Exam 25: The History of Life on Earth

Refer to the following information to answer the questions below. Fossils of Lystrosaurus, a dicynodont therapsid, are most common in parts of modern-day South America, South Africa, Madagascar, India, South Australia, and Antarctica. It apparently lived in arid regions, and was mostly herbivorous. It originated during the mid-Permian period, survived the Permian extinction, and dwindled by the late Triassic, though there is evidence of a relict population in Australia during the Cretaceous. The dicynodonts had two large tusks, extending down from their upper jaws; the tusks were not used for food gathering, and in some species were limited to males. Food was gathered using an otherwise toothless beak. Judging from the fossil record, these pig-sized organisms were the most common mammal-like reptiles of the Permian. -Which of these is the most likely explanation for the modern-day distribution of dicynodont fossils?

The following questions refer to the description and figure below. The figure represents a cross section of the sea floor through a mid-ocean rift valley, with alternating patches of black and white indicating sea floor with reversed magnetic polarities. At the arrow labeled "I" (the rift valley), the igneous rock of the sea floor is so young that it can be accurately dated using carbon-14 dating. At the arrow labeled "III," however, the igneous rock is about 1 million years old, and potassium-40 dating is typically used to date such rocks. NOTE: the dashed horizontal arrows indicate the direction of sea-floor spreading, away from the rift valley. Figure 25.1 -Which of these observations fails to support the endosymbiotic theory for the origin of eukaryotic cells?

The following questions refer to the description and figure below. The figure represents a cross section of the sea floor through a mid-ocean rift valley, with alternating patches of black and white indicating sea floor with reversed magnetic polarities. At the arrow labeled "I" (the rift valley), the igneous rock of the sea floor is so young that it can be accurately dated using carbon-14 dating. At the arrow labeled "III," however, the igneous rock is about 1 million years old, and potassium-40 dating is typically used to date such rocks. NOTE: the dashed horizontal arrows indicate the direction of sea-floor spreading, away from the rift valley. Figure 25.1 -Assuming that the rate of sea-floor spreading was constant during the 1-million-year period depicted above, what should be the approximate age of marine fossils found in undisturbed sedimentary rock immediately overlying the igneous rock at the arrow labeled "II"?

The following questions refer to the description and figure below. The figure represents a cross section of the sea floor through a mid-ocean rift valley, with alternating patches of black and white indicating sea floor with reversed magnetic polarities. At the arrow labeled "I" (the rift valley), the igneous rock of the sea floor is so young that it can be accurately dated using carbon-14 dating. At the arrow labeled "III," however, the igneous rock is about 1 million years old, and potassium-40 dating is typically used to date such rocks. NOTE: the dashed horizontal arrows indicate the direction of sea-floor spreading, away from the rift valley. Figure 25.1 -An early consequence of the release of oxygen gas by plant and bacterial photosynthesis was to

Refer to the following information to answer the questions below. Fossils of Lystrosaurus, a dicynodont therapsid, are most common in parts of modern-day South America, South Africa, Madagascar, India, South Australia, and Antarctica. It apparently lived in arid regions, and was mostly herbivorous. It originated during the mid-Permian period, survived the Permian extinction, and dwindled by the late Triassic, though there is evidence of a relict population in Australia during the Cretaceous. The dicynodonts had two large tusks, extending down from their upper jaws; the tusks were not used for food gathering, and in some species were limited to males. Food was gathered using an otherwise toothless beak. Judging from the fossil record, these pig-sized organisms were the most common mammal-like reptiles of the Permian. -Which of these is the most likely explanation for the existence of dicynodont fossils on modern-day Antarctica?

What is True of the amino acids that might have been delivered to Earth within carbonaceous chondrites?

The following questions refer to this hypothetical situation: A female fly, full of fertilized eggs, is swept by high winds to an island far out to sea. She is the first fly to arrive on this island, and the only fly to arrive in this way. Thousands of years later, her numerous offspring occupy the island, but none of them resembles her. There are, instead, several species each of which eats only a certain type of food. None of the species can fly, for their flight wings are absent, and their balancing organs (i.e., halteres) are now used in courtship displays. The male members of each species bear modified halteres that are unique in appearance to their species. Females bear vestigial halteres. The ranges of all of the daughter species overlap. -If the foods preferred by each species are found on different parts of the island, and if the flies mate and lay eggs on their food sources, regardless of the location of the food sources, then the speciation events involving these fly species may have been driven, at least in part, by which of the following?

Select the factor most likely to have caused the animals and plants of India to differ greatly from species in nearby Southeast Asia.

The following questions are based on the observation that several dozen different proteins comprise the prokaryotic flagellum and its attachment to the prokaryotic cell, producing a highly complex structure. -If the complex protein assemblage of the prokaryotic flagellum arose by the same general processes as those of the complex eyes of mollusks (such as squids and octopi), then

Which of the following is the correct sequence of these events in the origin of life? I. formation of protobionts II. synthesis of organic monomers III. synthesis of organic polymers IV. formation of DNA-based genetic systems

Refer to the following information to answer the questions below. Fossils of Lystrosaurus, a dicynodont therapsid, are most common in parts of modern-day South America, South Africa, Madagascar, India, South Australia, and Antarctica. It apparently lived in arid regions, and was mostly herbivorous. It originated during the mid-Permian period, survived the Permian extinction, and dwindled by the late Triassic, though there is evidence of a relict population in Australia during the Cretaceous. The dicynodonts had two large tusks, extending down from their upper jaws; the tusks were not used for food gathering, and in some species were limited to males. Food was gathered using an otherwise toothless beak. Judging from the fossil record, these pig-sized organisms were the most common mammal-like reptiles of the Permian. -Dicynodonts survived the Permian extinction and, therefore, existed during both the

The following questions refer to the description and figure below. The figure represents a cross section of the sea floor through a mid-ocean rift valley, with alternating patches of black and white indicating sea floor with reversed magnetic polarities. At the arrow labeled "I" (the rift valley), the igneous rock of the sea floor is so young that it can be accurately dated using carbon-14 dating. At the arrow labeled "III," however, the igneous rock is about 1 million years old, and potassium-40 dating is typically used to date such rocks. NOTE: the dashed horizontal arrows indicate the direction of sea-floor spreading, away from the rift valley. Figure 25.1 -If a particular marine organism is fossilized in the sediments immediately overlying the igneous rock at the arrow labeled "II," at which other location, labeled A-E, would a search be most likely to find more fossils of this organism?

The following questions refer to the description and figure below. The figure represents a cross section of the sea floor through a mid-ocean rift valley, with alternating patches of black and white indicating sea floor with reversed magnetic polarities. At the arrow labeled "I" (the rift valley), the igneous rock of the sea floor is so young that it can be accurately dated using carbon-14 dating. At the arrow labeled "III," however, the igneous rock is about 1 million years old, and potassium-40 dating is typically used to date such rocks. NOTE: the dashed horizontal arrows indicate the direction of sea-floor spreading, away from the rift valley. Figure 25.1 -Which event is nearest in time to the end of the period known as snowball Earth?

The following questions refer to the description and figure below. The figure represents a cross section of the sea floor through a mid-ocean rift valley, with alternating patches of black and white indicating sea floor with reversed magnetic polarities. At the arrow labeled "I" (the rift valley), the igneous rock of the sea floor is so young that it can be accurately dated using carbon-14 dating. At the arrow labeled "III," however, the igneous rock is about 1 million years old, and potassium-40 dating is typically used to date such rocks. NOTE: the dashed horizontal arrows indicate the direction of sea-floor spreading, away from the rift valley. Figure 25.1 -Recent evidence indicates that the first major diversification of multicellular eukaryotes may have coincided in time with the

The following questions refer to this hypothetical situation: A female fly, full of fertilized eggs, is swept by high winds to an island far out to sea. She is the first fly to arrive on this island, and the only fly to arrive in this way. Thousands of years later, her numerous offspring occupy the island, but none of them resembles her. There are, instead, several species each of which eats only a certain type of food. None of the species can fly, for their flight wings are absent, and their balancing organs (i.e., halteres) are now used in courtship displays. The male members of each species bear modified halteres that are unique in appearance to their species. Females bear vestigial halteres. The ranges of all of the daughter species overlap. -The existence of the phenomenon of exaptation is most closely associated with which of the following reasons that natural selection cannot fashion perfect organisms?

The following questions refer to the description and figure below. The figure represents a cross section of the sea floor through a mid-ocean rift valley, with alternating patches of black and white indicating sea floor with reversed magnetic polarities. At the arrow labeled "I" (the rift valley), the igneous rock of the sea floor is so young that it can be accurately dated using carbon-14 dating. At the arrow labeled "III," however, the igneous rock is about 1 million years old, and potassium-40 dating is typically used to date such rocks. NOTE: the dashed horizontal arrows indicate the direction of sea-floor spreading, away from the rift valley. Figure 25.1 -The snowball Earth hypothesis provides a possible explanation for the

Refer to the following information to answer the questions below. Fossils of Lystrosaurus, a dicynodont therapsid, are most common in parts of modern-day South America, South Africa, Madagascar, India, South Australia, and Antarctica. It apparently lived in arid regions, and was mostly herbivorous. It originated during the mid-Permian period, survived the Permian extinction, and dwindled by the late Triassic, though there is evidence of a relict population in Australia during the Cretaceous. The dicynodonts had two large tusks, extending down from their upper jaws; the tusks were not used for food gathering, and in some species were limited to males. Food was gathered using an otherwise toothless beak. Judging from the fossil record, these pig-sized organisms were the most common mammal-like reptiles of the Permian. -An organism has a relatively large number of Hox genes in its genome. Which of the following is not True of this organism?

Refer to the following information to answer the questions below. Fossils of Lystrosaurus, a dicynodont therapsid, are most common in parts of modern-day South America, South Africa, Madagascar, India, South Australia, and Antarctica. It apparently lived in arid regions, and was mostly herbivorous. It originated during the mid-Permian period, survived the Permian extinction, and dwindled by the late Triassic, though there is evidence of a relict population in Australia during the Cretaceous. The dicynodonts had two large tusks, extending down from their upper jaws; the tusks were not used for food gathering, and in some species were limited to males. Food was gathered using an otherwise toothless beak. Judging from the fossil record, these pig-sized organisms were the most common mammal-like reptiles of the Permian. -If an increase in dicynodont species diversity (i.e., number of species)occurred soon after the Permian extinction, and if it occurred for the same general reason usually given for the increase in mammalian diversity following the Cretaceous extinction, then it should be attributed to

Several scientific laboratories across the globe are involved in research concerning the origin of life on Earth. Which graph below, if the results were produced abiotically, would have the greatest promise for revealing important information about the origin or Earth's first genetic system?

Although absolute distinctions between the "most evolved" protobiont and the first living cell are unclear, biologists generally agree that one major difference is that the typical protobiont could not