1. What is genetic drift?
a) Random changes in allele frequency in a population
b) Gradual evolution due to natural selection
c) Movement of genes between populations
d) Mutation in a population’s genome
Answer: a) Random changes in allele frequency in a population
2. Which of the following best defines a bottleneck effect?
a) Increased genetic variation due to migration
b) Reduced genetic diversity due to population size reduction
c) Introduction of new species into a habitat
d) Rapid mutation in small populations
Answer: b) Reduced genetic diversity due to population size reduction
3. What is the founder effect?
a) Establishment of a population by a small number of individuals
b) Random mating in large populations
c) Natural selection in isolated groups
d) Extinction of a population due to genetic drift
Answer: a) Establishment of a population by a small number of individuals
4. Genetic drift is most significant in which type of population?
a) Large populations
b) Small populations
c) Populations with high mutation rates
d) Populations undergoing gene flow
Answer: b) Small populations
5. Which phenomenon can lead to genetic drift?
a) Bottleneck effect
b) Gene flow
c) Artificial selection
d) Stabilizing selection
Answer: a) Bottleneck effect
6. A volcanic eruption drastically reduces a population’s size. This is an example of:
a) Gene flow
b) Founder effect
c) Bottleneck effect
d) Adaptive radiation
Answer: c) Bottleneck effect
7. Which of the following is a characteristic of the founder effect?
a) High genetic diversity
b) Formation of a new population with limited genetic variation
c) Increased gene flow between populations
d) Uniform allele distribution across generations
Answer: b) Formation of a new population with limited genetic variation
8. What is a possible outcome of genetic drift?
a) Increased population size
b) Loss of genetic variation
c) Stabilization of allele frequencies
d) Enhanced adaptation to the environment
Answer: b) Loss of genetic variation
9. Genetic drift differs from natural selection because it is:
a) Non-random and predictable
b) Random and not based on fitness
c) Directed by environmental pressures
d) Associated with mutation rates
Answer: b) Random and not based on fitness
10. Which is a real-world example of the founder effect?
a) European bison surviving habitat loss
b) Gal\u00e1pagos finches colonizing new islands
c) African cheetahs losing genetic diversity
d) Industrial melanism in moths
Answer: b) Gal\u00e1pagos finches colonizing new islands
11. Which process increases genetic variation within a population?
a) Bottleneck effect
b) Gene flow
c) Founder effect
d) Genetic drift
Answer: b) Gene flow
12. What does the bottleneck effect typically result in?
a) Higher mutation rates
b) Greater adaptation to the environment
c) A reduction in population’s genetic diversity
d) Introduction of new alleles into a population
Answer: c) A reduction in population’s genetic diversity
13. Which factor is NOT associated with genetic drift?
a) Random mating
b) Small population size
c) Non-random survival based on fitness
d) Bottleneck effect
Answer: c) Non-random survival based on fitness
14. The Amish population in the USA is an example of:
a) Natural selection
b) Genetic drift through bottleneck effect
c) Genetic drift through founder effect
d) Adaptive evolution
Answer: c) Genetic drift through founder effect
15. In genetic drift, the fixation of alleles is:
a) A predictable outcome in all populations
b) Random and more likely in small populations
c) Directed by natural selection
d) Independent of population size
Answer: b) Random and more likely in small populations
16. The loss of alleles in a population due to genetic drift is called:
a) Gene flow
b) Genetic bottleneck
c) Allelic fixation
d) Allelic extinction
Answer: d) Allelic extinction
17. Which of the following is NOT an effect of the bottleneck effect?
a) Reduction in genetic diversity
b) Increase in harmful alleles
c) Uniform adaptation to the environment
d) Susceptibility to environmental changes
Answer: c) Uniform adaptation to the environment
18. Genetic drift can lead to:
a) Increase in population fitness
b) Speciation over time
c) Adaptive evolution only
d) Loss of advantageous alleles
Answer: d) Loss of advantageous alleles
19. Why does the founder effect limit genetic variation?
a) Migration of a small population to a new area
b) Interbreeding within a large population
c) Introduction of foreign genes
d) Random mutations in a small group
Answer: a) Migration of a small population to a new area
20. A population of cheetahs with low genetic variation is an example of:
a) Genetic drift
b) Founder effect
c) Bottleneck effect
d) Gene flow
Answer: c) Bottleneck effect
21. Which evolutionary force is least predictable?
a) Mutation
b) Natural selection
c) Genetic drift
d) Gene flow
Answer: c) Genetic drift
22. The bottleneck effect increases the risk of:
a) Mutation
b) Inbreeding
c) Gene flow
d) Speciation
Answer: b) Inbreeding
23. The probability of genetic drift effects decreases with:
a) Population size increase
b) Increased migration
c) Random mating
d) Environmental stability
Answer: a) Population size increase
24. Which of the following explains the low genetic diversity in endangered species?
a) Genetic drift and bottleneck effect
b) Natural selection and mutation
c) Gene flow and founder effect
d) Adaptive radiation and mutation
Answer: a) Genetic drift and bottleneck effect
25. How does the founder effect affect allele frequencies?
a) Increases genetic diversity
b) Randomizes allele frequencies in small groups
c) Amplifies the frequency of certain alleles
d) Equalizes allele frequencies across generations
Answer: c) Amplifies the frequency of certain alleles
26. Genetic drift can prevent populations from:
a) Mutating
b) Adapting to their environment
c) Undergoing natural selection
d) Experiencing gene flow
Answer: b) Adapting to their environment
27. Which event exemplifies a bottleneck effect?
a) Drought killing 90% of a species
b) Immigration of a species into a new habitat
c) Interbreeding between populations
d) Mutation introducing a beneficial gene
Answer: a) Drought killing 90% of a species
28. Why are smaller populations more affected by genetic drift?
a) They have fewer genetic variations to buffer random changes
b) They are more adaptable to environmental changes
c) Their mutation rates are higher
d) They experience less natural selection
Answer: a) They have fewer genetic variations to buffer random changes
29. Genetic drift is considered a:
a) Deterministic process
b) Non-random process
c) Neutral evolutionary process
d) Selective evolutionary process
Answer: c) Neutral evolutionary process
30. Which event is an example of the founder effect?
a) A few individuals colonizing a remote island
b) Extinction of a population due to a natural disaster
c) Widespread mutation in a population
d) Gene flow between two distinct populations
Answer: a) A few individuals colonizing a remote island
