SELECTED TEST QUESTIONS

Test Bank
to accompany
Behavioral Neuroscience, Eighth Edition
S. Marc Breedlove and Neil V. Watson

Chapter 6: Evolution of the Brain and Behavior

TEST QUESTIONS

Multiple Choice

1. The existence of similar bones in the forelimbs of seals, bats, and humans is an
example of
a. taxonomy.
b. homology.
c. analogy.
d. tautology.
Answer: b
Textbook Reference: How Did the Enormous Variety of Species Arise on Earth?
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

2. Which technique can be used as a kind of “molecular clock” to help determine how
long ago a species diverged from a common ancestor?
a. Relative size of the hippocampus
b. Rate of expansion of the neocortex
c. Convergent evolution
d. Comparison of DNA samples
Answer: d
Textbook Reference: How Did the Enormous Variety of Species Arise on Earth?
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

3. The main subdivision of an order is a

a. phylum.
b. class.
c. genus.
d. family.
Answer: d
Textbook Reference: How Did the Enormous Variety of Species Arise on Earth?
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

4. The streamlined body forms of the tuna and the dolphin provide an example of
a. analogy.
b. homology.
c. homoplasy.

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d. tautology.
Answer: c
Textbook Reference: How Did the Enormous Variety of Species Arise on Earth?
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

5. The current system that is used for classifying animals was originated by
a. Carolus Linnaeus.
b. Alfred Russel Wallace.
c. Charles Darwin.
d. Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck.
Answer: a
Textbook Reference: How Did the Enormous Variety of Species Arise on Earth?
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

6. Domestic dogs are classified into about

a. four genera.
b. two orders.
c. one species.
d. 400 species.
Answer: c
Textbook Reference: How Did the Enormous Variety of Species Arise on Earth?
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

7. The main subdivision of a phylum is a(n)

a. order.
b. family.
c. class.
d. kingdom.
Answer: c
Textbook Reference: How Did the Enormous Variety of Species Arise on Earth?
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

8. Which of the following lists is arranged from most inclusive to most specific?
a. Phylum, class, family, genus
b. Family, phylum, class, genus
c. Phylum, family, order, genus
d. Class, order, genus, family
Answer: a
Textbook Reference: How Did the Enormous Variety of Species Arise on Earth?
Bloom’s Level: 3. Applying

9. The description of the evolutionary history of a species is called

a. taxonomy.
b. analogy.
c. phylogeny.
d. homology.
Answer: c
Textbook Reference: How Did the Enormous Variety of Species Arise on Earth?

© 2017 Sinauer Associates, Inc.

Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

10. Morphology refers to

a. changing of the body or a body part.
b. the function of a body part.
c. the structure and form of a body or body part.
d. the plasticity of body parts.
Answer: c
Textbook Reference: How Did the Enormous Variety of Species Arise on Earth?
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

11. Hugo de Vries first described the process of _______, based on his studies of
_______.
a. adaptation; pea plants
b. hybridization; primroses
c. inheritance; pea plants
d. mutation; primroses
Answer: d
Textbook Reference: How Did the Enormous Variety of Species Arise on Earth?
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

12. Drosophila have been important for the study of genetics because of their _______
and their giant _______.
a. short generation time; chromosomes
b. easy care; axons
c. short generation time; axons
d. unique behaviors; chromosomes
Answer: a
Textbook Reference: How Did the Enormous Variety of Species Arise on Earth?
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

13. The field of study that involves the classification of animals into groups is called
a. taxonomy.
b. analogy.
c. phylogeny.
d. homology.
Answer: a
Textbook Reference: How Did the Enormous Variety of Species Arise on Earth?
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

14. Which species is currently believed to be the most closely related to humans based on
DNA analysis?
a. Siamang gibbon
b. Gorilla
c. Bonobo
d. Orangutan
Answer: c
Textbook Reference: How Did the Enormous Variety of Species Arise on Earth?

© 2017 Sinauer Associates, Inc.

Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

15. Which statement regarding Darwinian evolution is false?

a. Some of the variation among individuals is inherited.
b. Morphological changes that occur during an individual’s lifetime are passed on to the
next generation.
c. Individuals of a given generation are not identical.
d. Not all the offspring of a given generation survive to reproduce.
Answer: b
Textbook Reference: How Did the Enormous Variety of Species Arise on Earth?
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

16. The study of the inheritance of traits is called

a. mutation.
b. convergence.
c. naturalism.
d. genetics.
Answer: d
Textbook Reference: How Did the Enormous Variety of Species Arise on Earth?
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

17. Which class has the greatest number of species?

a. Mammals
b. Birds
c. Reptiles
d. Insects
Answer: d
Textbook Reference: Why Should We Study Other Species?
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

18. A diffuse network of neurons, without ganglia, is seen in the nervous system of
a. shrews.
b. sea anemones.
c. mollusks.
d. bacteria.
Answer: b
Textbook Reference: Why Should We Study Other Species?
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

19. Among mammals, species that eat leaves and grasses tend to have brains that are
_______ than those of species that eat fruit or insects.
a. larger
b. less efficient
c. more metabolically costly
d. smaller
Answer: d
Textbook Reference: Why Should We Study Other Species?
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

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20. Why is it believed that the storage of food for later use is an example of convergent
evolution across species of birds?
a. The hippocampus is enlarged in food-storing birds.
b. Families of birds that store food are no more closely related to other food-storing
families than they are to families of birds that do not store food.
c. Some species that store food do not have enlarged hippocampi.
d. Spatial memory is not important to species that do not store food.
Answer: b
Textbook Reference: Why Should We Study Other Species?
Bloom’s Level: 4. Analyzing

21. In the platypus, which hunts primarily in murky water at night, the brain region most
associated with _______ is very large compared to that of diurnal species.
a. vision
b. hearing
c. touch
d. chemical perception
Answer: c
Textbook Reference: Why Should We Study Other Species?
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

22. Which statement about the rat brain is false?

a. The cortex lacks convolutions.
b. It lacks a corpus callosum.
c. Compared to the human cerebral hemispheres, rat cerebral hemispheres make up a
smaller proportion of total brain size.
d. Compared to humans, rats have larger olfactory bulbs relative to overall brain size.
Answer: b
Textbook Reference: All Vertebrate Brains Share the Same Basic Structures
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

23. Which statement about the brains of rats, elephants, apes, and humans is true?
a. They all share the same structures except for the temporal cortex.
b. Only the primates have hippocampi.
c. The medulla is the largest in humans.
d. They have all the same basic structures
Answer: d
Textbook Reference: All Vertebrate Brains Share the Same Basic Structures
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

24. All mammals have a neocortex that features _______ layers.

a. three
b. four
c. six
d. eight
Answer: c
Textbook Reference: The Evolution of Vertebrate Brains Reflects Changes in Behavior

© 2017 Sinauer Associates, Inc.

Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

25. On a graph in which brain weight is related to body weight using log scales, the line
that best describes the relationship in mammals has a slope of about
a. 0.5.
b. 0.6.
c. 0.7.
d. 0.8.
Answer: c
Textbook Reference: The Evolution of Vertebrate Brains Reflects Changes in Behavior
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

26. Relative to body size, which organism has the smallest brain?
a. Bird
b. Shrew
c. Reptile
d. Lamprey
Answer: d
Textbook Reference: The Evolution of Vertebrate Brains Reflects Changes in Behavior
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

27. Which class displays the most similarity to the ancestral vertebrates?
a. Amphibians
b. Birds
c. Lampreys
d. Reptiles
Answer: c
Textbook Reference: The Evolution of Vertebrate Brains Reflects Changes in Behavior
Bloom’s Level: 4. Analyzing

28. In terms of brain weight as a percentage of body weight, which animal ranks highest?
a. Elephant
b. Chimpanzee
c. Mouse
d. Sheep
Answer: c
Textbook Reference: The Evolution of Vertebrate Brains Reflects Changes in Behavior
Bloom’s Level: 4. Analyzing

29. According to the fossil evidence, the weight of the Tyrannosaurus rex brain was
probably
a. appropriate for a reptile of that size.
b. lighter than one would predict from the body weight.
c. similar to that of a walnut.
d. appropriate for a lamprey of that size.
Answer: a
Textbook Reference: The Evolution of Vertebrate Brains Reflects Changes in Behavior
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

© 2017 Sinauer Associates, Inc.

30. The encephalization factor is greatest for which of the following species?
a. Chimpanzees
b. Blue whales
c. Rats
d. Moles
Answer: a
Textbook Reference: The Evolution of Vertebrate Brains Reflects Changes in Behavior
Bloom’s Level: 4. Analyzing

31. The greater the encephalization factor of a species,

a. the greater the weight of its brain.
b. the higher its value above the diagonal on a plot of brain weight versus body weight.
c. the greater its ratio of brain weight to body weight.
d. None of the above
Answer: b
Textbook Reference: The Evolution of Vertebrate Brains Reflects Changes in Behavior
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

32. The brain volume of fossils is studied by means of

a. PET scans.
b. radioimmunoassay.
c. endocasts.
d. None of the above
Answer: c
Textbook Reference: The Evolution of Vertebrate Brains Reflects Changes in Behavior
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

33. In a series of mammalian brains arranged by encephalization factor from small to

large, the region that increases most is the
a. hippocampus.
b. medulla.
c. neocortex.
d. cerebellum.
Answer: c
Textbook Reference: The Evolution of Vertebrate Brains Reflects Changes in Behavior
Bloom’s Level: 4. Analyzing

34. Which vertebrate was first, in evolutionary terms, to exhibit relatively large cerebral
hemispheres?
a. Humans
b. Reptiles
c. Amphibians
d. Birds
Answer: b
Textbook Reference: The Evolution of Vertebrate Brains Reflects Changes in Behavior
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

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35. The encephalization factor is designated by the letter
a. k.
b. b.
c. e.
d. r.
Answer: a
Textbook Reference: The Evolution of Vertebrate Brains Reflects Changes in Behavior
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

36. Since Homo sapiens first appeared, its brain size appears to have
a. increased rapidly.
b. increased primarily in the neocortex.
c. declined in the olfactory bulbs.
d. reached a plateau.
Answer: d
Textbook Reference: Many Factors Led to the Rapid Evolution of a Large Cortex in
Primates
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

37. Hominin hands reached the form found in modern humans during the time of
a. Ardipithecus.
b. Australopithecus.
c. Homo habilis.
d. Homo erectus.
Answer: c
Textbook Reference: Many Factors Led to the Rapid Evolution of a Large Cortex in
Primates
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

38. The human brain accounts for _______% of the metabolic budget at rest.
a. 2
b. greater than 2
c. less than 2
d. 10
Answer: b
Textbook Reference: Many Factors Led to the Rapid Evolution of a Large Cortex in
Primates
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

39. Which hominin emerged first in the course of evolution?

a. Homo habilis
b. Australopithecus
c. Homo sapiens
d. Homo erectus
Answer: b
Textbook Reference: Many Factors Led to the Rapid Evolution of a Large Cortex in
Primates
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

© 2017 Sinauer Associates, Inc.

40. An increase in the expression of the gene for b-catenin in transgenic mice produces
a(n)
a. smooth cortex.
b. highly folded cortex.
c. increase in the size of the frontal cortex.
d. decrease in the size of the frontal cortex.
Answer: b
Textbook Reference: Many Factors Led to the Rapid Evolution of a Large Cortex in
Primates
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

41. If fossils of the following species were discovered and dated, which would be the
most recent?
a. Australopithecus
b. Ardipithecus
c. Homo habilis
d. Homo erectus
Answer: d
Textbook Reference: Many Factors Led to the Rapid Evolution of a Large Cortex in
Primates
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

42. The brain of the modern chimpanzee is about the same size as the brain of
a. Australopithecus.
b. Homo habilis.
c. Homo erectus.
d. Homo sapiens.
Answer: a
Textbook Reference: Many Factors Led to the Rapid Evolution of a Large Cortex in
Primates
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

43. Which of the following would not be considered a part of evolutionary psychology?
a. Whether females have a preference for humor
b. How auditory neurons process the frequencies of human speech
c. Determining which sex is choosier for mate selection
d. Studying the ideal waist-to-hip ratio preferred by men
Answer: b
Textbook Reference: Many Factors Led to the Rapid Evolution of a Large Cortex in
Primates
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

44. Brain volume in the genus Homo reached its present size about _______ years ago.
a. 50,000
b. 150,000
c. 1 million
d. 3 million

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Answer: b
Textbook Reference: Many Factors Led to the Rapid Evolution of a Large Cortex in
Primates
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

45. Which of the following supports the idea that sexual selection for creativity may be
connected to selection for larger brain size?
a. Bowerbird species that build the most elaborately decorated bowers have the largest
brains.
b. Women choose men with large muscles over men who paint beautiful art.
c. Elephants have preferences for the color of paint they use when paints are provided.
d. Creativity in men is independent of brain size.
Answer: a
Textbook Reference: Many Factors Led to the Rapid Evolution of a Large Cortex in
Primates
Bloom’s Level: 4. Analyzing

46. Which trait was the first to evolve into the form that most resembles its form in
modern humans?
a. Hands
b. Teeth
c. Cerebral volume
d. Bipedal gait
Answer: d
Textbook Reference: Many Factors Led to the Rapid Evolution of a Large Cortex in
Primates
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

47. Because brain expansion and technological progress were not well correlated in early
hominins, it has been suggested that brain expansion may be attributable to
a. sexual selection.
b. natural selection.
c. the evolution of language.
d. innovative food seeking behaviors.
Answer: a
Textbook Reference: Many Factors Led to the Rapid Evolution of a Large Cortex in
Primates
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

48. Which gene influences the size of the cerebral cortex in humans and chimpanzees?
a. Caspase
b. Arc
c. Homer
d. ASPM
Answer: d
Textbook Reference: Many Factors Led to the Rapid Evolution of a Large Cortex in
Primates
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

© 2017 Sinauer Associates, Inc.

49. Based on a comparison of the blood cells and liver cells of humans, chimpanzees, and
rhesus monkeys, which statement is correct?
a. Humans and chimpanzees are more similar to each other than either species is to rhesus
monkeys.
b. All three species are equally similar.
c. Humans show no more similarity to chimpanzees than rhesus monkeys.
d. Humans and rhesus monkeys are more similar to each other than either species is to
chimpanzees.
Answer: a
Textbook Reference: Many Factors Led to the Rapid Evolution of a Large Cortex in
Primates
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

50. Which characteristic is likely the result of sexual selection in birds?

a. Brighter coloring in males than in females of a species
b. High complexity of mating songs in males of some bird species
c. Greater size of males than females in many species
d. All of the above
Answer: d
Textbook Reference: Many Factors Led to the Rapid Evolution of a Large Cortex in
Primates
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

51. Which statement has been proposed as the reason the human brain, in terms of its
size, has likely reached a plateau?
a. If the brain were larger, an adult head would be too heavy for the body to carry.
b. The size of a baby’s head already puts significant strain on the mother in terms of the
difficulties of childbirth.
c. Evolutionary pressures on humans have been removed because humans have already
attained control over the environment.
d. None of the above
Answer: b
Textbook Reference: Many Factors Led to the Rapid Evolution of a Large Cortex in
Primates
Bloom’s Level: 4. Analyzing

52. The tail of the male peacock is _______; therefore; it must confer some _______
advantage.
a. beautiful; economic
b. energetically costly; reproductive
c. beautiful; energetic
d. energetically costly; food gathering
Answer: b
Textbook Reference: Many Factors Led to the Rapid Evolution of a Large Cortex in
Primates
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

© 2017 Sinauer Associates, Inc.

53. Which scenario would not contribute to the ongoing process of natural selection in
humans?
a. Women choosing mates who earn large salaries
b. A person inheriting malaria-fighting sickle-celled red blood cells
c. The development of new drugs to treat cancer
d. A mutated virus that selectively kills people with blue eyes
Answer: c
Textbook Reference: The Cutting Edge: Are Humans Still Evolving?
Bloom’s Level: 3. Applying

54. Which group of genes appears to be selected for in the recent evolution of humans?
a. Lactase, AGT, SNP
b. DRD4, Cntnap2, TAS2R38
c. CCR5, SNP, G6PD
d. CCR5, ASPM, Lactase
Answer: d
Textbook Reference: The Cutting Edge: Are Humans Still Evolving?
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

Fill in the Blank

1. The work of Hugo de Vries on _______ established that the characteristics of species
could change suddenly due to _______.
Answer: primroses; mutation
Textbook Reference: How Did the Enormous Variety of Species Arise on Earth?
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

2. Using the rate of change of DNA as a sort of “molecular clock” allows us to estimate
the point in evolution at which two species _______.
Answer: diverged
Textbook Reference: How Did the Enormous Variety of Species Arise on Earth?
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

3. The evolutionary history of a group of organisms, which often is represented in the

form of a family tree, is formally known as _______.
Answer: phylogeny
Textbook Reference: How Did the Enormous Variety of Species Arise on Earth?
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

4. According to the Linnaean system of classification, the main subdivision of a class is

a(n) _______.
Answer: order
Textbook Reference: How Did the Enormous Variety of Species Arise on Earth?
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

5. The only extant species belonging to the family Hominidae is _______.

Answer: Homo sapiens

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Textbook Reference: How Did the Enormous Variety of Species Arise on Earth?
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

6. The fruit fly Drosophila has proven useful for genetics research because its generation
time is _______ and its salivary glands produce _______.
Answer: short; giant chromosomes
Textbook Reference: How Did the Enormous Variety of Species Arise on Earth?
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

7. The scientific field concerned with the classification of animals is known as _______.
Answer: taxonomy
Textbook Reference: How Did the Enormous Variety of Species Arise on Earth?
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

8. Changes in an organism's genome can occur by means of_______.

Answer: mutation
Textbook Reference: How Did the Enormous Variety of Species Arise on Earth?
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

9. A theoretical mechanism for the evolution of morphological differences between males

and females of a species is _______.
Answer: sexual selection
Textbook Reference: How Did the Enormous Variety of Species Arise on Earth?
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

10. In hunting, the platypus relies on its _______ sense, and its chief sensory organ is its
_______.
Answer: electrical (or touch); bill
Textbook Reference: Why Should We Study Other Species?
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

11. In various orders of birds, it has been found that the frequency of innovation in
obtaining food is correlated with the size of the _______.
Answer: forebrain
Textbook Reference: Why Should We Study Other Species?
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

12. The concept that different regions of the brain regulate and control different functions
is called _______.
Answer: localization of function
Textbook Reference: All Vertebrate Brains Share the Same Basic Structures
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

13. The most primitive of all vertebrate species is the _______; nevertheless, its brain
contains all of the usual components of the prototypical vertebrate brain, with the
possible exception of the _______, which in this species appears to be very small.
Answer: lamprey; cerebellum
Textbook Reference: The Evolution of Vertebrate Brains Reflects Changes in Behavior

© 2017 Sinauer Associates, Inc.

Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

14. The cortex of reptiles has _______ layers, as does the _______ of vertebrates.
Answer: three; hippocampus
Textbook Reference: The Evolution of Vertebrate Brains Reflects Changes in Behavior
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

15. The _______ has demonstrated the greatest increase in size in the hominin fossil
record.
Answer: neocortex
Textbook Reference: The Evolution of Vertebrate Brains Reflects Changes in Behavior
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

16. As a general rule, brain size correlates with body size; the extent to which brain size
deviates from this correlation is known as the _______ factor.
Answer: encephalization (or k)
Textbook Reference: The Evolution of Vertebrate Brains Reflects Changes in Behavior
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

17. The fossil record indicates that compared to Australopithecus, Homo erectus had a
larger _______ and a smaller _______.
Answer: brain; face
Textbook Reference: Many Factors Led to the Rapid Evolution of a Large Cortex in
Primates
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

18. It appears that the first hominins to use tools were _______.
Answer: Australopithecus (or australopithecines)
Textbook Reference: Many Factors Led to the Rapid Evolution of a Large Cortex in
Primates
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

19. Among primates, brain cortex size can be correlated with the size of _______.
Answer: social groups
Textbook Reference: Many Factors Led to the Rapid Evolution of a Large Cortex in
Primates
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

Matching

Match each of the following lettered items with an item from the numbered list below.
_____ a. Carnivora
_____ b. Canis
_____ c. Chordata
_____ d. Canidae
_____ e. Dog
_____ f. Animalia

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_____ g. Mammalia
1. Genus
2. Class
3. Species
4. Kingdom
5. Family
6. Phylum
7. Order
Answer: a. 7; b. 1; c. 6; d. 5; e. 3; f. 4; g. 2

Define/Describe/Identify

Give a definition or functional description for each of the following terms or concepts:

adaptation
allele
analogy
australopithecine
cerebral cortex
chromosome
convergent evolution
ecological niche
encephalization factor
endocast
epigenetics
evolution by natural selection
evolution
gene
genetics
genus
hominin
homology
homoplasy
mutation
naturalist
neocortex
phylogeny
sexual selection
single-nucleotide polymorphisms
species
taxonomy

COMPANION WEBSITE QUESTIONS

Multiple Choice

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1. The difference in DNA between humans and chimpanzees amounts to_______%.
a. 1.2
b. 2.3
c. 7
d. 12
Answer: a
Textbook Reference: Introduction: We Are Not So Different, Are We?
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

2. According to the principle of _______ selection, members of each sex exert selective
pressure on members of the other sex in terms of both anatomical and behavioral features
that favor reproductive success.
a. natural
b. sexual
c. reproductive
d. social
Answer: b
Textbook Reference: How Did the Enormous Variety of Species Arise on Earth?
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

3. The similarity of body form in tadpoles and sharks suggests

a. analogy.
b. homology.
c. homoplasy.
d. involution.
Answer: c
Textbook Reference: How Did the Enormous Variety of Species Arise on Earth?
Bloom’s Level: 3. Applying

4. Compared to other species, the _______ is the closest genetic relative of humans.
a. common gibbon
b. orangutan
c. chimpanzee
d. gorilla
Answer: c
Textbook Reference: How Did the Enormous Variety of Species Arise on Earth?
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

5. Learning probably developed _______ in the evolution of animals because learning is

a mechanism of _______ changing environments.
a. late; conservation of features in
b. independently in species; adaptation to
c. early; adaptation to
d. early; conservation of features in
Answer: c
Textbook Reference: Why Should We Study Other Species?
Bloom’s Level: 4. Analyzing

© 2017 Sinauer Associates, Inc.

6. Which structure is relatively larger in the rat brain than it is in the human brain?
a. Midbrain
b. Cerebellum
c. Olfactory bulb
d. Both a and c
Answer: d
Textbook Reference: All Vertebrate Brains Share the Same Basic Structures
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

7. Which characteristic is not one of the main features of the vertebrate nervous system?
a. Segmentation
b. Giant axons
c. Development from a hollow neural tube
d. Bilateral symmetry
Answer: b
Textbook Reference: All Vertebrate Brains Share the Same Basic Structures
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

8. Which structure is not found in the lamprey brain?

a. Midbrain
b. Diencephalon
c. Telencephalon
d. None of the above—the lamprey brain contains all of these structures.
Answer: d
Textbook Reference: The Evolution of Vertebrate Brains Reflects Changes in Behavior
Bloom’s Level: 3. Applying

9. As brain size developed throughout primate evolution, the _______ grew to be a larger
proportion of the total brain size.
a. cortex
b. cerebellum
c. hippocampus
d. limbic system
Answer: a
Textbook Reference: The Evolution of Vertebrate Brains Reflects Changes in Behavior
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

10. A mouse has about the same ratio of brain weight to body weight as a(n)
a. cat.
b. whale.
c. ant.
d. human.
Answer: d
Textbook Reference: The Evolution of Vertebrate Brains Reflects Changes in Behavior
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

11. Which relationship does not reflect convergent evolution for relative brain size?
a. Large cerebellum in mammals and birds

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b. Large olfactory bulbs in some mammals and fishes
c. Six-layered cortex in all mammals
d. All of the above
Answer: c
Textbook Reference: Many Factors Led to the Rapid Evolution of a Large Cortex in
Primates
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

12. _______ were the first hominins to create and use stone tools, an ability that reduced
selection pressures for large jaws and teeth.
a. Homo habilis
b. Homo erectus
c. Homo sapiens
d. The australopithecines
Answer: d
Textbook Reference: Many Factors Led to the Rapid Evolution of a Large Cortex in
Primates
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

13. Evolution of the brain and increased behavioral capacity advanced rapidly during the
time of
a. Australopithecus.
b. Homo habilis.
c. Homo erectus.
d. Homo sapiens.
Answer: c
Textbook Reference: Many Factors Led to the Rapid Evolution of a Large Cortex in
Primates
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

14. It is believed that the migration across the Bering Strait to the Americas occurred
_______ years ago.
a. 20,000 to 15,000
b. 45,000 to 35,000
c. 60,000 to 40,000
d. 80,000 to 60,00
Answer: a
Textbook Reference: Evolution Continues Today
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

15. Which of the following is not due to different alleles?

a. Eye color
b. Five fingers on each hand
c. Levels of enzyme function
d. Susceptibility to disease
Answer: b
Textbook Reference: The Cutting Edge: Are Humans Still Evolving?
Bloom’s Level: 3. Applying

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