Biology Now

Anne Houtman; Megan Scudellari; Cindy Malone

Chapter 17

Animals and Human Evolution - all with Video Answers

Educators

Chapter Questions

Problem 1

Which of the following statements is not true?
(a) A single evolutionary line led from Ardipithecus ramidus to modern humans.
(b) Some hominid traits evolved more rapidly than others.
(c) Brain size increased greatly from early hominids to Homo sapiens.
(d) Toolmaking technology has improved greatly over the past 300,000 years.

Joanna Quigley

Joanna Quigley

Numerade Educator

Problem 2

The out-of-Africa hypothesis states that
(a) all new species of hominins arose in Africa and then migrated to the rest of the world.
(b) many new species of hominins arose outside of Africa and then migrated back to Africa later.
(c) all hominin speciation events occurred outside of Africa.
(d) all speciation events occurred in Africa, but only Homo sapiens distributed itself across the globe.

Joanna Quigley

Numerade Educator

Problem 3

Which of the following features do sponges lack that some other animals have?
(a) segmented body plan
(b) symmetrical body plan
(c) backbone
(d) all of the above

Joanna Quigley

Numerade Educator

Problem 4

Select the correct terms:
(Mitochondrial DNA / Nuclear DNA) is passed on only from the maternal line. (Mitochondrial DNA / Nuclear DNA) is inherited from both the mother and the father.

Joanna Quigley

Numerade Educator

Problem 5

For each of the following cases, identify whether the animal group has bilateral symmetry (B), radial symmetry (R], or no distinct symmetry $(N]$.
______a. sponges
______b. cnidarians
______c. arthropods
______d. chordates
______e. primates

Joanna Quigley

Numerade Educator

Problem 6

_________ specimens have features that are intermediate between those of Australopithecus africanus and Homo erectus and provide an amazing record of the evolutionary shift from ancestral hominin characteristics seen in Australopithecus fossils to more recent ones seen in $H$. erectus fossils.
(a) Homo sapiens
(b) Homo neanderthalensis
(c) Homo habilis
(d) Ardipithecus ramidus

Joanna Quigley

Numerade Educator

Problem 7

Briefly describe the key differences that distinguish monotreme, marsupial, and eutherian mammals.

Joanna Quigley

Numerade Educator

Problem 8

Place the following hominids in the correct order from earliest to most recent by numbering them from 1 to 5 .
______a. archaic Homo sapiens
______b. Australopithecus afarensis
______c. modern Homo sapiens
______d. Homo habilis
______e. Homo erectus

Joanna Quigley

Numerade Educator

Problem 9

You visit your local museum of natural history and come upon an exhibit showcasing hominin fossils that date back $300,000-400,000$ years ago. You notice that these fossils have features intermediate between those of Homo erectus and those of "anatomically modern" Homo sapiens. Who were these fossils?
(a) archaic Homo erectus
(b) archaic Homo sapiens
(c) Homo neanderthalensis
(d) Homo habilis

Joanna Quigley

Numerade Educator

Problem 10

In $2004,$ scientists discovered the fossilized remains of an extinct species they named Tiktaalik roseae. The fossil appears to be a transitional species between (aquatic) fishes and (terrestrial) four-legged amphibians. In what environments do you predict this animal lived?

Joanna Quigley

Numerade Educator

Problem 11

Give an example animal for some of the key adaptations of chordates: (a) backbone, (b) skull, (c) amniotic egg, (d) bony skeleton. Choose a different animal for each adaptation.

Joanna Quigley

Numerade Educator

Problem 12

How does the fact that all ethnic groups except Africans contain some Neanderthal DNA (1-4 percent of their DNA] support the out-of-Africa hypothesis for the origin of modern humans (Homo sapiens)?

Joanna Quigley

Numerade Educator

Problem 13

Write Now biology: if we were not alone Fossil evidence indicates that in the relatively recent past (about 30,000 years ago), anatomically modern humans, or Homo sapiens, may have shared the planet with at least three other distinct hominins:
H. erectus, H. neanderthalensis, and H. floresiensis. If one or more of these species were alive today, how would their existence affect the world as we know it?

Joanna Quigley

Numerade Educator

Problem 14

Is it science? Watch the original 1968 movie Planet of the Apes. Document as many scientific problems with the movie as you can. Which of the apes' adaptations would be biologically possible, and which ones would be impossible, from your understanding of apes on Earth today? If this species did evolve to have the adaptive traits of Homo, would its members still be called apes?

Joanna Quigley

Numerade Educator