Question 1

The cooling of molten material can result in the formation of ________ rocks.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The cooling of molten material can result...

Question 2

Which of the following represents a correct chronological ordering of Earth's geological history, from the most ancient to the most recent period?

Accepted Answer

A)  Cambrian, Cretaceous, Devonian, Permian 
B)  Cretaceous, Devonian, Permian, Cambrian 
C)  Cambrian, Devonian, Permian, Cretaceous 
D)  Permian, Cambrian, Cretaceous, Devonian 
E)  Cretaceous, Permian, Devonian, Cambrian 
A)  Cambrian, Cretaceous, Devonian, Permian 
B)  Cretaceous, Devonian, Permian, Cambrian 
C)  Cambrian, Devonian, Permian, Cretaceous 
D)  Permian, Cambrian, Cretaceous, Devonian 
E)  Cretaceous, Permian, Devonian, Cambrian

Question 3

During the most recent geological era, the _______, certain plants such as _______ formed symbioses with nitrogen-fixing bacteria.

Accepted Answer

The answer of During the most recent geological era, the...

Question 4

Which of the following is the longest period of time?

Accepted Answer

A)  The length of the entire Mesozoic era 
B)  The half-life of 40K 
C)  Five million years 
D)  The half-life of 14C 
E)  The time since the Cambrian explosion 
A)  The length of the entire Mesozoic era 
B)  The half-life of 40K 
C)  Five million years 
D)  The half-life of 14C 
E)  The time since the Cambrian explosion

Question 5

Fishlike amphibians began to occupy land during the

Accepted Answer

A)  Cretaceous. 
B)  Cambrian. 
C)  Devonian. 
D)  Silurian. 
E)  Holocene. 
A)  Cretaceous. 
B)  Cambrian. 
C)  Devonian. 
D)  Silurian. 
E)  Holocene.

Question 6

The first person to realize that the relative ages of rocks can be determined by examining strata was

Accepted Answer

A)  Charles Darwin. 
B)  Alfred Russel Wallace. 
C)  Stephen Jay Gould. 
D)  Nicolaus Steno. 
E)  Alfred Wegener. 
A)  Charles Darwin. 
B)  Alfred Russel Wallace. 
C)  Stephen Jay Gould. 
D)  Nicolaus Steno. 
E)  Alfred Wegener.

Question 7

With respect to changes in climate over the course of life on Earth, we are currently living in a _______ period, and the average temperature has _______ over the last 100 years.

Accepted Answer

A)  warm; increased 
B)  cool; increased 
C)  warm; decreased 
D)  cool; decreased 
E)  warm; been relatively constant 
A)  warm; increased 
B)  cool; increased 
C)  warm; decreased 
D)  cool; decreased 
E)  warm; been relatively constant

Question 8

Oxygen

Accepted Answer

A)  was prevalent in the atmosphere of Earth in early times. 
B)  allowed for the evolution of autotrophic organisms. 
C)  is not toxic to cells. 
D)  made aerobic heterotrophic life possible. 
E)  is made by respiration. 
A)  was prevalent in the atmosphere of Earth in early times. 
B)  allowed for the evolution of autotrophic organisms. 
C)  is not toxic to cells. 
D)  made aerobic heterotrophic life possible. 
E)  is made by respiration.

Question 9

The current geological period, the _______, is divided into two epochs: the _______ and the Holocene.

Accepted Answer

Quaternary

Question 10

Which of the following was not known to eighteenth- and nineteenth-century geologists?

Accepted Answer

A)  Fossil organisms found in more recent strata resemble modern organisms more than those found in more ancient strata. 
B)  Fossils of similar organisms are found in widely separated places on Earth. 
C)  Radioactivity can be used to determine the age of rocks. 
D)  All of the above 
E)  None of the above 
A)  Fossil organisms found in more recent strata resemble modern organisms more than those found in more ancient strata. 
B)  Fossils of similar organisms are found in widely separated places on Earth. 
C)  Radioactivity can be used to determine the age of rocks. 
D)  All of the above 
E)  None of the above

Question 11

In 2006 paleontologists announced that fossils of Tiktaalik roseae, an important link between fish and tetrapods, had been discovered in freshwater sediments in the Canadian Arctic that were 375 million years old. How were geologists able to determine the age of these sediments?

Accepted Answer

Recall that radioisotope dating is used

Question 12

Which of the following correctly pairs a group of organisms with the time period in which it originated?

Accepted Answer

A)  Gastropod; Precambrian 
B)  Trilobites; Modern 
C)  Crinoids; Carboniferous 
D)  Amniotes; Jurassic 
E)  Cephalopods; Cambrian 
A)  Gastropod; Precambrian 
B)  Trilobites; Modern 
C)  Crinoids; Carboniferous 
D)  Amniotes; Jurassic 
E)  Cephalopods; Cambrian

Question 13

The current rapid climate change we are experiencing is mainly caused by the buildup of atmospheric _______.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The current rapid climate change we are...

Question 14

Which of the following organisms would you not expect to see during a walk in a Permian forest?

Accepted Answer

A)  Dragonflies 
B)  Amphibians 
C)  Club mosses and horsetails 
D)  Flowering plants 
E)  Gymnosperms 
A)  Dragonflies 
B)  Amphibians 
C)  Club mosses and horsetails 
D)  Flowering plants 
E)  Gymnosperms

Question 15

Which of the following places the events in correct chronological order, from earliest to latest?

Accepted Answer

A)  100 million years ago, first mammals appear, dinosaurs go extinct 
B)  100 million years ago, dinosaurs go extinct, first mammals appear 
C)  Dinosaurs go extinct, first mammals appear, 100 million years ago 
D)  First mammals appear, 100 million years ago, dinosaurs go extinct 
E)  First mammals appear, dinosaurs go extinct, 100 million years ago 
A)  100 million years ago, first mammals appear, dinosaurs go extinct 
B)  100 million years ago, dinosaurs go extinct, first mammals appear 
C)  Dinosaurs go extinct, first mammals appear, 100 million years ago 
D)  First mammals appear, 100 million years ago, dinosaurs go extinct 
E)  First mammals appear, dinosaurs go extinct, 100 million years ago

Question 16

The time in which half of a certain amount of a radioactive substance decays is known as its _______.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The time in which half of a...

Question 17

Which of the following statements about the Cambrian is true?

Accepted Answer

A)  The Burgess Shale is a Cambrian fossil bed. 
B)  The first multicellular life occurred during the Cambrian. 
C)  The Cambrian marks the end of the Paleozoic era. 
D)  Oxygen concentrations were low during the Cambrian. 
E)  None of the above 
A)  The Burgess Shale is a Cambrian fossil bed. 
B)  The first multicellular life occurred during the Cambrian. 
C)  The Cambrian marks the end of the Paleozoic era. 
D)  Oxygen concentrations were low during the Cambrian. 
E)  None of the above

Question 18

Scientists believe that if there are no controls on the emission of CO2 from the burning of fossil fuels, the concentration of this gas could double by the end of the current century, leading to a significant rise in the average temperature of Earth. What would be some of the likely evolutionary effects of this climatic change?

Accepted Answer

The fossil record shows that major envir

Question 19

The mass extinction responsible for the demise of the dinosaurs occurred at the end of the _______ period.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The mass extinction responsible for the demise...

Question 20

Mountain ranges are ultimately the result of

Accepted Answer

A)  plates in Earth's crust that move against one another on top of a fluid layer of molten rock. 
B)  climate changes and the movement of glacial ice sheets. 
C)  leftover debris from ancient collisions with an asteroid or meteor. 
D)  the breakup of Laurasia and Gondwana. 
E)  Both a and b 
A)  plates in Earth's crust that move against one another on top of a fluid layer of molten rock. 
B)  climate changes and the movement of glacial ice sheets. 
C)  leftover debris from ancient collisions with an asteroid or meteor. 
D)  the breakup of Laurasia and Gondwana. 
E)  Both a and b

Exam 25: The History of Life on Earth

The cooling of molten material can result in the formation of ________ rocks.

Which of the following represents a correct chronological ordering of Earth's geological history, from the most ancient to the most recent period?

During the most recent geological era, the _______, certain plants such as _______ formed symbioses with nitrogen-fixing bacteria.

Which of the following is the longest period of time?

Fishlike amphibians began to occupy land during the

The first person to realize that the relative ages of rocks can be determined by examining strata was

With respect to changes in climate over the course of life on Earth, we are currently living in a _______ period, and the average temperature has _______ over the last 100 years.

Oxygen

The current geological period, the _______, is divided into two epochs: the _______ and the Holocene.

Which of the following was not known to eighteenth- and nineteenth-century geologists?

In 2006 paleontologists announced that fossils of Tiktaalik roseae, an important link between fish and tetrapods, had been discovered in freshwater sediments in the Canadian Arctic that were 375 million years old. How were geologists able to determine the age of these sediments?

Which of the following correctly pairs a group of organisms with the time period in which it originated?

The current rapid climate change we are experiencing is mainly caused by the buildup of atmospheric _______.

Which of the following organisms would you not expect to see during a walk in a Permian forest?

Which of the following places the events in correct chronological order, from earliest to latest?

The time in which half of a certain amount of a radioactive substance decays is known as its _______.

Which of the following statements about the Cambrian is true?

The mass extinction responsible for the demise of the dinosaurs occurred at the end of the _______ period.

Mountain ranges are ultimately the result of

Studying Life

Small Molecules and the Chemistry of Life

Proteins, Carbohydrates, and Lipids

Nucleic Acids and the Origin of Life

Cells: the Working Units of Life

Cell Membranes

Cell Signaling and Communication

Energy, Enzymes, and Metabolism

Pathways That Harvest Chemical Energy

Photosynthesis: Energy From Sunlight

The Cell Cycle and Cell Division

Inheritance, Genes, and Chromosomes

Dna and Its Role in Heredity

From Dna to Protein: Gene Expression

Gene Mutation and Molecular Medicine

Regulation of Gene Expression

Genomes

Recombinent Dna and Biotechnology

Differential Gene Expression in Development

Development and Evolutionary Change

Evidence and Mechanisms of Evolution

Reconstructing and Using Phylogenies

Species and Their Formation

Evolution of Genes and Genomes

Bacteria and Archaea: the Prokaryotic Domains

The Origin and Diversification of Eukaryotes

Plants Without Seeds: From Water to Land

The Evolution of Seed Plants

Fungi: Recyclers, Pathogens, Parasites, and Plant Partners

Animal Origins and the Evolution of Body Plans

Protostome Animals

Deuterostome Animals

The Plant Body

Transport in Plants

Plant Nutrition

Regulation of Plant Growth

Reproduction in Flowering Plants

Plant Responses to Environmental Challenges

Physiology, Homeostasis, and Temperature Regulation

Animal Hormones

Immunology: Animal Defense Systems

Animal Reproduction

Animal Development

Neurons and Nervous Systems

Sensory Systems

The Mammalian Nervous System: Structure and Higher Function

Musculoskeletal Systems

Gas Exchange in Animals

Circulatory Systems

Nutrition, Digestion, and Absorption

Salt and Water Balance and Nitrogen

Animal Behavior

Ecology and the Distribution of Life

Population Ecology

Species Interaction and Coevolution

Community Ecology

Ecosystems and Global Ecology

Conservation Biology

Filters

During the most recent geological era, the _, certain plants such as _ formed symbioses with nitrogen-fixing bacteria.

With respect to changes in climate over the course of life on Earth, we are currently living in a _ period, and the average temperature has _ over the last 100 years.

The current geological period, the _, is divided into two epochs: the _ and the Holocene.