I is correct but Statement II is incorrect

Evolution

16 NEET-UG practice questions on Evolution, part of Zoology. The first 16 are below; the first 5 with answers and explanations (tap Show answer after you have chosen), the rest in Learn with a free account.

Question 1 · Medium
Read these statements on natural selection acting on a quantitative trait. A. In stabilising selection, more individuals acquire the mean character value. B. In directional selection, more individuals acquire a value other than the mean. C. In disruptive selection, more individuals acquire peripheral values at both ends of the curve. D. Disruptive selection narrows the distribution around the mean. Choose the correct option.
1. AA, B and D only
2. BA and C only
3. CB, C and D only
4. DA, B and C only
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Answer: D · A, B and C only
Statements A, B and C are the three outcomes of selection as described in NCERT. Statement D is false: disruptive selection favours both extremes and so produces two peaks; narrowing around the mean is what stabilising selection does.
- A: This leaves out C and includes the false D.
- B: This leaves out B, which is a correct description of directional selection.
- C: This leaves out A and includes the false D.
Remember this
Stabilising favours the mean, directional shifts the peak one way, disruptive creates two peaks at the ends.
Question 2 · Hard
A sample of 1000 individuals has 400 AA, 400 Aa and 200 aa. With the same allele frequencies, how many heterozygotes are expected if the population were at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium?
1. A480
2. B400
3. C500
4. D240
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Answer: A · 480
Total alleles = 2000. Count of A = 2(400) + 400 = 1200, so p = 0.6 and q = 0.4. Expected Aa = 2pq × 1000 = 0.48 × 1000 = 480. As a check, expected AA = 360 and aa = 160, leaving 1000 - 520 = 480.
- B: 400 is the observed count, not the expected count.
- C: 500 assumes p = q = 0.5 without counting the alleles.
- D: 240 is pq × 1000, with the factor of 2 left out.
Remember this
Find allele frequencies by counting alleles in the sample, never from genotype shares alone; each homozygote carries two copies.
Question 3 · Medium
Given below are two statements: Statement I: Darwin's finches arose on the Galapagos from a seed-eating stock into forms with altered beaks, including insectivorous ones. Statement II: The likeness between the Tasmanian wolf and the placental wolf is explained by convergent evolution. Choose the correct answer.
1. ABoth Statement I and Statement II are correct
2. BStatement I is incorrect but Statement II is correct
3. CBoth Statement I and Statement II are incorrect
4. DStatement I is correct but Statement II is incorrect
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Answer: A · Both Statement I and Statement II are correct
Statement I is the classic adaptive radiation from one ancestral stock. Statement II is also right: separate adaptive radiations of marsupials and placental mammals in Australia produced look-alike pairs, which is convergent evolution.
- B: Statement I is also correct: beak forms arose from a seed-eating stock.
- C: Both statements agree with NCERT, so neither is incorrect.
- D: Statement II is also correct: the wolves are from separate radiations.
Remember this
One stock spreading into many habitats is adaptive radiation; separate radiations producing look-alikes in one isolated area is convergent evolution.
Question 4 · Easy
Working on evening primrose, Hugo de Vries described large single-step mutations as a cause of new species. He called this phenomenon
1. AAdaptive radiation
2. BSaltation
3. CBranching descent
4. DFounder effect
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Answer: B · Saltation
De Vries held that mutation, not minor heritable variation, causes speciation, and that a single large step could do it. He named this single-step large mutation saltation.
- A: Adaptive radiation is the spreading of one stock into many habitats.
- C: Branching descent is Darwin's idea of lineages diverging from a common ancestor.
- D: Founder effect concerns a drifted population that starts a new one.
Remember this
Darwinian variations are small and directional; de Vries' mutations are random, directionless and sudden.
Question 5 · Hard
Match List-I with List-II. List-I (example) A. Potato and sweet potato B. Hearts of different vertebrates C. Tasmanian wolf and placental wolf D. Darwin's finches List-II (evolutionary reading) I. Radiation from one ancestral stock on islands II. Different origin, similar function III. Look-alikes from two separate lines of radiation IV. Common plan, modified for different needs
1. AA-II, B-IV, C-I, D-III
2. BA-III, B-IV, C-II, D-I
3. CA-IV, B-II, C-III, D-I
4. DA-II, B-IV, C-III, D-I
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Answer: D · A-II, B-IV, C-III, D-I
Potato is a stem and sweet potato a root, so they are analogous. Vertebrate hearts are homologous, sharing a plan. The two wolves come from separate marsupial and placental radiations, and the finches radiated from one stock.
- A: This confuses the single-stock finches with the separate-line wolves.
- B: This treats the storage organs as look-alikes from two radiations.
- C: This reverses the readings for analogy and homology.
Remember this
Ask two things: same plan or not, and one lineage or two; the answers separate homology, analogy, radiation and convergence.
Question 6 · Medium
Arrange these forms from earliest to latest. A. Homo erectus B. Neanderthal man C. Dryopithecus D. Homo habilis
1. AC, D, B, A
2. BC, D, A, B
3. CD, C, A, B
4. DC, A, D, B
Answer and explanation in LearnFree account
Question 7 · Easy
Fossils found in Java in 1891 belonged to a hominid with a brain of about 900 cc that probably ate meat. Name this form.
1. AHomo habilis
2. BNeanderthal man
3. CRamapithecus
4. DHomo erectus
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Question 8 · Medium
Assertion A: Heavy use of pesticides and herbicides has given resistant varieties within a much shorter time scale than centuries. Reason R: Under such use, resistant individuals survive and leave more progeny than sensitive ones. Choose the correct answer.
1. ABoth A and R are correct and R is the correct explanation of A
2. BA is not correct but R is correct
3. CBoth A and R are correct but R is not the correct explanation of A
4. DA is correct but R is not correct
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Question 9 · Easy
Select the pair of analogous structures.
1. AThorn of Bougainvillea and tendril of Cucurbita
2. BHeart of human and heart of cheetah
3. CFlippers of penguin and flippers of dolphin
4. DForelimb of whale and forelimb of bat
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Question 10 · Easy
The thorn of Bougainvillea and the tendril of Cucurbita perform different jobs but are built on a shared plan. This pair is evidence of
1. AConvergent evolution
2. BGenetic drift
3. CDivergent evolution
4. DSaltation
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Question 11 · Hard
Consider these statements on factors that affect Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. A. Gene migration changes allele frequencies in the original as well as the new population. B. A change in allele frequency that occurs by chance is called gene flow. C. A drifted population may differ so much in allele frequency that it becomes a different species, its members acting as founders. D. Equilibrium means that allele frequencies change steadily with each generation. Choose the correct option.
1. AA, B and C only
2. BA and C only
3. CA and D only
4. DC and D only
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Question 12 · Medium
Moths collected in the same English area showed dark-winged forms outnumbering white-winged forms by 1920, the reverse of the 1850s count. What best explains the change?
1. ASoot on the wings darkened the moths that rested on the trunks
2. BWhite lichen spread over the trunks as industrial smoke increased
3. CPredators spotted white moths more easily on soot-darkened tree trunks
4. DWhite moths changed colour during life and passed this on to progeny
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Question 13 · Medium
Match List-I with List-II. List-I (form) A. Dryopithecus B. Homo habilis C. Neanderthal man D. Homo sapiens List-II (feature) I. Brain 650-800 cc; probably did not eat meat II. Prehistoric cave art about 18,000 years ago III. More ape-like; about 15 mya IV. Brain about 1400 cc; used hides and buried the dead
1. AA-III, B-I, C-IV, D-II
2. BA-III, B-I, C-II, D-IV
3. CA-I, B-III, C-IV, D-II
4. DA-III, B-IV, C-I, D-II
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Question 14 · Medium
In a large, randomly mating population at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, 16 in every 100 individuals show a recessive trait. What is the frequency of heterozygous carriers?
1. A0.36
2. B0.24
3. C0.84
4. D0.48
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Question 15 · Medium
Given below are two statements about the two populations of 1000 individuals in the figure: Statement I: Population Y is in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Statement II: The frequency of allele A is the same in populations X and Y. Choose the correct answer.
Figure: MedExams
1. ABoth Statement I and Statement II are correct
2. BStatement I is correct but Statement II is incorrect
3. CBoth Statement I and Statement II are incorrect
4. DStatement I is incorrect but Statement II is correct
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Question 16 · Medium
A bird population feeds on a mix of seeds. After a change in plants, only very small and very large seeds remain, so birds with medium-depth beaks die in large numbers. Which graph shows this change in beak depth?
Figure: MedExams
1. AGraph D
2. BGraph A
3. CGraph B
4. DGraph C
Answer and explanation in LearnFree account

Evolution

A sample of 1000 individuals has 400 AA, 400 Aa and 200 aa. With the same allele frequencies, how many heterozygotes are expected if the population were at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium?

Working on evening primrose, Hugo de Vries described large single-step mutations as a cause of new species. He called this phenomenon

Arrange these forms from earliest to latest. A. Homo erectus B. Neanderthal man C. Dryopithecus D. Homo habilis

Fossils found in Java in 1891 belonged to a hominid with a brain of about 900 cc that probably ate meat. Name this form.

Assertion A: Heavy use of pesticides and herbicides has given resistant varieties within a much shorter time scale than centuries. Reason R: Under such use, resistant individuals survive and leave more progeny than sensitive ones. Choose the correct answer.

Select the pair of analogous structures.

The thorn of Bougainvillea and the tendril of Cucurbita perform different jobs but are built on a shared plan. This pair is evidence of

Moths collected in the same English area showed dark-winged forms outnumbering white-winged forms by 1920, the reverse of the 1850s count. What best explains the change?

In a large, randomly mating population at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, 16 in every 100 individuals show a recessive trait. What is the frequency of heterozygous carriers?

Given below are two statements about the two populations of 1000 individuals in the figure: Statement I: Population Y is in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Statement II: The frequency of allele A is the same in populations X and Y. Choose the correct answer.

A bird population feeds on a mix of seeds. After a change in plants, only very small and very large seeds remain, so birds with medium-depth beaks die in large numbers. Which graph shows this change in beak depth?