Evolution – Human evolution: NEET MCQs with Answers

15 free questions on Evolution – Human evolution for NEET (UG), starting with previous-year NEET and AIPMT questions. Try each one, then tap Show answer for the answer and a short explanation.

Syllabus covered: Human evolution

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Question 1

Previous-year question
Match the hominids with their correct brain size. (A) Homo habilis, (B) Homo neanderthalensis, (C) Homo erectus, (D) Homo sapiens, with (i) 900 cc, (ii) 1350 cc, (iii) 650–800 cc, (iv) 1400 cc. [NEET 2019]
  1. A–(iii), B–(i), C–(iv), D–(ii)
  2. A–(iii), B–(ii), C–(i), D–(iv)
  3. A–(iii), B–(iv), C–(i), D–(ii)
  4. A–(iv), B–(iii), C–(i), D–(ii)
Show answer
Answer: (C) A–(iii), B–(iv), C–(i), D–(ii)
Explanation: Homo habilis had a brain of 650–800 cc, Homo neanderthalensis about 1400 cc, Homo erectus about 900 cc and Homo sapiens about 1350 cc.

Question 2

Previous-year question
Which of the following had the smallest brain capacity? [AIPMT 2015]
  1. Homo sapiens
  2. Homo neanderthalensis
  3. Homo habilis
  4. Homo erectus
Show answer
Answer: (C) Homo habilis
Explanation: Homo habilis had a cranial capacity of about 650–800 cc, which is the smallest among those listed. Homo erectus had about 900 cc, Neanderthal man about 1400 cc and Homo sapiens about 1350 cc.

Question 3

Previous-year question
Which one of the following is irrelevant to the evolution of man? [AIPMT 1994]
  1. Perfection of the hand for tool making
  2. Change of diet from hard nuts and roots to soft food
  3. Increased ability to communicate or develop community behaviour
  4. Loss of tail
Show answer
Answer: (D) Loss of tail
Explanation: Loss of the tail is not directly connected with the human evolutionary path; the absence of a tail merely distinguishes humans from many other species. In fact the early human embryo possesses an external tail, and in adults it is represented by the coccyx.

Question 4

Previous-year question
Which one of the following is regarded as the direct ancestor of modern man? [AIPMT 1996]
  1. Homo erectus
  2. Ramapithecus
  3. Homo habilis
  4. Cro-Magnon man
Show answer
Answer: (D) Cro-Magnon man
Explanation: Cro-Magnon man, a late Pleistocene fossil form of Homo sapiens found in France, is regarded as the direct ancestor of living man. Homo erectus, Homo habilis and Ramapithecus are more remote ancestors.

Question 5

Previous-year question
Which one of the following statements about fossil human species is correct? [AIPMT 1997]
  1. Fossils of Homo neanderthalensis have been found recently in South America
  2. Neanderthal man and Cro-Magnon man did exist together for some time
  3. Australopithecus fossils have been found in Australia
  4. Homo erectus was preceded by Homo habilis
Show answer
Answer: (D) Homo erectus was preceded by Homo habilis
Explanation: Homo habilis (about 2 mya) preceded Homo erectus (about 1.5 mya). Neanderthal fossils were found in the Neander valley of Germany, Australopithecus fossils in Ethiopia, and Neanderthals (4,00,000–40,000 years ago) and Cro-Magnons (40,000–10,000 years ago) barely overlapped.

Question 6

Previous-year question
The common origin of man and chimpanzee is best shown by [AIPMT 1997]
  1. the banding pattern in chromosomes number 3 and 6
  2. cranial capacity
  3. binocular vision
  4. dental formula
Show answer
Answer: (A) the banding pattern in chromosomes number 3 and 6
Explanation: A comparative study of chromosome banding in man and the great apes shows that the banding patterns of human chromosomes 3 and 6 closely match particular chimpanzee autosomes, pointing to a common origin. Serum tests also indicate maximum homology between the two.

Question 7

Previous-year question
The age of the fossil of Dryopithecus on the geological time scale is [AIPMT 1998]
  1. 5 × 10⁶ yr back
  2. 25 × 10⁶ yr back
  3. 50 × 10⁶ yr back
  4. 75 × 10⁶ yr back
Show answer
Answer: (B) 25 × 10⁶ yr back
Explanation: Dryopithecus lived about 20–25 million years ago and combined characters of great apes, old world monkeys and man — broad jaws, large canines, semi-erect walking, five-cusped molars and absence of brow ridges.
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Question 8

Previous-year question
Which one of the following statements is correct? [AIPMT 1998]
  1. Cro-Magnon man’s fossil has been found in Ethiopia
  2. Homo erectus is the ancestor of man
  3. Neanderthal man is the direct ancestor of Homo sapiens
  4. Australopithecus is the real ancestor of modern man
Show answer
Answer: (B) Homo erectus is the ancestor of man
Explanation: Homo erectus, which appeared about 1.5 mya with a brain of about 900 cc, followed Homo habilis and is regarded as the ancestor of modern man. Cro-Magnon fossils come from France, Neanderthal man was not the direct ancestor, and Australopithecus is a more remote hominid.

Question 9

Previous-year question
Which one of the following primates is the closest relative of humans? [AIPMT 2000]
  1. Rhesus monkey
  2. Orangutan
  3. Gorilla
  4. Gibbon
Show answer
Answer: (C) Gorilla
Explanation: Among living primates, chimpanzees and gorillas are the closest relatives of humans. Gorillas diverged from the main primate lineage roughly 10 million years ago.

Question 10

Previous-year question
Which one of the following features is closely related with the evolution of humans? [AIPMT 2000]
  1. Loss of tail
  2. Shortening of jaws
  3. Binocular vision
  4. Flat nails
Show answer
Answer: (B) Shortening of jaws
Explanation: The evolution of modern man is accompanied by a marked reduction in the length of the jaw bones, with the tooth rows becoming semi-circular instead of U-shaped.

Question 11

Previous-year question
Homo sapiens evolved during the [AIPMT 2000]
  1. Pleistocene
  2. Oligocene
  3. Pliocene
  4. Miocene
Show answer
Answer: (A) Pleistocene
Explanation: Hominids appeared during the Pliocene, but modern man, Homo sapiens, is believed to have arisen about 1,50,000 years back during the Pleistocene epoch.

Question 12

Previous-year question
Which of the following is the closest relative of man? [AIPMT 2001]
  1. Chimpanzee
  2. Gorilla
  3. Orangutan
  4. Gibbon
Show answer
Answer: (A) Chimpanzee
Explanation: The banding patterns of human chromosomes 3 and 6 are remarkably similar to those of the chimpanzee, and DNA matching also shows the closest similarity with the chimpanzee, indicating a common origin.

Question 13

Previous-year question
What kind of evidence suggested that man is more closely related to the chimpanzee than to other hominoid apes? [AIPMT 2004]
  1. Evidence from DNA of sex chromosomes only
  2. Comparison of chromosome morphology only
  3. Evidence from fossil remains and fossil mitochondrial DNA alone
  4. Evidence from DNA extracted from sex chromosomes, autosomes and mitochondria
Show answer
Answer: (D) Evidence from DNA extracted from sex chromosomes, autosomes and mitochondria
Explanation: The close relationship of man and chimpanzee is supported by chromosome banding patterns and by DNA obtained from sex chromosomes, autosomes and mitochondria. Mitochondrial DNA is especially useful for dating recent events because it mutates 5–10 times faster than nuclear DNA.

Question 14

Previous-year question
Which one of the following gives the correct order of the evolutionary history of man? [AIPMT 2001]
  1. Peking man, Homo sapiens, Neanderthal, Cro-Magnon
  2. Peking man, Neanderthal, Homo sapiens, Cro-Magnon
  3. Peking man, Heidelberg man, Neanderthal, Cro-Magnon
  4. Peking man, Neanderthal, Homo sapiens, Heidelberg man
Show answer
Answer: (C) Peking man, Heidelberg man, Neanderthal, Cro-Magnon
Explanation: Peking man → Heidelberg man → Neanderthal man → Cro-Magnon man is the correct sequence. Peking man is an extinct hominid of Homo erectus; Homo heidelbergensis radiated between about 7,00,000 and 3,00,000 years ago; Cro-Magnons appeared about 40,000 to 37,000 years ago.

Question 15

Previous-year question
According to the fossils discovered so far, the origin and evolution of man started from [AIPMT 2002]
  1. France
  2. Java
  3. Africa
  4. China
Show answer
Answer: (C) Africa
Explanation: Humans first evolved in Africa and much of human evolution occurred on that continent. The fossils of early humans that lived between 6 and 2 million years ago come entirely from Africa.

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