Chapter 25 (Study Modules) – Flashcards

The correct order of the geologic eras, from most ancient to most recent, is __________.

Which of the following is a true statement about the current status of Earth's biodiversity?

Which of the following is a true statement concerning the history of Earth's biological diversity?

Macroevolution differs from microevolution in that macroevolution __________.

Prior to the Cambrian explosion, all large animals had what characteristic in common?

Which of the following is not a unique anatomical feature of mammals that can be recognized in the fossil record?

The early atmosphere may not have been as reducing as originally postulated by Haldane, Oparin, Miller, and Urey. In light of current thinking about the composition of the early atmosphere, what is regarded as a likely place for the abiotic synthesis of organic molecules to have occurred?

In the species selection model, __________ is to macroevolution as __________ is to microevolution.

The fossil record is __________.

The amphibians, reptiles, and mammals comprise which group?

The ratio of carbon-14 to carbon-12 in a fossil can be used to determine the age of the fossil because __________.

A genetic change that caused a certain Hox gene to be expressed along the tip of a vertebrate limb bud instead of farther back helped make possible the evolution of the tetrapod limb. This type of change is illustrative of __________.

What evidence most strongly suggests that an impact by an asteroid or meteorite may have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs?

The Miller and Urey abiotic synthesis experiment (and subsequent, similar experiments) showed that __________.

Single-celled prokaryotes had the Earth to themselves for approximately __________.

Which of the following is the correct ordering of divisions of the geologic record from largest to smallest?

The original atmosphere of Earth had little oxygen. What was the likely first source of oxygen that led to an oxygen atmosphere?

If the wings of extant flying birds originally arose as thermoregulatory devices in ancestral reptiles, then the bird wings could be accurately described as __________.

Retention of juvenile body features into sexual maturity is referred to as the presence of __________.

Which of the following would not have been a consequence of tectonic plate movements bringing previously separated landmasses together in the formation of the supercontinent of Pangaea about 250 million years ago?

Which of the following is not an internal structure that appears in eukaryotic cells and was also not present in more ancient prokaryotic cells?

What evidence supports the hypothesis that mitochondria and plastids evolved from prokaryotic endosymbionts?

Fossilized stromatolites __________.

Although they originated around 180 million years ago, mammals underwent an adaptive radiation starting approximately 65 million years ago. Why?

Why is RNA, rather than DNA, thought to have been the first genetic material?

What were the two major "problems" that had to be solved before plants, animals, and fungi could move into terrestrial habitats?

What was one ecological change that occurred following the Permian mass extinction?

Adaptive radiations can be a direct consequence of four of the following five factors. Select the exception.

Why is the four-stage hypothesis for the abiotic origin of life useful?

You are watching a movie in which one of the characters excitedly claims to have found human remains in Asia dated at 10 million years old. The date was obtained by carbon-14 dating. What is your reaction?