Question

The use and disuse principle of evolution or theory of 'Inheritance of Acquired Characters' was proposed by
(a) Hugo de Vries 
(b) Lamarck 
(c) Weismann 
(d) Darwin 

Answer 1

Hint: The scientist had published a book in 1802 which gives information about the classification of invertebrates. He is the one who coined the term invertebrates. Additionally, he has given a theory on soft inheritance.

Complete answer:
Lamarckism, an evolution theory focused on the idea that physical improvements in species may be transferred to their offspring over their lifetimes — such as greater organ production or a portion of increased use.
Lamarckism, or Lamarckian inheritance, also known as "Neo-Lamarckism," is the notion that an organism can pass on the physical characteristics to its offspring that the parent organism acquired during its lifetime through use or disuse. This principle is often referred to as the inheritance of inherited traits or soft inheritance. In animals, a new world brings out new needs, and by making some effort the animal tries to fulfill them. For instance, the giraffe, trying to browse higher and higher on the leaves of trees it feeds on, stretches out its neck. Because of this habit, which persisted for a long time in all of the species' individuals, the front limbs and neck of the giraffe gradually grew longer.
It is named inaccurately after the French biologist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, who introduced the soft inheritance behavior into his evolutionary theories as a complement to his idea of orthogenesis, a move toward complexity. In textbooks, the theory is quoted as contrasting with Darwinism. 
However, it paints a false picture of the biological history, as Lamarck did not originate the concept of soft inheritance, known from the classical era onwards, and it was not the primary focus of Lamarck's theory of evolution. Furthermore, Charles Darwin accepted the concept of "use and disuse inheritance" in On the Origin of Species (1859) , while opposing other aspects of Lamarck's Theory. Darwin's concept of pangenesis implied soft inheritance.
So, the correct answer is, ‘Lamarck’.

Note: There are shreds of evidence to prove that Lamarck’s theory is false. For many consecutive generations, Weismann cut off the mice's tails without creating a tailless type (i.e.,) the offspring of mice with cut tails is not inherited. This, he felt, was evidence against the inheritance theory of acquired features.