Anti-Evolutionary Thinkers Sometimes Argue That Natural Selection Could Not Produce

question 24

Multiple Choice

Anti-evolutionary thinkers sometimes argue that natural selection could not produce a complex structure like the vertebrate eye. They claim that all of the parts of the eye must have arisen at once, asking why natural selection would favor the development of part of an eye that is not yet capable of forming a focused image. Which of the statements about the molluscan eye rejects the claim of anti-evolutionary thinkers?

• A) The anti-evolution argument has a great deal of merit. Only full-blown image-forming eyes are present in modern organisms, including in molluscs.
• B) There are many intermediate stages of eye complexity, such as those in molluscs, that fulfill different adaptive functions.
• C) The vertebrate eye is the ancestral form, and other types of organism, such as molluscs, have degenerate eyes that have lost most of their original structure and function.
• D) The vertebrate eye works in a way that is completely different from the eyes found in molluscs and other invertebrates.

---

Definitions:

Assortative Mating

A mating pattern where individuals with similar phenotypic or genetic traits tend to mate with each other more frequently than would be expected under a random mating pattern.

Marriage Market

Refers to a sociological concept in which prospective partners evaluate each other's assets and liabilities before committing to a marriage or long-term relationship.

Protestantism

A branch of Christianity that originated with the Reformation, a movement against what its followers considered excesses and errors of the Catholic Church.

Literacy Monopoly

The concentration of the ability to read and write within a specific group, limiting access to knowledge and power to others.