Answer Key

Chapter Test A by positive or negative

Multiple Choice reinforcement.
1. b 22. The rat receives a pellet of
2. a food when it presses the
3. d lever.
4. d 23. The rat grows more and
5. c more likely to push the
6. a lever every time it receives
7. c the signal.
8. b 24. The rat will eventually stop
pushing the lever.
9. c 25. They use treats and praise
10. d to reward animals for
11. c performing tricks or for
12. d learning desired behaviors.
13. a
14. b
15. a
Short Answer
16. Group A
17. A ground squirrel or prairie
dog risks its life by serving
as a visible lookout for
predators. The group
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benefits by being warned of

an oncoming predator.
18. Group A has the highest
percentage of close
relatives; Group B has
the lowest. Individual
animals are better able to
enhance their own fitness
when they protect close
relatives.
19. 25%
20. Kin selection would be
most important in Group
A, less important in Group
C, and least important in
Group B.
21. Operant conditioning is a
type of associative learning
in which the likelihood
of a specific behavior is
increased

Answer Key 1
 CHAPTER ANIMAL BEHAVIOR
27 Chapter Test A

Animal Behavior
CHAPTER 27
Multiple Choice
Choose the letter of the best answer. (15 credits)

1. A type of information that has the 5. After repeated exposure to a stimulus,

potential to make an organism change an animal exhibiting habituation will
its behavior is a a. respond identically each time.
a. response. c. kinesis. b. react randomly to the stimulus.
b. stimulus. d. releaser. c. begin to ignore the stimulus.
d. expect a reward for responding.
2. What is an example of kinesis?
a. a pillbug increasing its random 6. Which of the following types of learning
motion is associative?
b. a plant turning its leaves toward the a. operant conditioning
sun
b. adaptive imitation
c. a Euglena swimming toward a bright
c. parental imprinting
light
d. stimulus habituation
d. a kudu running to escape an attacking
lion 7. Evolutionary benefits of a behavior
include
3. Which of the following behaviors is
controlled by an animal’s biological a. better shelter and foraging
clock? opportunities.
b. more opportunities to defend
a. kinesis c. imprinting
territories.
b. taxis d. migration
c. increased survivorship and
Copyright © McDougal Littell/Houghton Mifflin Company.

4. In Figure 27.1, which behavior is most reproductive rates.

likely to be instinctive? d. greater opportunities to compete
with rivals.
Behavior Performed Correctly
Beha- 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th
8. Which of these outcomes is an example
vior Time Time Time Time Time Time
of the cost of a behavior?
A X X X
a. finding a mate while defending
B X X X X territory
C X X b. sustaining injury while seeking food
c. increasing territory size by defending
D X X X X X X
it
FIG. 27.1
d. optimizing calories during foraging
a. A c. C
b. B d. D

Assessment Book Chapter Test A 537

McDougal Littell Biology
 CHAPTER TEST A, CONTINUED

9. An animal’s or group of animals’ control 13. Compared with the fish living in the
Animal Behavior

of a specific area is called conditions shown in Figure 27.2, panel

CHAPTER 27

a. optimal foraging.
A, the fish living in the conditions shown
in panel B are likely to experience
b. inclusive fitness.
A B
c. territoriality.
d. cultural behavior.

10. A dog baring its teeth, two bees touching

antennae, and an animal’s release of
pheromones are all examples of animal
a. mate selection.
FIG. 27.2
b. territoriality.
c. eusocial acts. a. increased risk of transmitting
d. communication. disease.
b. less competition for resources.
11. Cooperation, reciprocity, and altruism c. decreased predator detection.
are three kinds of
d. poorer results from foraging.
a. adaptive eusocial behavior.
b. learned defense behavior. 14. Which of these groups of animals is
c. helpful social behavior. most likely to be capable of solving
d. innate animal cognition.
complex problems?
a. turtles, robins, and cougars
12. Rather than exploring an animal’s b. dolphins, chimpanzees, and ravens
intelligence, scientists interested in c. termites, bats, and squirrels
mental skill focus on the animal’s
d. lizards, horses, and jackals

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a. cultural behavior.
b. mental insight. 15. How do animals learn cultural
c. social behavior. behaviors?
d. cognitive abilities. a. One generation teaches them to
another.
b. Group leaders teach them to
members.
c. Young animals are taught only by
parents.
d. Animals new to a group teach new
behaviors.

538 Chapter Test A Assessment Book

McDougal Littell Biology
 CHAPTER TEST A, CONTINUED

Short Answer Use the diagram below to answer items 16–20. (5 credits)

Animal Behavior
CHAPTER 27
100
Percentage of close relatives

50

0
A B C
Animal group
FIG. 27.3

16. Which animal group contains the highest percentage of close relatives?

17. An animal in a social group might commit an act of altruism. This act reduces its fitness
but helps other members of the group. Use an example of an altruistic act to explain the
act’s cost to the individual and its benefit to the group.
Copyright © McDougal Littell/Houghton Mifflin Company.

18. Why are individuals in Group A most likely to exhibit altruism, and individuals in
Group B least likely?

19. A parent passes on to its offspring 50 percent of its alleles. What percentage of alleles
does it share with a niece or nephew?

20. Kin selection is the term used to describe natural selection acting on alleles that favor
the survival of close relatives. How important would kin selection be for each of these
three animal groups?

Assessment Book Chapter Test A 539

McDougal Littell Biology
 CHAPTER TEST A, CONTINUED

Use the diagram below to answer items 21–25. (5 credits)

Animal Behavior
CHAPTER 27

pellet speaker
dispenser signal lights
dispenser
tube

food cup
lever

FIG. 27.4

21. Figure 27.4 depicts a Skinner box, created by psychologist B.F. Skinner to study operant
conditioning. Describe operant conditioning.

22. The rat in the Skinner box learns to press a lever when it sees a light or hears a particular
sound. What is the reward or positive reinforcement for this behavior?

Copyright © McDougal Littell/Houghton Mifflin Company.

23. How does this positive reinforcement affect the rat’s ability to perform the lever-pressing
behavior?

24. How is the rat’s behavior likely to change if the reward is no longer presented when
the rat presses the lever?

25. How do people use operant conditioning to train their own pets?

540 Chapter Test A Assessment Book

McDougal Littell Biology