Lesson 4.6.3.2

4.6.3.2 Speciation (biology only) Quiz: AQA Biology, Unit 6

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 4.6.3.2, Speciation (biology only): 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. Who independently proposed the theory of evolution by natural selection?

    • Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
    • Gregor Mendel
    • Alfred Russel Wallace
    • Carl Linnaeus

  2. In which year did Wallace and Darwin publish joint writings?

    • 1900
    • 1859
    • 1858
    • 1809

  3. Apart from natural selection, what is Alfred Russel Wallace best known for studying?

    • Fossil formation
    • Selective breeding
    • Bacterial resistance
    • Warning colouration

  4. Which event prompted Charles Darwin to publish On the Origin of Species in 1859?

    • Mendel's genetics paper
    • Joint Wallace paper
    • Fossil discoveries
    • Beagle voyage return

  5. What did Alfred Russel Wallace gather worldwide to support evolutionary theory?

    • Plant DNA
    • Dinosaur fossils
    • Live specimens
    • Evidence

  6. In which area did Wallace do much pioneering work?

    • DNA sequencing
    • Antibiotic design
    • Speciation
    • Cloning

  7. What process gives rise to a brand new species?

    • Selective breeding
    • Fossilisation
    • Genetic engineering
    • Speciation

  8. What is the definition of the biological term speciation?

    • Combining two species
    • Extinction of species
    • Cloning identical organisms
    • Forming new species

  9. Which theory was independently proposed by both Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace?

    • Acquired characteristics
    • Genetic inheritance
    • Binomial nomenclature
    • Natural selection

  10. What led to the development of our current understanding of speciation?

    • New religious ideas
    • Extinction of dinosaurs
    • Discovery of cloning
    • Accumulation of evidence

  11. Which outcome indicates that speciation has successfully occurred between two populations?

    • Different body sizes
    • Inability to interbreed
    • Eating different foods
    • Living in isolation

  12. What impact did Darwin and Wallace's joint writings on natural selection have on biology?

    • Created taxonomy
    • Disproved genetics
    • Stopped selective breeding
    • Explained evolution

  13. How is Alfred Russel Wallace's work on speciation described in biology?

    • Disproved theory
    • Pioneering work
    • Flawed speculation
    • Minor detail

  14. Which work was independently carried out by Alfred Russel Wallace?

    • Laws of inheritance
    • Discovery of DNA
    • Classification of kingdoms
    • Theory of speciation

  15. Why has the theory of speciation developed since Wallace's initial work?

    • More evidence gathered
    • Genetics was disproved
    • Fossils were ignored
    • Species stopped evolving

  16. What process separates populations and can eventually lead to speciation?

    • Artificial selection
    • Geographical isolation
    • Selective breeding
    • Genetic cloning

  17. Which scientist independently proposed the theory of evolution by natural selection alongside Charles Darwin?

    • Gregor Mendel
    • Alfred Russel Wallace
    • Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
    • Carl Linnaeus

  18. Which phenomenon is Alfred Russel Wallace best known for studying alongside speciation?

    • Warning colouration
    • Selective breeding
    • Bacterial resistance
    • Fossil formation

  19. How many years separated Darwin and Wallace's joint writings (1858) from the publication of Darwin's book (1859)?

    • Ten years
    • One century
    • One year
    • Two years

  20. What has led to our current understanding of speciation developing since Wallace's work?

    • Using selective breeding
    • Gathering more evidence
    • Mapping human genomes
    • Developing clone technology

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