Question 1

What happened during the Cretaceous period?

Accepted Answer

A) Mammals diversified and flourished. 
B) Life appeared on this planet. 
C) The first animals with shells and skeletons appeared. 
D) The dinosaurs reached their peak and then became extinct. 
A) Mammals diversified and flourished. 
B) Life appeared on this planet. 
C) The first animals with shells and skeletons appeared. 
D) The dinosaurs reached their peak and then became extinct.

Question 2

Australia and Eurasia each have a mouse-like mammal-one a marsupial, the other a placental. What is this an example of?

Accepted Answer

A) long-distance migration 
B) homology 
C) adaptive radiation 
D) convergent evolution 
A) long-distance migration 
B) homology 
C) adaptive radiation 
D) convergent evolution

Question 3

What is a likely result of a mass extinction?

Accepted Answer

A) creation of "empty niche space" that can stimulate radiation of surviving groups 
B) elimination of non-beneficial alleles from gene pools 
C) increase in the rate of new mutations 
D) decrease in the rate of new mutations 
A) creation of "empty niche space" that can stimulate radiation of surviving groups 
B) elimination of non-beneficial alleles from gene pools 
C) increase in the rate of new mutations 
D) decrease in the rate of new mutations

Question 4

What genes control the overall body plan of animals?

Accepted Answer

A) Hox genes 
B) Pax genes 
C) homeobox genes 
D) homeodomain genes 
A) Hox genes 
B) Pax genes 
C) homeobox genes 
D) homeodomain genes

Question 5

Which of the following best describes a paraphyletic taxon?

Accepted Answer

A) A paraphyletic taxon includes species from different evolutionary lineages. 
B) A paraphyletic taxon includes an ancestral species and all of its descendants. 
C) A paraphyletic taxon includes an ancestral species and only some of its descendants. 
D) A paraphyletic taxon includes only the ancestral species. 
A) A paraphyletic taxon includes species from different evolutionary lineages. 
B) A paraphyletic taxon includes an ancestral species and all of its descendants. 
C) A paraphyletic taxon includes an ancestral species and only some of its descendants. 
D) A paraphyletic taxon includes only the ancestral species.

Question 6

Which of the following is the importance of the Burgess Shale?

Accepted Answer

A) It contains large numbers of exceptionally well-preserved fossils in sedimentary rocks. 
B) It contains small numbers of exceptionally well-preserved fossils in sedimentary rocks. 
C) It contains large numbers of poorly preserved fossils in sedimentary rocks. 
D) It contains small numbers of poorly preserved fossils in sedimentary rocks. 
A) It contains large numbers of exceptionally well-preserved fossils in sedimentary rocks. 
B) It contains small numbers of exceptionally well-preserved fossils in sedimentary rocks. 
C) It contains large numbers of poorly preserved fossils in sedimentary rocks. 
D) It contains small numbers of poorly preserved fossils in sedimentary rocks.

Question 7

What was ichthyosaur thought to be when first discovered?

Accepted Answer

A) a fish 
B) a reptile 
C) an amphibian 
D) a mammal 
A) a fish 
B) a reptile 
C) an amphibian 
D) a mammal

Question 8

Most paleontologists agree that the parts originally described as Anomalocaris were the remains of two great appendages. Which ones?

Accepted Answer

A) Anomalocaris were plates around the mouth of Tuzoia, while Peytoia was its carapace or shell. 
B) Anomalocaris were plates around the mouth of Peytoia, while Tuzoia was its carapace or shell. 
C) Peytoia were plates around the mouth of Anomalocaris, while Tuzoia was its carapace or shell. 
D) Peytoia were plates around the mouth of Tuzoia, while Anomalocaris was its carapace or shell. 
A) Anomalocaris were plates around the mouth of Tuzoia, while Peytoia was its carapace or shell. 
B) Anomalocaris were plates around the mouth of Peytoia, while Tuzoia was its carapace or shell. 
C) Peytoia were plates around the mouth of Anomalocaris, while Tuzoia was its carapace or shell. 
D) Peytoia were plates around the mouth of Tuzoia, while Anomalocaris was its carapace or shell.

Question 9

Why were there not that many fossils until teeth and bones appeared in fossil finds?

Accepted Answer

A) Hard tissues lend themselves to mineral fossilization, while soft tissues are usually fossilized as moulds. 
B) Soft tissues lend themselves to mineral fossilization, while hard tissues are usually fossilized as moulds. 
C) Hard and soft tissues are both fossilized as moulds. 
D) Hard and soft tissues both lend themselves to mineral fossilization. 
A) Hard tissues lend themselves to mineral fossilization, while soft tissues are usually fossilized as moulds. 
B) Soft tissues lend themselves to mineral fossilization, while hard tissues are usually fossilized as moulds. 
C) Hard and soft tissues are both fossilized as moulds. 
D) Hard and soft tissues both lend themselves to mineral fossilization.

Question 10

The extinction of dinosaurs was probably due to the breakup of Pangaea and the resulting cooling of the world's climate.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 11

Which of the following is known as one of the most spectacular animals of the Burges Shale?

Accepted Answer

A) Laggania 
B) Tuzoia 
C) Peytoia 
D) Anomalocaris 
A) Laggania 
B) Tuzoia 
C) Peytoia 
D) Anomalocaris

Question 12

When did the age that saw a great diversification of land plants as well as the first amphibians happen?

Accepted Answer

A) the Cambrian 
B) the Cretaceous 
C) the Devonian 
D) the Jurassic 
A) the Cambrian 
B) the Cretaceous 
C) the Devonian 
D) the Jurassic

Question 13

What was the era during which the earliest signs of life appeared?

Accepted Answer

A) the Archean 
B) the Paleozoic 
C) the Mesozoic 
D) the Cambrian 
A) the Archean 
B) the Paleozoic 
C) the Mesozoic 
D) the Cambrian

Question 14

Which of the following best describes a monophyletic taxon?

Accepted Answer

A) A monophyletic taxon includes species from different evolutionary lineages. 
B) A monophyletic taxon includes an ancestral species and all of its descendants. 
C) A monophyletic taxon includes an ancestral species and only some of its descendants. 
D) A monophyletic taxon includes only the ancestral species. 
A) A monophyletic taxon includes species from different evolutionary lineages. 
B) A monophyletic taxon includes an ancestral species and all of its descendants. 
C) A monophyletic taxon includes an ancestral species and only some of its descendants. 
D) A monophyletic taxon includes only the ancestral species.

Question 15

What does the Cretaceous-Paleogene event refer to?

Accepted Answer

A) an event in which an extraterrestrial trigger killed most of the dinosaurs along with 75% of all species 
B) an event in which an earthquake killed most of the dinosaurs along with 75% of all species 
C) an event in which a volcano eruption killed most of the dinosaurs along with 75% of all species 
D) an event in which an asteroid killed most of the dinosaurs along with 75% of all species 
A) an event in which an extraterrestrial trigger killed most of the dinosaurs along with 75% of all species 
B) an event in which an earthquake killed most of the dinosaurs along with 75% of all species 
C) an event in which a volcano eruption killed most of the dinosaurs along with 75% of all species 
D) an event in which an asteroid killed most of the dinosaurs along with 75% of all species

Question 16

When did most dinosaurs die out?

Accepted Answer

A) at the end of the Triassic 
B) at the end of the Jurassic 
C) at the end of the Cretaceous 
D) at the end of the Tertiary 
A) at the end of the Triassic 
B) at the end of the Jurassic 
C) at the end of the Cretaceous 
D) at the end of the Tertiary

Exam 20: Understanding the History of Life on Earth

What happened during the Cretaceous period?

Australia and Eurasia each have a mouse-like mammal-one a marsupial, the other a placental. What is this an example of?

What is a likely result of a mass extinction?

What genes control the overall body plan of animals?

Which of the following best describes a paraphyletic taxon?

Which of the following is the importance of the Burgess Shale?

What was ichthyosaur thought to be when first discovered?

Most paleontologists agree that the parts originally described as Anomalocaris were the remains of two great appendages. Which ones?

Why were there not that many fossils until teeth and bones appeared in fossil finds?

The extinction of dinosaurs was probably due to the breakup of Pangaea and the resulting cooling of the world's climate.

Which of the following is known as one of the most spectacular animals of the Burges Shale?

When did the age that saw a great diversification of land plants as well as the first amphibians happen?

What was the era during which the earliest signs of life appeared?

Which of the following best describes a monophyletic taxon?

What does the Cretaceous-Paleogene event refer to?

When did most dinosaurs die out?

Light and Life

The Cell: an Overview

Defining Life and Its Origins

Energy and Enzymes

Cell Membranes and Signalling

Cellular Respiration

Photosynthesis

Cell Cycles

Genetic Recombination

Mendel, Genes, and Inheritance

Genes, Chromosomes, and Human Genetics

Dna Structure, Replication, and Organization

Gene Structure and Expression

Control of Gene Expression

Dna Technologies

Genomes and Proteomes

Evolution: the Development of the Theory

Microevolution: Changes Within Populations

Species and Macroevolution

Humans and Evolution

Bacteria and Archaea

Viruses, Viroids, and Prions: Infectious Biological Particles

Protists

Fungi

Plants

Diversity of Animals 1: Sponges, Radiata, Platyhelminthes, and Protostomes

Diversity of Animals 2: Deuterostomes: Vertebrates and Their Closest Relatives

Population Ecology

Population Interactions and Community Ecology

Ecosystems

Conservation of Biodiversity

Putting Selection to Work

Organization of the Plant Body

Transport in Plants

Reproduction and Development in Flowering Plants

Plant Nutrition

Plant Signals and Responses to the Environment

Introduction to Animal Organization and Physiology

Transport in Animals: the Circulatory System

Reproduction in Animals

Animal Development

Control of Animal Processes: Neural Control

Control of Animal Processes: Neural Control

Control of Animal Processes: Neural Integration

Muscles, Skeletons, and Body Movements

Animal Behaviour

Animal Nutrition

Gas Exchange: the Respiratory System

Regulating the Internal Environment

Defences Against Disease

Conservation and Evolutionary Physiology

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