Biology: index fossils, anatomic organism structure, layers of rock – Flashcards

Unlock all answers in this set

Unlock answers
question
made when sediments fill in a cavity made when an object decayed and the sediments harden into rock
answer
cast
question
Index fossils are the remains of species that existed on Earth for relatively short periods of time.
answer
true
question
What are index fossils used to determine?
answer
the age of the surrounding rock layer
question
Preserved animal tracks are called ______ fossils.
answer
trace
question
Dinosaur footprints are original remains.
answer
false
question
A ______ is the cavity left behind in the rock after an organism's hard part has dissolved.
answer
mold
question
Carbon films are formed when a thin film of carbon is left, forming a silhouette of the original organism.
answer
true
question
Index fossils are the remains of species that were once abundant and
answer
geographically widespread
question
Fossils most often form when a dead organism is buried in sediments.
answer
true
question
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
answer
NOT mold
question
Dogs have a reduced nonfunctional digit on their paws known as a dewclaw. What is this an example of?
answer
vestigial structure
question
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?
answer
biology, chemistry, and geology
question
The fossil record shows that two groups of organisms are related, which means they share a .
answer
common ancestor
question
What is the value of a transitional fossil?
answer
Transitional forms show the evolutionary steps between species.
question
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?
answer
analogous
question
Which lists the correct order of evolutionary history?
answer
jellyfish, reptiles, mammals
question
Whales have what seem like remnants of a pelvis and femur, as shown here. What are these structures an example of?
answer
NOT transitional structures
question
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?
answer
vestigial
question
What do gradualism and punctuated equilibrium have in common?
answer
They are both explanations of the rate of evolutionary change.
question
What is the most likely reason that horses and mountain goats have hooves?
answer
They have homologous structures because they have a common ancestor.
question
Nonconformities occur when sedimentary rocks are deposited on top of uplifted and eroded metamorphic or igneous rocks.
answer
t
question
In a series of undisturbed rock layers where shale lies between sandstone below and limestone above, the ____.
answer
A. limestone is youngest
question
Gaps in rock layers are called ____.
answer
A. unconformities
question
Which statement is true of the undisturbed rock layers shown? Limestone shale sandstone
answer
limestone is the youngest
question
The age of one rock layer compared to the age of another rock layer is its __________.
answer
relative age
question
Scientists are able to determine the relative age of rocks in specific years.
answer
f
question
states that for undisturbed rocks, the oldest rocks are on the bottom and the rocks become younger and younger toward the top
answer
principle of superposition
question
Which principle states that, in undisturbed rock layers, the oldest rocks are on the bottom and the youngest rocks are on top?
answer
the principle of superposition
question
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 ____.
answer
younger than 300 million years
question
If the same sequence of rock layers is observed over a large area, ____.
answer
b. a large deposit of rock formed over a large area
question
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
answer
radiometric dating
question
While examining layers of rock, a geologist states, "The sandstone is older than the limestone." What has the geologist determined?
answer
the relative ages of the rock layers
question
Absolute age examines the position of rocks in a sequence.
answer
false
question
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
answer
beta decay
question
Fossils up to 75,000 years old can be dated with ______.
answer
carbon-14
question
____ dating uses the properties of atoms in rocks and other objects to find their ages.
answer
b. absolute
question
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?
answer
absolute; relative
question
Radiocarbon dating would be useful in dating the age of Earth.
answer
f
question
The clock on a rock is set as soon as it begins to erode.
answer
f
question
states that Earth processes today are similar to those that took place in the past
answer
uniformitarianism
question
What time period lasted for more than half of the hypothesized history of the Earth?
answer
d. Precambrian
question
The Precambrian time period is the largest on the geological time scale.
answer
t
question
Early land animals had gills as well as lungs.
answer
t
question
A life-form in the Precambrian time was ____.
answer
a. cyanobacteria
question
The development of ____ factored in the development of complex organisms.
answer
d. all of the above
question
Geologic events that occurred during the Paleozoic Era include mountain building and volcanic activity.
answer
f
question
Cyanobacteria increased the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
answer
f
question
Life-forms that existed during the Paleozoic Era included ____.
answer
d. all of the above
question
The Precambrian time period is segmented into very few parts because:
answer
NOT cyanobacteria were the only life form
question
The formation of the moon may have caused the Paleozoic extinction.
answer
f
question
Which of the following appeared during the Mesozoic Era?
answer
d. all of the above
question
Flowering plants are ______.
answer
angiosperms
question
The breakup of Pangaea resulted in warm, wet global climates.
answer
f
question
Gymnosperms, or seed-bearing plants, were the only abundant form of plant life during the Mesozoic Era.
answer
f
question
The mass extinction at the end of the Mesozoic Era was caused by ______.
answer
a meteor or asteroid colliding with Earth
question
Seed-bearing plants are also referred to as
answer
Gymnosperms
question
Dinosaurs were the dominant land animal of the Mesozoic Era.
answer
t
question
Which of the following statement describes dinosaurs during the Mesozoic era?
answer
They were good mothers
question
The Cenozoic was a time of _______.
answer
mountain building
question
Significant plate tectonic changes occurred on Earth during the Mesozoic Era.
answer
t
question
Most mammals during the Mesozoic were
answer
a. small and rodent like
question
During the Mesozoic Era, Pangaea separated into ______.
answer
Laurasia and Gondwanaland
Get an explanation on any task
Get unstuck with the help of our AI assistant in seconds
New