Sample Final Exam

This page contains sample short-answer questions from a previous semester and illustrates what type of questions you should expect. Materials contained in the lecture notes and reading assignments are fair game. With adequate preparation and an open mind in lecture you will undoubtedly do well. I have indicated the amount of time that each questions should take you in order to indicate the level of detail I expect for your answers. Answers may contain bullet lists, fully formulated sentences, or a combination of both. If you are not successful in communicating your answers, I must assume that you do not know the answer. A total of 100 points can be achieved in this exam towards the total of 300 points for the lecture and 500 points for the entire course.

Short-Answer Questions

You will be presented with 7 short answer questions. Each problem will be worth 10 points. You should plan on spending an average of 5 minutes per question. The essay problem following this section is worth 30 points. You should plan on saving around 15 minutes for it. Below are a few questions which serve as examples. They do not match questions in the exam, they are solely meant to give you an opportunity to practice and they illustrate the level of detail I expect from you.

1. What is eusociality and provide an example

Essay Problems:

One of these problems will actually appear on your mid-term examination. The problem will be worth 30 points. If you desire you may work with a classmate to answer the questions outside of class. Neither your instructor nor teaching assistants for the course will discuss your answers to the problems prior to the examination. You should plan on spending around 15 minutes on this section.

1. When food availability is limited, the colony breeding bushy-tailed schnauzer-bird preferentially feeds one of its two hatchlings and either evicts the other from the nest or lets it starve to death. Phrase two hypotheses that use an explanation based first on individual selection and then one on group selection.
2. Explain in what way Bill Hamilton has revolutionized our understanding of evolutionary processes. Contrast the views of Charles Darwin and Bill Hamilton with respect to the units of selection
3. Explain the Prisoner's Dilemma and discuss how it offers clues for the evolution of altruism
4. What are Optimality Models and what are they used for in the study of behavior? What are the assumptions?
5. Discuss Evolutionary Stable Strategies in the context of "Hawk and Dove" Models