Question 1

Which statement about the geological time scale is false?

Accepted Answer

A)   Geological eras are divided into periods.
B)   Observations of differences in fossil assemblages in successive strata allowed scientists to estimate boundaries between divisions of time.
C)   The geological time scale has been modified as new dating methods have been developed.
D)   The divisions in the geological time scale were initially defined before the ages of rocks or fossils were known.
E)   We are currently in the Proterozoic eon.

Question 2

Based on the experiment in which Drosophila flies were raised in a higher than normal oxygen concentration,which statement is most likely true?

Accepted Answer

A)   Fly body size is constrained because there are not enough alleles that increase body size.
B)   Fly body size is constrained because alleles that increase body size are selected against at normal oxygen levels.
C)   At normal oxygen concentration levels,fly body size is under strong directional selection.
D)   Fly body size would likely increase if flies were raised at lower than normal oxygen concentrations.
E)   Increased oxygen levels appear to have little effect on fly body size,even after many generations.

Question 3

Which statement about the Ordovician is false?

Accepted Answer

A)   In an undisturbed formation,fossils from this period will be located directly above those from the Cambrian.
B)   There was a major extinction at the end of this period.
C)   This was a period of great diversification of marine life.
D)   The end of this period occurred less than 300 million years ago.
E)   It is the period immediately before the Silurian.

Question 4

Paleontologists are investigating gradual climate shifts that took place over the course of a few thousand years 13 million years ago.What was the most likely cause of this shift?

Accepted Answer

A)   Changes in Earth's orbit around the sun
B)   Increased atmospheric nitrogen from nitrogen fixation
C)   Increased atmospheric carbon dioxide from burning of fossil fuels
D)   Changes in oceanic currents
E)   An asteroid hitting Earth

Question 5

Which geological period is the most recent (closest to the present) ?

Accepted Answer

A)   Devonian
B)   Cambrian
C)   Jurassic
D)   Silurian
E)   Cretaceous

Question 6

Suppose the half-life of a radioactive isotope is 30,000 years.Of the total amount of that element assimilated by living organisms into their tissues,0.004 percent consists of the radioactive isotope.If you were to find a skeleton of an organism that had 0.0005 percent of the element as the radioactive isotope,it would be estimated to be _______ years old.

Accepted Answer

A)   10,000
B)   60,000
C)   90,000
D)   120,000
E)   240,000

Question 7

You are investigating a Devonian fossil bed.What would you not expect to find there?

Accepted Answer

A)   Vascular plants
B)   Flying insects
C)   Terrestrial fishlike amphibians
D)   Large tree ferns
E)   Seed-producing plants

Question 8

Which gases have opposite effects on Earth's climate?

Accepted Answer

A)   Nitrogen and oxygen
B)   Nitrogen and carbon dioxide
C)   Carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide
D)   Carbon dioxide and oxygen
E)   Nitrogen and sulfur dioxide.

Question 9

Which statement about the Cambrian is false?

Accepted Answer

A)   Arthropods were abundant and diverse during this period.
B)   There was abundant multicellular terrestrial life.
C)   Large continents had already formed.
D)   Oxygen concentrations were approaching current levels.
E)   It came before the Ordovician.

Question 10

Which statement about oxygen and ancient Earth is true?

Accepted Answer

A)   The atmosphere of early Earth contained almost as much free oxygen as present-day Earth,but most of this oxygen was lost in the Cambrian.
B)   Early bacteria generated free oxygen as a by-product of the chemical splitting of water.
C)   The oxygen-generating cyanobacteria have gone extinct.
D)   Oxygen concentration increased from near zero to near present-day levels in a nearly straight line upwards.
E)   Early bacteria generated free oxygen as a by-product of the chemical splitting of carbohydrates.

Question 11

The most appropriate way to determine the absolute ages of sedimentary rocks thought to be a few million years old would be to use

Accepted Answer

A)   stratigraphy.
B)   carbon-14 dating.
C)   uranium-235 dating.
D)   potassium-40 dating.
E)   paleomagnetic dating.

Question 12

The Great Rift Valley formed due to

Accepted Answer

A)   subduction of a continental plate under an oceanic plate.
B)   subduction of an oceanic plate under a continental plate.
C)   the collision of two continental plates.
D)   divergence of continental plates.
E)   forces unrelated to plate tectonics.

Question 13

Which finding was not known to 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)   Certain fossils are always found in younger strata,and certain other fossils are always found in older strata.
E)   Nineteenth-century geologists knew all of these findings.

Question 14

You are investigating an Ordovician fossil bed.What would you not expect to find there?

Accepted Answer

A)   Arthropods
B)   Brachiopods
C)   Vascular plants
D)   Mollusks
E)   All of these would be expected in an Ordovician fossil bed.

Question 15

Humans and chimpanzees diverged from each other about 6 million years ago.Therefore,of the total time that life has been on Earth,humans and chimpanzees have been separate species for about _______ percent of the time.

Accepted Answer

A)   0.15
B)   0.75
C)   1.5
D)   3
E)   7.5

Question 16

Suppose twenty million years from now there are very large flying insects inhabiting Earth.What is the most likely atmospheric change that has occurred?

Accepted Answer

A)   An increase in the oxygen concentration
B)   A decrease in the carbon dioxide concentration
C)   An increase in the carbon dioxide concentration
D)   A decrease in the oxygen concentration
E)   A decrease in the argon concentration

Question 17

During which period did the following events occur: recovery of the biota after a major mass extinction,increase in the species richness of invertebrate groups,appearance of the first turtles and frogs,and beginnings of a large radiation of reptiles?

Accepted Answer

A)   Permian
B)   Cambrian
C)   Jurassic
D)   Cretaceous
E)   Triassic

Question 18

Which statement about the mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous is false?

Accepted Answer

A)   A meteorite was involved.
B)   Many marine invertebrates and insect species died out.
C)   Almost all land animals larger than about 25 kilograms,including dinosaurs,became extinct.
D)   It was the largest mass extinction in Earth's history.
E)   It happened immediately before the Tertiary period.

Question 19

Rocklike structures formed by the oxygen-generating cyanobacteria are known as

Accepted Answer

A)   strata.
B)   stromatolites.
C)   igneous rocks.
D)   lithospheres.
E)   rift valleys.

Question 20

On the morning weather forecast,the meteorologist makes the following two statements: "The temperature in Amherst,Massachusetts,is currently ‒4°C," and "The average temperature of Amherst,Massachusetts,on this day is 7°C." Which interpretation of these statements is correct?

Accepted Answer

A)   Statement 1 describes climate and statement 2 describes weather.
B)   Statement 1 describes weather and statement 2 describes climate.
C)   Both statements describe weather,but not climate.
D)   Both statements describe climate,but not weather.
E)   Both statements describe weather and climate.

Exam 18: The History of Life on Earth

Paleontologists are investigating gradual climate shifts that took place over the course of a few thousand years 13 million years ago.What was the most likely cause of this shift?

Correct Answer
verified

Rocklike structures formed by the oxygen-generating cyanobacteria are known as

Correct Answer
verified

Which statement about the Cambrian is false?

Correct Answer
verified

The most appropriate way to determine the absolute ages of sedimentary rocks thought to be a few million years old would be to use

Correct Answer
verified

During which period did the following events occur: recovery of the biota after a major mass extinction,increase in the species richness of invertebrate groups,appearance of the first turtles and frogs,and beginnings of a large radiation of reptiles?

Correct Answer
verified

On the morning weather forecast,the meteorologist makes the following two statements: "The temperature in Amherst,Massachusetts,is currently ‒4°C," and "The average temperature of Amherst,Massachusetts,on this day is 7°C." Which interpretation of these statements is correct?

Correct Answer
verified

Based on the experiment in which Drosophila flies were raised in a higher than normal oxygen concentration,which statement is most likely true?

Correct Answer
verified

You are investigating an Ordovician fossil bed.What would you not expect to find there?

Correct Answer
verified

Which gases have opposite effects on Earth's climate?

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

You are investigating a Devonian fossil bed.What would you not expect to find there?

Correct Answer
verified

Which statement about the geological time scale is false?

Correct Answer
verified

Which finding was not known to nineteenth-century geologists?

Correct Answer
verified

Which statement about the mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous is false?

Correct Answer
verified

Which statement about the Ordovician is false?

Correct Answer
verified

The Great Rift Valley formed due to

Correct Answer
verified

Which statement about oxygen and ancient Earth is true?

Correct Answer
verified

Suppose twenty million years from now there are very large flying insects inhabiting Earth.What is the most likely atmospheric change that has occurred?

Correct Answer
verified

Humans and chimpanzees diverged from each other about 6 million years ago.Therefore,of the total time that life has been on Earth,humans and chimpanzees have been separate species for about _______ percent of the time.

Correct Answer
verified

Which geological period is the most recent (closest to the present) ?

Correct Answer
verified

Exam 18: The History of Life on Earth

Paleontologists are investigating gradual climate shifts that took place over the course of a few thousand years 13 million years ago.What was the most likely cause of this shift?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Rocklike structures formed by the oxygen-generating cyanobacteria are known as

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which statement about the Cambrian is false?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The most appropriate way to determine the absolute ages of sedimentary rocks thought to be a few million years old would be to use

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

During which period did the following events occur: recovery of the biota after a major mass extinction,increase in the species richness of invertebrate groups,appearance of the first turtles and frogs,and beginnings of a large radiation of reptiles?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

On the morning weather forecast,the meteorologist makes the following two statements: "The temperature in Amherst,Massachusetts,is currently ‒4°C," and "The average temperature of Amherst,Massachusetts,on this day is 7°C." Which interpretation of these statements is correct?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Based on the experiment in which Drosophila flies were raised in a higher than normal oxygen concentration,which statement is most likely true?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

You are investigating an Ordovician fossil bed.What would you not expect to find there?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which gases have opposite effects on Earth's climate?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

You are investigating a Devonian fossil bed.What would you not expect to find there?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which statement about the geological time scale is false?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which finding was not known to nineteenth-century geologists?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which statement about the mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous is false?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which statement about the Ordovician is false?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The Great Rift Valley formed due to

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which statement about oxygen and ancient Earth is true?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Suppose twenty million years from now there are very large flying insects inhabiting Earth.What is the most likely atmospheric change that has occurred?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Humans and chimpanzees diverged from each other about 6 million years ago.Therefore,of the total time that life has been on Earth,humans and chimpanzees have been separate species for about _______ percent of the time.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which geological period is the most recent (closest to the present) ?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

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