Question

1.Scientific progress requires that we clearly define the question we wish to answer. A clear, sharp definition of a scientific question is often the most difficult step in the process of discovery. Which of the following is the most accurate and complete description of the specific scientific question or problem we will address in this course?

	a.	Humans have no individually unique properties; however, the specific combination of properties we have is not seen in other animals and these properties evolved very rapidly after our divergence from the other apes.
	b.	Humans have specific objectively measurable properties no other animals have and we acquired these properties over a short evolutionary time period when other ape lineages were changing relatively little.
	c.	Humans have no individually unique properties; however, the specific combination of properties we have is not seen in other animals and these properties evolved very slowly after our divergence of the other apes.
	d.	Humans have objectively measurable properties no other animals have and we acquired these properties over a long period of slow change after our lineage's divergence from other ape lineages.

2.

Of the species-typical properties humans display, we forecast in the TOPIC 1 lecture that one of these would play a primary causal role; this property would, in turn, be responsible for many of our other species-typical properties. Which of the following is the most accurate and complete description of this primary, causal human property?

	a.	our ecological dominance, control of territory and other organisms
	b.	coercively enforced cooperation between close kin
	c.	our elite capacity for linguistic abilities
	d.	coercively enforced cooperation between non-kin
	e.	our enlarged brains and elite cognitive abilities

3.

Which of the following is the most accurate and complete statement about reductionist scientific explanations (theories), as we discussed them in TOPIC 1?

	a.	Scientific theories vary dramatically in their complexity, depending on the complexity of what is being explained; they are arrived at by induction and attempted falsification.
	b.	Scientific theories are always simple, no matter what is being described and they are arrived at by induction and attempted falsification.
	c.	Scientific theories vary dramatically in their complexity, depending on the complexity of what is being explained; they are arrived at by deduction and careful logical proofs.
	d.	Scientific theories are always simple, no matter what is being described and they are arrived at by deduction and careful logical proofs.

4.

Which of the following is the most accurate and complete statement about the nature of phylogenetic analysis and its deployment to understand evolution, as discussed in TOPIC 1?

	a.	Phylogenetic analysis exploits the properties of currently surviving organisms to deduce the properties of their evolutionary ancestors; this approach is very informative and always trumps all other sources of insight (like the fossil record, for example).
	b.	Phylogenetic analysis makes exclusive use of DNA sequence and fossil evidence to deduce the trajectory of evolutionary change; this approach is very informative and always trumps all other sources of insight (like examining the properties of currently surviving organisms, for example).
	c.	Phylogenetic analysis exploits the properties of currently surviving organisms to deduce the properties of their evolutionary ancestors; this approach can be very informative about evolutionary change but can sometimes suggest incorrect hypotheses.
	d.	Phylogenetic analysis makes exclusive use of DNA sequence and fossil evidence to deduce the trajectory of evolutionary change; this approach can be very informative about evolutionary change but can sometimes suggest incorrect hypotheses.

5.

We briefly examined the mechanics of living organisms at the simplest levels (chemical and molecular). Which of the following is the most accurate and complete description of our current picture of these mechanics?

	a.	Organisms obey all the same laws as non-biological entities and no others; natural selection has produced devices that exploit these laws and replicate chemically encoded design information.
	b.	Organisms obey all the same laws as non-biological entities; however, natural selection has also created new fundamental chemical laws that are unique to biology.
	c.	Organisms exploit a distinct set of physical and chemical laws unique to biology and distinct from those controlling non-biological processes; these laws are the domain of evolution by natural selection.
	d.	Organisms exploit a distinct set of physical and chemical laws unique to biology and distinct from those controlling non-biological processes; natural selection operates in the tiny region of overlap between these biology-specific laws and the laws governing the larger universe.

Answer 1

1) The answer is B.

Humans have specific objectively measurable properties no other animals have and we acquired these properties over a short evolutionary time period when other ape lineages were changing relatively little.

explanation

The process of development of humans from the primates is called the human evolution. It is a widely accepted theory that evolution happens over a long period of time, but reports suggests that there is an exception to this theory, which is the human evolution. Human beings could have undergone evolution due to some sudden outbreak of genetic changes. Scientists researching about the human chromosome 2, found out that the majority of change in the DNA happened over a short evolutionary time period. Option B points out the objectively measurable properties, which is a key aspect in scientific research.

hope the answer helps.