History of Life on Earth

The study of the movement of the earth's crust is called _____. a. paleontology b. meteorology c. plate tectonics d. driftology

The oldest fossils of eukaryotes have been estimated to bea. 6000 years oldb. 8 billion years oldc. 4.5 billion years oldd. 1.5 billion years olde. 1995 years old

The primitive atmosphere had little if any _____.a. waterb. free oxygenc. carbon dioxided. nitrogen 

The time period during which life arose and the first cells came into existence is the _____.a. Jurassicb. Carboniferousc. Precambriand. Paleocene

When two continents collide a(n) _____ often forms.a. chain of volcanic islandsb. ocean trenchc. mountain ranged. ocean ridge

Approximately how long ago did LIFE first evolve on eartha. 4.5 billion yearsb. 3.5 billion yearsc. 1 billion yearsd. 600 million yearse. 100,000 years

According to geochemists which of the following would have been the most unlikely condition on the primitive Earth?a. atmospheric coolingb. crust formationc. gas cloud encircling the Earthd. high levels of oxygene. water, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen among the early gases

Which evidence supports the hypothesis that four-limbed animals came from fish? Select all that apply.1) DNA analysis shows that fish are tetrapods’ closest relatives.2) Both fish and four-limbed animals are vertebrates.3) Fossil evidence shows there have always been four-limbed animals on Earth.4) The fossil record shows more and more tetrapod-like fish before the appearance of tetrapods about 365 million years ago.5) Fish and four-limbed animals have very similar embryos.

Abiotic synthesis of organic molecules requires _______.a. hydrogenb. methanogenesisc. serpentinizationd. anaerobic Archaeae. all of the above.

Which of the following are the only extant animals that descended directly from dinosaurs? A) lizards B) crocodiles C) snakes D) birds E) tuataras

Why is the discovery of the fossil Archaeopteryx significant? It supports the A) phylogenetic relatedness of birds and reptiles. B) contention that birds are much older than we originally thought. C) claim that some dinosaurs had feathers well before birds had evolved. D) idea that the first birds were ratites E) hypothesis that the earliest birds were ectothermic.

Recent reconstructions of evolutionary history are often dependent on assigning divergence in terms of changes in amino acid or nucleotide sequences. For example, a comparison of cytochrome c shows 10 amino acid differences between humans and dogs, 24 differences between humans and moths and 38 differences between humans and yeast. What problems might one encounter in such a calibration?a. uncertainty of the fossil recordb. different population structures occur among different taxab. different mutation rates occur among different taxac. the same mutation rates occur among different taxa d. the same population structures occur among different taxa e. amino acid and nucleotide substitutions can occur linearly in the time f. uncertainty of the times of major paleontological events

Classify each event in the history of life into the appropriate eon or era. Drag each phrase to the appropriate bin. 

This question concerns the epochs of the Cenozoic Era. Columns (B) and (C) in the answer table may be determined directly from the information in Figure 5-9. However, the entries for column (D) Duration must be arithmetically determined. Note: Entries for columns (B) and (C) are designated as (mya) which is an abbreviation for millions of years ago; entries for column (D) are designated as (my), which stands for millions of years. 

Ice cores can be used to reconstruct past climates as far back as:A. 5,000 yearsB. 50,000 yearsC. 100,000 yearsD. 400,000 years

Which of these would a paleontologist be most likely to do in order to determine whether a fossil represents a reptile or a mammal? A) Look for the presence of milk-producing glands. B) Look for the mammalian characteristics of a four-chambered heart and a diaphragm. C) Because mammals are eutherians, look for evidence of a placenta. D) Use molecular analysis to look for the protein keratin. E) Examine the teeth

For every described currently living species of organism, there are about ________ fossil species.A) 2B) 1/6C) 100D) 6E) 1/100

The first forms of life on eart were thought to be _____.A. single-celled plantsB. prokaryotesC. insectsD. large animals such as dinosaurs

Which of the following is NOT a reason why fossils are especially significant in understanding the evolutionary history of insects?A. They provide the only direct information on the ages of the lineages?B. They reveal the pattern and timing of extinctions and radiationsC. They are quite common for insects relative to other groups.D. They can assist in reconstructing the phylogeny of groupsE. They provide the only direct evidence of extinct lineages.