# | Category | Statement | Student % Response* | |||||
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| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
1 | SSMT1 | A scientific theory that explains a natural phenomenon can be classified as a “best guess” or “hunch”a | 12.9 | 37.1 | 21.3 | 12.7 | 15.7 | 0.3 |
2 | SSMT2 | The scientific methods used to determine the age of fossils and the earth are reliable. | 22.6 | 50.7 | 13.5 | 7.7 | 5.4 | 0.2 |
3 | SSMT3 | According to the second law of thermodynamics, complex life forms cannot evolve from simpler life forms. | 9.4 | 12.0 | 19.5 | 16.3 | 41.9 | 0.9 |
4 | SSMT4 | The earth is old enough for evolution to have occurred. | 27.9 | 28.9 | 12.5 | 19.2 | 10.9 | 0.6 |
5 | SSMT5 | Evolution cannot be considered a reliable explanation because evolution is only a theory. | 29.8 | 25.0 | 21.3 | 12.9 | 10.7 | 0.3 |
6 | IE1 | Evolution always results in improvement. a | 6.7 | 23.3 | 28.7 | 25.4 | 14.3 | 1.6 |
7 | IE2 | Members of a species evolve because of an inner need to evolve.a | 10.3 | 28.1 | 22.3 | 17.8 | 21.0 | 0.5 |
8 | IE3 | Traits acquired during the lifetime of an organism―such as large muscles produced by body building―will not be passed along to offspring. | 30.5 | 25.4 | 20.4 | 15.2 | 8.1 | 0.4 |
9 | IE4 | If webbed feet are being selected for, all individuals in the next generation will have more webbing on their feet than do individuals in their parents’ generation. a | 10.2 | 30.1 | 21.9 | 12.5 | 24.5 | 0.9 |
10 | IE5 | Evolution cannot cause an organism’s traits to change within its lifetime. | 14.9 | 22.2 | 26.4 | 16.8 | 18.7 | 1.0 |
11 | NE1 | New traits within a population appear at random.b | 9.4 | 31.8 | 26.1 | 15.5 | 16.5 | 0.7 |
12 | NE2 | Individual organisms adapt to their environments. | 47.8 | 32.3 | 9.0 | 4.4 | 5.4 | 1.0 |
13 | NE3 | Evolution is a totally random process. | 9.7 | 16.2 | 25.7 | 25.8 | 22.5 | 0.2 |
14 | NE4 | The environment determines which traits are best suited for survival. | 26.1 | 33.7 | 16.5 | 11.0 | 11.9 | 0.8 |
15 | ME1 | Variation among individuals within a species is important for evolution to occur. a | 10.5 | 29.6 | 19.7 | 9.0 | 30.9 | 0.3 |
16 | ME2 | “Survival of the fittest” means basically that “only the strong survive.”b | 35.6 | 26.9 | 17.3 | 13.6 | 6.3 | 0.2 |
17 | ME3 | The size of the population has no effect on the evolution of a speciesa | 10.8 | 19.3 | 31.9 | 23.0 | 14.8 | 0.2 |
18 | ME4 | Complex structures such as the eye could have been formed by evolution. | 11.6 | 25.0 | 18.1 | 26.9 | 17.9 | 0.5 |
19 | ME5 | Only beneficial traits are passed on from parent to offspring. | 8.8 | 21.8 | 25.6 | 33.5 | 9.3 | 1.0 |
20 | ESE1 | There exists a large amount of evidence supporting the theory of evolution. a | 12.9 | 23.2 | 20.0 | 23.9 | 19.2 | 0.8 |
21 | ESE2 | According to the theory of evolution, humans evolved from monkeys, gorillas, or apes. | 23.1 | 25.5 | 11.9 | 30.4 | 8.9 | 0.3 |
22 | ESE3 | Scientific evidence indicates that dinosaurs and humans lived at the same time in the past. a | 13.1 | 20.5 | 19.1 | 27.9 | 18.7 | 0.6 |
23 | ESE4 | The majority of scientists favor evolution over other explanations for life. | 18.2 | 27.3 | 20.9 | 11.9 | 21.1 | 0.5 |