Multiple Choice Quiz

Please choose the best answer to the following questions.


1	Biologically, human races
		A)	do not exist
		B)	have always existed.
		C)	exist in certain parts of the world.
		D)	exist only on a species level.


2	A geographic continuum in the variation of a trait is called a
		A)	climate
		B)	cline.
		C)	clime.
		D)	climacteric.


3	A semispecies is defined as
		A)	a group of organisms that can produce fertile offspring among themselves but not with members of other groups
		B)	a physically distinguishable population within a species.
		C)	populations of a species that are completely isolated from one another but have not yet become truly different species.
		D)	genetic differences between populations produced by the fact that genetically different individuals founded the populations.


4	Variations in phenotypic traits that are the results of genetic variation is the definition of
		A)	melanocytes
		B)	morphology
		C)	genotypes.
		D)	polymorphisms.


5	What is the function of melanin?
		A)	To give skin color
		B)	To absorb the sun’s ultraviolet radiation.
		C)	To darken the skin.
		D)	To give grief to redheads with freckles.


6	What is a possible reason why lighter skin was selected for populations, which moved away from the equator?
		A)	To allow synthesis of vitamin D.
		B)	Because dark skin was no longer needed
		C)	To protect skin from the cold.
		D)	Both A and C.


7	The distribution of blood type is due to
		A)	reproductive success
		B)	genetic drift.
		C)	general health.
		D)	both A and C.


8	Our major adaptive mechanism is
		A)	culture
		B)	skin color.
		C)	blood type.
		D)	mobility.


9	Why are isolated groups such as some societies from New Guinea and Tasmania not considered semispecies?
		A)	Because they practice endogamy
		B)	Because other groups can be found with the same skin color.
		C)	Because all cultures still manage to exchange genes with other cultures.
		D)	Because they practice the same cultural universals as other groups such as marriage, religion, and the incest taboo.


10	If a cataclysm wiped out all peoples except Africans, those left alive would carry
		A)	33 percent of the variable genes of the former species.
		B)	72 percent of the variable genes of the former species.
		C)	93 percent of the variable genes of the former species.
		D)	99 percent of the variable genes of the former species.


11	It has been determined that any two humans differ genetically by
		A)	0.1 percent.
		B)	1 percent.
		C)	25 percent.
		D)	50 percent.


12	What is race?
		A)	A folk taxonomy.
		B)	A biological reference.
		C)	A cultural classification.
		D)	Both A and C.


13	Judging an individual solely on his or her racial affiliation is the definition of
		A)	race.
		B)	racism.
		C)	bigotry.
		D)	bigamy.


14	What do societies rely on for the majority of their cultural items?
		A)	other societies
		B)	inventors
		C)	complex technologies
		D)	aliens


15	The movement of cultural ideas and artifacts among societies is the definition of
		A)	diffident.
		B)	dilatation.
		C)	diffusion.
		D)	digitalis.


16	Translating a complex set of phenomena into a single entity such as a number is the definition of
		A)	reification.
		B)	rectification.
		C)	rectitude.
		D)	reiteration.


17	IQ tests measure
		A)	a person’s brain size.
		B)	a culture’s complexity.
		C)	a person’s mental ability.
		D)	the ability to take IQ tests.


18	Why did the native Tasmanians not have a technology that was comparable to native Australians?
		A)	The Tasmanians were isolated for many years and had no contact with outside cultures to share ideas.
		B)	A culture’s technology is based on fulfilling basic needs. If those needs are being met there is no reason to advance the technology.
		C)	The Tasmanians were mentally inferior and did not have the intellectual capacity to advance themselves.
		D)	Both A and B.


19	Which landmass had a major east-west axis and therefore provided greater ease in travel for our ancestors?
		A)	Africa
		B)	Eurasia
		C)	Australia
		D)	the Americas.


20	The cultural racial categories found in the United States are derived from
		A)	the Civil War.
		B)	African attitudes.
		C)	European attitudes.
		D)	Native American attitudes.

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