NEET-UG Biology · Class 12
Adaptive radiation from a common ancestor — NEET & JEE Questions
Adaptive radiation from a common ancestor is a topic in Evolution, a Class 12 Biology chapter of the NEET-UG syllabus. TestBudy holds 12 published NEET-UG questions on Adaptive radiation from a common ancestor, each with the marking scheme of the real paper. The ideas it examines include Darwin's finches and beak variety, Australian marsupials radiating into many forms.
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Key formulas and concepts
The ideas Adaptive radiation from a common ancestor is examined on, as they are tagged in the syllabus tree.
- Darwin's finches and beak variety
- Australian marsupials radiating into many forms
Adaptive radiation from a common ancestor MCQs with solutions
10 of the 12 published questions on this topic, exactly as they appear in a test. Answers and worked solutions come with your result rather than on this page.
Diversification of one ancestral lineage into several forms adapted to different niches:
- A. convergent evolution only
- B. genetic equilibrium
- C. artificial selection only
- D. adaptive radiation
Adaptive radiation refers to
- A. evolution of multiple species from a common ancestor into different ecological niches
- B. evolution of unrelated species toward the same form only
- C. random extinction of all descendants
- D. inheritance without variation
Darwin's finches are a classic example of adaptive radiation because
- A. different finch species evolved from a common ancestral stock and specialised for different foods
- B. all species have identical beaks
- C. they originated independently on every island
- D. they show no ecological differentiation
Adaptive radiation is most directly associated with
- A. divergent evolution
- B. convergent evolution only
- C. absence of natural selection
- D. genetic uniformity
Several closely related bird species on an island differ mainly in beak shape and diet. Which process is most strongly suggested?
- A. Adaptive radiation
- B. Artificial selection only
- C. No evolution
- D. Horizontal gene transfer
Australian marsupials diversified into forms occupying many ecological roles. This is commonly cited as
- A. adaptive radiation
- B. industrial melanism
- C. genetic drift only
- D. Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium
Which condition can promote adaptive radiation after a lineage reaches a new habitat?
- A. Availability of multiple underused ecological niches
- B. Complete absence of heritable variation
- C. Identical selection in every microhabitat
- D. No reproduction
If descendants of one ancestral species evolve different feeding structures suited to different resources, the pattern is best described as
- A. divergence within an adaptive radiation
- B. convergence among unrelated lineages
- C. stabilising selection toward one phenotype
- D. absence of adaptation
Which observation would best support adaptive radiation rather than convergence?
- A. The species are closely related but differ in niche-specific traits
- B. The species are distantly related but independently evolved similar body shapes
- C. All species occupy the same niche and have identical traits
- D. There is no evidence of common ancestry
A single colonising lizard lineage on an archipelago gives rise to species specialised for tree trunks, twigs and grass. Which factor most directly explains the diversification?
- A. Different ecological niches imposing different selective pressures
- B. All habitats imposing identical selection
- C. No inherited differences among offspring
- D. Complete reproductive mixing without divergence
Common mistakes in Adaptive radiation from a common ancestor
Recorded against questions in this topic that are not shown above, so none of these points at an answer you can see on this page.
- Assumes different functions imply analogous rather than homologous structures.
- Uses phenotypic difference or similarity without considering relatedness.
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