Biology: index fossils, anatomic organism structure, layers of rock – Flashcards
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Dinosaur footprints are original remains.
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false
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A ______ is the cavity left behind in the rock after an organism's hard part has dissolved.
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mold
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Carbon films are formed when a thin film of carbon is left, forming a silhouette of the original organism.
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true
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Index fossils are the remains of species that were once abundant and
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geographically widespread
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Fossils most often form when a dead organism is buried in sediments.
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true
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hollow place in rock made when an organism died and was buried and holes in the rock let air or water reach it and dissolve the organism
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NOT mold
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Dogs have a reduced nonfunctional digit on their paws known as a dewclaw. What is this an example of?
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vestigial structure
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Biology shows us the fossil record and comparative anatomies. Chemistry shows us that organic molecules can come from inorganic matter. Geology shows us that organisms that used to live together are found on separate continents due to continental drift. Which fields of science provide evidence for evolution?
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biology, chemistry, and geology
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The fossil record shows that two groups of organisms are related, which means they share a .
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common ancestor
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What is the value of a transitional fossil?
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Transitional forms show the evolutionary steps between species.
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Studying the anatomy of different organisms allows scientists to determine how different species have evolved over time. Which type of anatomic structure are bird wings and butterfly wings when compared to each other?
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analogous
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Which lists the correct order of evolutionary history?
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jellyfish, reptiles, mammals
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Whales have what seem like remnants of a pelvis and femur, as shown here. What are these structures an example of?
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NOT transitional structures
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Wisdom teeth are the third and final set of human molars that come in during the late teens or early twenties. In some cases, these teeth come in without problems, but they often have to be removed due to misalignment in the jaw, as shown below. Removal of the teeth does not cause any long-term complications in regard to eating. Which type of anatomic structure are wisdom teeth?
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vestigial
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What do gradualism and punctuated equilibrium have in common?
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They are both explanations of the rate of evolutionary change.
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What is the most likely reason that horses and mountain goats have hooves?
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They have homologous structures because they have a common ancestor.
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Nonconformities occur when sedimentary rocks are deposited on top of uplifted and eroded metamorphic or igneous rocks.
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t
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In a series of undisturbed rock layers where shale lies between sandstone below and limestone above, the ____.
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A. limestone is youngest
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Gaps in rock layers are called ____.
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A. unconformities
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Which statement is true of the undisturbed rock layers shown? Limestone shale sandstone
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limestone is the youngest
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The age of one rock layer compared to the age of another rock layer is its __________.
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relative age
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Scientists are able to determine the relative age of rocks in specific years.
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f
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states that for undisturbed rocks, the oldest rocks are on the bottom and the rocks become younger and younger toward the top
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principle of superposition
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Which principle states that, in undisturbed rock layers, the oldest rocks are on the bottom and the youngest rocks are on top?
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the principle of superposition
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If a layer of sandstone lies on top of a layer of limestone in which a 300-million-year-old fossil is found, and there are no unconformities, the layer of sandstone must be ____.
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younger than 300 million years
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If the same sequence of rock layers is observed over a large area, ____.
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b. a large deposit of rock formed over a large area
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the process of calculating the absolute age of a rock by measuring the amounts of parent and daughter materials in a rock and by knowing the half-life of the parent
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radiometric dating
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While examining layers of rock, a geologist states, "The sandstone is older than the limestone." What has the geologist determined?
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the relative ages of the rock layers
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Absolute age examines the position of rocks in a sequence.
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false
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the process in which one of an isotope's neutrons breaks down into a proton and an electron and the electron leaves the atom as a beta particle
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beta decay
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Fossils up to 75,000 years old can be dated with ______.
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carbon-14
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____ dating uses the properties of atoms in rocks and other objects to find their ages.
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b. absolute
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Which kind of dating can be used to determine the exact age of the rock and which kind of carbon dating is used to compare the ages of rocks?
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absolute; relative
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Radiocarbon dating would be useful in dating the age of Earth.
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f
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The clock on a rock is set as soon as it begins to erode.
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f
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states that Earth processes today are similar to those that took place in the past
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uniformitarianism
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What time period lasted for more than half of the hypothesized history of the Earth?
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d. Precambrian
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The Precambrian time period is the largest on the geological time scale.
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t
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Early land animals had gills as well as lungs.
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t
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A life-form in the Precambrian time was ____.
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a. cyanobacteria
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The development of ____ factored in the development of complex organisms.
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d. all of the above
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Geologic events that occurred during the Paleozoic Era include mountain building and volcanic activity.
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f
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Cyanobacteria increased the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
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f
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Life-forms that existed during the Paleozoic Era included ____.
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d. all of the above
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The Precambrian time period is segmented into very few parts because:
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NOT cyanobacteria were the only life form
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The formation of the moon may have caused the Paleozoic extinction.
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f
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Which of the following appeared during the Mesozoic Era?
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d. all of the above
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Flowering plants are ______.
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angiosperms
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The breakup of Pangaea resulted in warm, wet global climates.
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f
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Gymnosperms, or seed-bearing plants, were the only abundant form of plant life during the Mesozoic Era.
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f
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The mass extinction at the end of the Mesozoic Era was caused by ______.
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a meteor or asteroid colliding with Earth
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Seed-bearing plants are also referred to as
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Gymnosperms
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Dinosaurs were the dominant land animal of the Mesozoic Era.
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t
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Which of the following statement describes dinosaurs during the Mesozoic era?
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They were good mothers
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The Cenozoic was a time of _______.
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mountain building
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Significant plate tectonic changes occurred on Earth during the Mesozoic Era.
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t
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Most mammals during the Mesozoic were
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a. small and rodent like
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During the Mesozoic Era, Pangaea separated into ______.
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Laurasia and Gondwanaland
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