Lesson test: Darwin's argument

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Darwin's argument

1.[3p]
Why does the Origin open with domestic pigeons rather than with fossils?

They show that undirected variation plus a sustained bias in who breeds produces large structural change

Correct

They were the group Darwin knew best and he had nothing else to open with

The answer is: They show that undirected variation plus a sustained bias in who breeds produces large structural change

They are the only animals whose ancestry was known in 1859

The answer is: They show that undirected variation plus a sustained bias in who breeds produces large structural change

They demonstrate that species boundaries do not exist

The answer is: They show that undirected variation plus a sustained bias in who breeds produces large structural change

2.[3p]
What weakness in the pigeon analogy does Darwin himself state, and what fills it?

The breeder has an intention and nature has none, which Malthus fills with population pressure

Correct

Pigeons are domesticated, which the Galapagos finches fill with wild examples

The answer is: The breeder has an intention and nature has none, which Malthus fills with population pressure

Pigeon breeds are interfertile, which hybrid sterility fills

The answer is: The breeder has an intention and nature has none, which Malthus fills with population pressure

Pigeon breeding takes decades, which geology fills with time

The answer is: The breeder has an intention and nature has none, which Malthus fills with population pressure

3.[2p]
Darwin's elephants increase at about 2.16 per cent a year. What is the doubling time, in years?

CorrectNot quite: 32

4.[2p]
A bacterium must increase $6 \times 10^{39}$ fold to match the mass of the earth. How many doublings is that?

CorrectNot quite: 132

5.[3p]
Put Darwin's four premises in the order the argument uses them.

Some heritable variation affects the chance of surviving and reproducing
Some of that variation is heritable
Far more offspring are produced than can survive
Individuals within a species vary

Show the answer

a, b, c, d

6.[2p]
Naturalists in 1859 generally disputed Darwin's four premises.

True

The answer is: False

False

Correct

7.[3p]
Why is exhibiting living animals with pit eyes, pinhole eyes and lens eyes stronger than asserting the eye evolved gradually?

It turns a claim about what is possible into a claim about what actually exists

Correct

It proves that the human eye passed through exactly those stages

The answer is: It turns a claim about what is possible into a claim about what actually exists

It shows that the eye is imperfect

The answer is: It turns a claim about what is possible into a claim about what actually exists

It removes the need for heritable variation

The answer is: It turns a claim about what is possible into a claim about what actually exists

8.[3p]
Which things did the argument of 1859 lack?

Select all that apply

A theory of heredity

Correct

An account of where variation comes from

Correct

Enough time, given the physics of the day

Correct

Agreement that organisms vary

The answer is: A theory of heredity, An account of where variation comes from, Enough time, given the physics of the day

9.[2p]
Match each name to what they contributed.

Malthus
Wallace
Spencer
Lyell

the phrase survival of the fittest
arranged the joint reading at the Linnean Society
independent statement of selection in 1858
population presses against subsistence

Show the answer

Malthus: population presses against subsistence Wallace: independent statement of selection in 1858 Spencer: the phrase survival of the fittest Lyell: arranged the joint reading at the Linnean Society

1.[3p] Why does the Origin open with domestic pigeons rather than with fossils?

2.[3p] What weakness in the pigeon analogy does Darwin himself state, and what fills it?

3.[2p] Darwin's elephants increase at about 2.16 per cent a year. What is the doubling time, in years?

4.[2p] A bacterium must increase 6×1039 fold to match the mass of the earth. How many doublings is that?

5.[3p] Put Darwin's four premises in the order the argument uses them.

6.[2p] Naturalists in 1859 generally disputed Darwin's four premises.

7.[3p] Why is exhibiting living animals with pit eyes, pinhole eyes and lens eyes stronger than asserting the eye evolved gradually?

8.[3p] Which things did the argument of 1859 lack?

9.[2p] Match each name to what they contributed.

1.[3p]
Why does the Origin open with domestic pigeons rather than with fossils?

2.[3p]
What weakness in the pigeon analogy does Darwin himself state, and what fills it?

3.[2p]
Darwin's elephants increase at about 2.16 per cent a year. What is the doubling time, in years?

4.[2p]
A bacterium must increase $6 \times 10^{39}$ fold to match the mass of the earth. How many doublings is that?

5.[3p]
Put Darwin's four premises in the order the argument uses them.

6.[2p]
Naturalists in 1859 generally disputed Darwin's four premises.

7.[3p]
Why is exhibiting living animals with pit eyes, pinhole eyes and lens eyes stronger than asserting the eye evolved gradually?

8.[3p]
Which things did the argument of 1859 lack?

9.[2p]
Match each name to what they contributed.