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PUCET (Punjab) Origin and Evolution — practice questions

Explore 17 free Origin and Evolution questions in PUCET (Punjab) Biology. Open each question or exercise to read its content, reference answers and available explanation.

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Origin and Evolution questions and exercises with answers

Showing questions 1–17 of 17.

The theory that **life originated from non-living matter through gradual chemical evolution** was proposed independently by:Read the answer and worked solution →**Charles Darwin** published his theory of evolution by natural selection in the book:Read the answer and worked solution →The phrase 'survival of the fittest' (as a description of natural selection) was coined by:Read the answer and worked solution →The **mutation theory of evolution** was proposed by:Read the answer and worked solution →The **inheritance of acquired characters** (e.g. organs become stronger through use, weaker through disuse) was the theory of:Read the answer and worked solution →Industrial melanism in **Biston betularia (peppered moth)** is a classic example of:Read the answer and worked solution →The **RNA World Hypothesis** suggests that the earliest life was based on:Read the answer and worked solution →Oparin called the initial colloidal aggregates of organic molecules:Read the answer and worked solution →Darwin observed variations among species while travelling on the:Read the answer and worked solution →Which of the following is **not** one of Darwin's five postulates of natural selection?Read the answer and worked solution →**Genetic drift** is:Read the answer and worked solution →In a population, 16% individuals show a recessive phenotype (aa). Under Hardy-Weinberg, the frequency of the dominant allele A is:Read the answer and worked solution →Which of the following is **not** a force that changes allele frequencies (causing evolution)?Read the answer and worked solution →Weismann's experiment of cutting rat tails for 21 generations disproved the theory of:Read the answer and worked solution →**Ribozymes** are:Read the answer and worked solution →Tap every idea in evolutionRead the answer and worked solution →True or false: evolutionRead the answer and worked solution →

Worked practice questions

The theory that **life originated from non-living matter through gradual chemical evolution** was proposed independently by:

  1. Darwin and Wallace
  2. Oparin (1924) and Haldane (1929)
  3. Lamarck and Weismann
  4. Watson and Crick
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Correct answer: B. Oparin (1924) and Haldane (1929)

Russian biochemist A.I. Oparin (1924) and British biologist J.B.S. Haldane (1929) independently proposed that organic molecules formed in a primitive reducing atmosphere — the chemical-evolution / 'primordial soup' theory.

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**Charles Darwin** published his theory of evolution by natural selection in the book:

  1. The Origin of Species (1859)
  2. Principles of Geology (1830)
  3. The Mutation Theory (1901)
  4. Mendel's Laws (1865)
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Correct answer: A. The Origin of Species (1859)

Darwin published 'On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection' in 1859, after his Beagle voyage and observations on Galápagos finches and tortoises.

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The phrase 'survival of the fittest' (as a description of natural selection) was coined by:

  1. Charles Darwin
  2. Herbert Spencer
  3. Alfred R. Wallace
  4. Gregor Mendel
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Correct answer: B. Herbert Spencer

Herbert Spencer coined 'survival of the fittest'. Darwin adopted it in later editions of *Origin of Species*. **The phrase summarises natural selection:** organisms with favourable variations survive and reproduce more.

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