Lesson 4.6.2.2

4.6.2.2 Evolution Quiz: AQA Biology, Unit 6

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 4.6.2.2, Evolution: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA GCSE Biology (8461), Unit 6: Inheritance, variation and evolution, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. Evolution is defined as a change in which characteristics of a population over time?

    • Physical size only
    • Inherited characteristics
    • Behavioural habits
    • Environmental factors

  2. Evolution may result in the formation of what?

    • A new species
    • A new chromosome
    • A new cell type
    • A new ecosystem only

  3. According to evolution theory, all current species evolved from what?

    • Simple life forms
    • Complex animals
    • Land plants
    • Fungi

  4. Approximately when did simple life forms first develop on Earth?

    • 3+ billion years ago
    • 30,000 years ago
    • 3 million years ago
    • 300 million years ago

  5. What process drives evolution by favouring phenotypes suited to their environment?

    • Natural selection
    • Selective breeding
    • Artificial mutation
    • Genetic engineering

  6. Two populations of one species can no longer interbreed to produce fertile offspring. What has formed?

    • Two clones
    • Two new species
    • One hybrid population
    • Two mutations

  7. Green beetles blend into leaves better than brown beetles. What will happen over time?

    • Equal beetle numbers
    • More green beetles
    • All beetles die
    • More brown beetles

  8. Two populations become separate species when they can no longer interbreed to produce what?

    • Any offspring
    • Identical clones
    • Genetic variants
    • Fertile offspring

  9. A population of birds has long and short beaks. Only long-beaked birds can reach food in drought. What process is shown?

    • Selective breeding
    • Natural selection
    • Genetic engineering
    • Cloning

  10. What process involves humans breeding animals and plants for specific desired characteristics?

    • Natural selection
    • Selective breeding
    • Speciation
    • Genetic engineering

  11. Which factor in a population is essential for evolution by natural selection to occur?

    • Equal phenotypes
    • Asexual cloning
    • Identical genes
    • Genetic variation

  12. What term describes the permanent loss of all members of a species?

    • Mutation
    • Speciation
    • Selection
    • Extinction

  13. According to evolutionary theory, all living species evolved from what original organisms?

    • Land plants
    • Fungal spores
    • Complex animals
    • Simple life forms

  14. Which scientist independently proposed a theory of evolution by natural selection alongside Charles Darwin?

    • Louis Pasteur
    • Alfred Russel Wallace
    • Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
    • Gregor Mendel

  15. What primary mechanism continuously creates new genetic variants within a population?

    • Selective breeding
    • Mutations
    • Mitosis
    • Speciation

  16. Which individuals are most likely to survive and reproduce in natural selection?

    • Fastest mutating variants
    • Largest physical variants
    • Most common variants
    • Best adapted variants

  17. Over time, what happens to the frequency of advantageous phenotypes in a population?

    • It vanishes completely
    • It increases
    • It decreases
    • It remains zero

  18. What term describes the formation of a new species from an existing species?

    • Selective breeding
    • Genetic engineering
    • Domestication
    • Speciation

  19. Evolution occurs as changes in inherited characteristics accumulate over what timeframe?

    • A few days
    • Individual months
    • Single lifetimes
    • Many generations

  20. According to evolutionary theory, simple life forms first developed approximately how long ago?

    • Three billion years
    • Three trillion years
    • Three million years
    • Three thousand years

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