BIOLOGY 152 UWM EXAM 1: FOUNDATIONS
OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES II, (LATEST
2026/2027 UPDATE) QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS | GRADE A | 100% CORRECT
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-
MILWAUKEE (UWM)
What are vestigial structures? What are some examples? -
CORRECT-ANSWERS--Structures that are non-functional (but functional in
related species).
Some examples:
- Human appendix, tail bones, wisdom teeth
-Hip bones of whales and snakes
-Plastids in parasitic plants
Evidence for Common Ancestry? (4) - CORRECT-ANSWERS--1.
Geographic distributions
2. Fossil record
3. (unexpected) similarities among living species 4. Treelike patterns of
variation among living
(and extinct forms)
Which of the following facts provides the clearest evidence for CA
over SA? (From Lecture 2):
,(a) 100 Ma fossil have been found whose leaves are almost
indistinguishable from living redwoods
(b) Kangaroos and wallabies are only found in Australia
(c) Fig flowers are tiny and require a specific species of wasp to pollinate
them
(d) Octopi and squid have superbly functional eyes that can form a very
clear image and both species use these eyes when hunting - CORRECT-
ANSWERS--The answer is (b) b/c kangaroos are very similar looking to
wallabies and it would be very unlikely under SA that these 2 species
would have only ended up in Australia.
Which of of these bio-geographic patterns provides the least
direct evidence for common ancestry?
(a) The giant panda is only found in the bamboo forests of China .
(b) All 115 species of lobeliad found in Hawaii are more closely related to
each other than to any plants from other landmasses
(c) All the monkeys in South America have prehensile tails, monkeys in
the rest of the world do not
(d) Front-fanged snake species are found throughout Africa but the snakes
in Madagascar are not front-fanged - CORRECT-ANSWERS--The answer is
(a) b/c it only refers to one species. Common ancestry is not shown.
Which of the following most clearly supports the common
ancestry of all living vertebrates?
,(a) In all vertebrate eyes the nerve cells are in front of the retina meaning
that light must pass through nerves before hitting the retina. Octopuses
have nerve cells behind the retina.
(b) Vertebrate eyes (like octopuses) are able to form a clear image by
focusing a lens. Most non-vertebrate animals have no eyes or simpler
eyes that can just detect light and darkness
(c) Vertebrates that live in caves typically have eyes that are much
reduced and perhaps non-functional and the same is true of some deep
see octopuses (which are not vertebrates) - CORRECT-ANSWERS--The
answer is (a): The fact that the same, "badly designed" feature is shared
by all vertebrates is hard to explain EXCEPT by common ancestry
What kind of bio-geographic data provides evidence for common
ancestry?
(a) When we observe different looking species living in different parts of
the world, each adapted to their environment.
(b) When we observe a taxon whose living species all live in one part of
the world, even though they are well able to live elsewhere.
(c) When distantly related species are found living sympatrically -
CORRECT-ANSWERS--The answer is (a): This suggests that all species in
this taxon share an innovation that evolved after it diverged from lineages
in other geographic areas. The lack in those other areas is not because
the trait would not be useful but because the ancestors lacked the trait
and it never arose.
, The fact that the same basic arrangement of bones is used to
build such diverse structures as the wing of a bat, a whale's
flipper, and a horse's foreleg is commonly raised as evidence of
evolution. Why?
(a) The sharing of this arrangement by organisms with such different ways
of life is best explained by descent from common ancestry
(b) This arrangement of bones is the best structure on bio-mechanical
grounds for flying, swimming, and running
(c) None of the substantive answers are correct (the sharing of the same
arrangement of bones does not provide evidence of evolution) -
CORRECT-ANSWERS--The answer is (a)
Which of the following facts provides the clearest evidence for
common rather than separate ancestry?
(a) Whale flippers and dolphin flippers have a similar bone arrangement
and are used for a similar function
(b) Some orchid flowers are very well suited to pollination by particular
kinds of insects
(c) The coelacanth fish looks almost indistinguishable from fossils in 200-
million-year-old rocks
(d) Most primates have tails, which seem to be important for their survival
(e) Diverse cactus species are found in the American deserts, but none
occur in African or Asian deserts - CORRECT-ANSWERS--The answer is (e)
OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES II, (LATEST
2026/2027 UPDATE) QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS | GRADE A | 100% CORRECT
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-
MILWAUKEE (UWM)
What are vestigial structures? What are some examples? -
CORRECT-ANSWERS--Structures that are non-functional (but functional in
related species).
Some examples:
- Human appendix, tail bones, wisdom teeth
-Hip bones of whales and snakes
-Plastids in parasitic plants
Evidence for Common Ancestry? (4) - CORRECT-ANSWERS--1.
Geographic distributions
2. Fossil record
3. (unexpected) similarities among living species 4. Treelike patterns of
variation among living
(and extinct forms)
Which of the following facts provides the clearest evidence for CA
over SA? (From Lecture 2):
,(a) 100 Ma fossil have been found whose leaves are almost
indistinguishable from living redwoods
(b) Kangaroos and wallabies are only found in Australia
(c) Fig flowers are tiny and require a specific species of wasp to pollinate
them
(d) Octopi and squid have superbly functional eyes that can form a very
clear image and both species use these eyes when hunting - CORRECT-
ANSWERS--The answer is (b) b/c kangaroos are very similar looking to
wallabies and it would be very unlikely under SA that these 2 species
would have only ended up in Australia.
Which of of these bio-geographic patterns provides the least
direct evidence for common ancestry?
(a) The giant panda is only found in the bamboo forests of China .
(b) All 115 species of lobeliad found in Hawaii are more closely related to
each other than to any plants from other landmasses
(c) All the monkeys in South America have prehensile tails, monkeys in
the rest of the world do not
(d) Front-fanged snake species are found throughout Africa but the snakes
in Madagascar are not front-fanged - CORRECT-ANSWERS--The answer is
(a) b/c it only refers to one species. Common ancestry is not shown.
Which of the following most clearly supports the common
ancestry of all living vertebrates?
,(a) In all vertebrate eyes the nerve cells are in front of the retina meaning
that light must pass through nerves before hitting the retina. Octopuses
have nerve cells behind the retina.
(b) Vertebrate eyes (like octopuses) are able to form a clear image by
focusing a lens. Most non-vertebrate animals have no eyes or simpler
eyes that can just detect light and darkness
(c) Vertebrates that live in caves typically have eyes that are much
reduced and perhaps non-functional and the same is true of some deep
see octopuses (which are not vertebrates) - CORRECT-ANSWERS--The
answer is (a): The fact that the same, "badly designed" feature is shared
by all vertebrates is hard to explain EXCEPT by common ancestry
What kind of bio-geographic data provides evidence for common
ancestry?
(a) When we observe different looking species living in different parts of
the world, each adapted to their environment.
(b) When we observe a taxon whose living species all live in one part of
the world, even though they are well able to live elsewhere.
(c) When distantly related species are found living sympatrically -
CORRECT-ANSWERS--The answer is (a): This suggests that all species in
this taxon share an innovation that evolved after it diverged from lineages
in other geographic areas. The lack in those other areas is not because
the trait would not be useful but because the ancestors lacked the trait
and it never arose.
, The fact that the same basic arrangement of bones is used to
build such diverse structures as the wing of a bat, a whale's
flipper, and a horse's foreleg is commonly raised as evidence of
evolution. Why?
(a) The sharing of this arrangement by organisms with such different ways
of life is best explained by descent from common ancestry
(b) This arrangement of bones is the best structure on bio-mechanical
grounds for flying, swimming, and running
(c) None of the substantive answers are correct (the sharing of the same
arrangement of bones does not provide evidence of evolution) -
CORRECT-ANSWERS--The answer is (a)
Which of the following facts provides the clearest evidence for
common rather than separate ancestry?
(a) Whale flippers and dolphin flippers have a similar bone arrangement
and are used for a similar function
(b) Some orchid flowers are very well suited to pollination by particular
kinds of insects
(c) The coelacanth fish looks almost indistinguishable from fossils in 200-
million-year-old rocks
(d) Most primates have tails, which seem to be important for their survival
(e) Diverse cactus species are found in the American deserts, but none
occur in African or Asian deserts - CORRECT-ANSWERS--The answer is (e)
