Evolution & Human Evolution is one of 10 topics in the Grade 12 Life Sciences CAPS syllabus, covered across 3 lessons on Study Vault. Below are real practice questions from this topic with full worked answers.
Sample practice questions
Easy
1. Structures with the same underlying pattern and evolutionary origin but different functions in different species (such as human, bat and whale forelimbs) are called:
Homologous structures
Analogous structures
Vestigial structures
Transitional structures
Answer: Homologous structures — Homologous structures share the same underlying anatomical origin from a common ancestor, even though they may look different and serve different functions.
Easy
2. A reduced, seemingly functionless structure that was fully functional in an ancestral species (such as the human appendix) is called a:
Vestigial structure
Homologous structure
Analogous structure
Fossilised structure
Answer: Vestigial structure — Vestigial structures are remnants of features that had a function in ancestral species but have become reduced or lost their original function over evolutionary time.
Medium
3. Bird wings and insect wings both allow flight but evolved independently from different ancestral structures. This is an example of:
Analogous structures, resulting from convergent evolution
Homologous structures, resulting from a shared ancestor
Vestigial structures
Transitional fossils
Answer: Analogous structures, resulting from convergent evolution — Analogous structures perform a similar function but do not share a common evolutionary origin; they arise through convergent evolution, where unrelated lineages independently evolve similar adaptations.
