Master NEET Zoology with topic-wise questions. Tailored for NEET students, these questions strengthen your Biology preparation.
Which of the following is NOT a characteristic typically associated with organisms that predominantly reproduce asexually?
Rapid population growth in stable environments
Adaptation to narrow ecological niches
High genetic diversity within populations
Reduced energy expenditure on mate finding
A researcher observes a unicellular organism reproducing asexually. The daughter cells are genetically identical except for a few minor variations. Which mechanism is MOST likely responsible for these variations?
Crossing over during mitosis
Independent assortment of chromosomes
Random mutations during DNA replication
Conjugation with another individual
Certain plants can reproduce both sexually and asexually. Under which of the following environmental conditions would asexual reproduction be MOST advantageous?
Unstable environment with frequent disturbances
Environment with high pathogen pressure
Environment with limited resources and high competition
Stable environment with abundant resources
The 'hot dilute soup' proposed by Haldane and Oparin as a crucial stage in the origin of life faced a major challenge. What was this primary obstacle?
The absence of a continuous source of energy.
The presence of an oxidizing atmosphere.
The lack of a mechanism to concentrate the organic molecules to facilitate polymerization.
The instability of amino acids at high temperatures.
Which observation MOST directly challenges the idea of a universally applicable “molecular clock” for dating evolutionary divergence?
Fossil evidence sometimes contradicts molecular clock estimates.
Mutation rates can be influenced by environmental factors.
Different genes evolve at different rates, even within the same lineage.
Horizontal gene transfer can introduce new genes into a lineage.
Adaptive radiation is characterized by rapid diversification. Which ecological factor is LEAST likely to be a primary driver of rapid adaptive radiation?
Colonization of a new, geographically isolated environment
Mass extinction events creating vacant ecological niches
Evolution of a key innovation that allows exploitation of new resources
Stable environmental conditions over long periods
The cichlid fishes of the African Great Lakes exemplify remarkable adaptive radiation. However, some lakes show far greater cichlid diversity than others. Which factor is MOST likely to explain this variation in diversity among lakes?
Uniform water temperature and oxygen levels throughout the lake
Absence of other competing fish species in the lake
Presence of diverse habitats and resources within the lake
Lower rates of predation on cichlids in some lakes
Adaptive radiation can be considered a macroevolutionary process. Which of the following provides the MOST direct evidence for adaptive radiation in the fossil record?
A gradual, linear progression of changes in a single lineage over a long period.
The discovery of transitional fossils showing intermediate forms between ancestral and descendant species.
A sudden appearance of many related species in a relatively short geological timeframe, often correlated with a new environment or resource.
The presence of homologous structures in distantly related organisms.
Island biogeography theory predicts that larger islands tend to have higher biodiversity. How does this relate to adaptive radiation?
Larger islands have lower extinction rates, preserving the products of adaptive radiation.
Larger islands attract more migrating species, providing a starting point for adaptive radiation.
Larger islands offer more diverse habitats and resources, increasing the likelihood of adaptive radiation.
Larger islands have higher mutation rates, promoting the genetic variation necessary for adaptive radiation.
The 'Taung Child' fossil, discovered by Raymond Dart, is significant because it provided evidence for which of the following hypotheses regarding human evolution?
Large brain size was the primary driver of early hominin evolution.
Bipedalism preceded significant brain enlargement.
Tool use developed before bipedalism.
Early hominins originated in Asia.
