question

Any remains or traces of past life are called ______.

answer

fossils

question

Which of the following would be least likely to fossilize?

answer

skin

question

In comparison to the Precambrian era, the Paleozoic era:

answer

- was shorter. - included mass extinctions.

question

List the four steps in the possible evolution of life in the correct order.

answer

1. abiotic synthesis 2. development of polymers 3. development of a protocell 4. development of DNA

question

The total disappearance of a species or high taxonomic group is called ______.

answer

extinction

question

The anaerobic breakdown of glucose that results in a net gain of two ATP and the end product pyruvate is called ______.

answer

glycolysis

question

The science of discovering fossils and studying the fossil record is called ______.

answer

paleontology

question

Which of the following correctly identifies the flow of information that is described by the central dogma of genetics?

answer

From DNA to RNA to protein

question

Which of the following likely developed from prokaryotic cells?

answer

- mitochondria - chloroplasts

question

Large scale, as opposed to small scale, evolutionary change occurring over long periods of time and chronicled in the fossil record is called ______.

answer

macroevolution

question

Arrange the following divisions of the geologic timescale from longest to shortest in length.

answer

1. era 2. period 3. epoch

question

Which of the following are similar when comparing prokaryotes to mitochondria and chloroplasts?

answer

- method of reproduction - presence of DNA - size

question

The small organic molecules in the oceans of early Earth would not have oxidized because there were no ______.

answer

bacteria

question

With regard to nutrition, the very first cells were probably either which of the following choices?

answer

- chemosynthetic - heterotrophic

question

Primates were first adapted to living ______.

answer

in trees

question

Initially on early Earth, ______ was only present in the form of dense, thick clouds.

answer

water

question

The diversification of marsupials that has occurred ______ is likely the result of a lack of competition with placental mammals.

answer

in Australia

question

As oxygen began to accumulate on primitive Earth, the ______ shield developed, which filters out the ultraviolet radiation that may have helped to create the first organic molecules.

answer

ozone

question

What did Stanley Miller use as an energy source in his chemical evolution experiment?

answer

Electricity

question

Which of the following are characteristics of mammals?

answer

- milk production - hair

question

The increase in the complexity of chemicals that occurred prior to the development of life on Earth is called _______ evolution.

answer

chemical

question

According to the RNA-first hypothesis, in the first cell, RNA would have been used to:

answer

- encode genetic information - synthesize proteins - catalyze chemical reactions

question

Evidence that the genetic code is a product of evolution comes from the fact that the genetic code minimizes the effect of ______.

answer

mutation

question

The fact that early plants of the Ordovician period were nonvascular limited their ______.

answer

height

question

Which of the following are hypothesis for the appearance of monomers on primitive Earth?

answer

- Monomers developed from inorganic components in the atmosphere - Monomers developed from inorganic components at hydrothermal vents -Monomers came from outer space

question

When a large number of species or higher taxonomic group disappear during a relatively short time span, a ______ extinction has occurred.

answer

mass

question

A structure formed from proteinoids that has many cellular properties is called a ______.

answer

microsphere

question

The amount of a specific radioactive isotope that remains in a fossil is used for the process of ______ dating.

answer

absolute

question

Which of the following describe the plants that first appeared during the SIlurian period and flourished during the Carboniferous period?

answer

- seedless - vascular

question

The concept that the Earth is covered with moving plates that lie over a hot mantle layer is called ______.

answer

plate tectonics

question

The figure show the Miller Urey experimental design. The reactants are missing. Which of the following was used as a reactant in the experiment simulating chemical evolution?

answer

- hydrogen - ammonia - methane - water vapor

question

It is likely that the first cell structure to have evolved was the ______.

answer

plasma membrane

question

The forerunner of the cell is called a probiont or ______.

answer

protocell

question

A(n) ______ fossil can be used to identify strata at two different location that are approximately the same age.

answer

index

question

Some scientist feel that is is more likely that monomers developed near hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor because the iron-nickel sulfides at these location would have been able to catalyze the reaction to change ______ gas into ammonia.

answer

nitrogen

question

According to the protein-first hypothesis, proteins were required in a cell before nucleic acids could develop because nucleic acid formation would require ______.

answer

enzymes

question

Determining the age of a fossil by noting its sequential relationship within strata is called ______ dating.

answer

relative

question

A major adaptation in the evolution of fish that is first observed in fossils of the Silurian period is ______.

answer

jaws

question

The terrestrial invertebrate organisms with exoskeletons and jointed appendages that diversified during the Paleozoic era are called ______

answer

arthropods

question

During the Cenozoic era, mammals underwent an adaptive radiation as they began to fill habitats previously filled by ______.

answer

dinosaurs

question

A specific layer within the sediment is called a ______.

answer

stratum

question

Fossils that are found in all strata of a particular age are called ______ fossils.

answer

index

question

The dominant plants of the Triassic and Jurassic periods were ______.

answer

cycads

question

The region at the forward edge of a continental plate, where the plate is being destroyed is called a

answer

subduction zone

question

Some scientists believe that the first monomers on Earth came from outer space because

answer

comets and meteorites have been shown to contain monomers

question

Which of the following was most likely missing from the atmosphere of primitive Earth?

answer

oxygen gas

question

The fact that fossils of the mammal-like reptile Lystrosaurus are found in both Africa and Antarctica indicates that

answer

Antarctica has changed position over time.

question

The protocell would likely have been able to generate ATP via ______.

answer

glycolysis

question

The production of monomers from inorganic chemicals is called ______ synthesis.

answer

abiotic

question

A structure formed from lipids that is roughly the same size as a cell is called a ______.

answer

liposome

question

The structure most closely related to the success and diversification of insects is the ______.

answer

wing

question

The form of life that was present for approximately 80% of the Earth's history is ______ life.

answer

unicellular

question

A ______ exists where two continental plates scrape against one another.

answer

transform boundary

question

Select all of the following which have been proposed as possible causes of the Devonian extinction.

answer

- a bolide event - continental drift

question

The hypothesis that the first life on Earth originated on another planet is supported by

answer

bacteria-like fossils found in a meteorite

question

Which of the following may have been involved in the synthesis of the first polymers on earth?

answer

- iron-nickel sulfides - solar energy

question

The name of the original supercontinent was _______.

answer

Pangea

question

About 542 million years ago, life became very abundant during ______ explosion.

answer

the Cambrian

question

The theory that some eukaryotic organelles developed from bacterial ancestors is called the ______ theory.

answer

endosymbiotic

question

The process that changed dead plant matter into the coal that we use today began during

answer

the Carboniferous period.

question

The settling of particles and their accumulation into strata over time is called ______.

answer

sedimentation

question

Which of the following are characteristics shared by both microspheres and cells?

answer

- division - electrical potential - lipid-protein membrane

question

Amphibians, like those of the Carboniferous period are not fully adapted to life on land because they must return to the water to ______.

answer

reproduce

question

Which of the following may have led to the development of exoskeletons in animals of the Cambrian era?

answer

- increased oxygen availability - increased danger of predation

question

The idea that continents and oceans have changed position over time is the concept behind

answer

continental drift.

question

Chemoautotrophic organisms obtain energy from ______.

answer

oxidizing inorganic molecules

question

Humans, and other members of the family Hominidae, are called ______.

answer

Hominids

question

As cyanobacteria began producing oxygen on primitive Earth, the abundance of ______ prokaryotes decreased and the abundance of ______ bacteria increased.

answer

anaerobic/aerobic

question

A protective, external structure commonly found in animals of the Cambrian era that allowed their remains to fossilize is called a(n) ______.

answer

exoskeleton

question

A ______ may form when two moving continental plates collide into one another.

answer

mountain range

question

By the middle of the Cenozoic era:

answer

all modern orders of mammals were in existence.

question

Which of the following best describes the composition of early Earth?

answer

consisted of several distinct stratified layers

question

The current estimate for the age of our solar system is ______ years old.

answer

4.6 billion

question

An aggregate of colloidal droplets held together by electrostatic forces that may develop a semipermeable boundary is called a ______ droplet.

answer

coacervate

question

A motile, prokaryote ancestor may have given rise to eukaryotic ______.

answer

cilia and flagella

question

A RNA molecule with enzymatic properties is called a(n) ______.

answer

ribozyme

question

Whereas carbon 14 can be used to determine the age of a fossil, other radioactive isotopes are used to determine the age of a ______ in which a fossil is contained.

answer

stratum

question

The main adaptation that suits reptiles for terrestrial life is the ______.

answer

shelled egg

question

A structure with an outer membrane that would have preceded a true cell is called a ______.

answer

protocell

question

The Pleistocene epoch of the Cenozoic era is know for its multiple

answer

ice ages.

question

The concept that the Earth is covered with moving plate that lie over a hot mantle layer is called ______.

answer

plate tectonics

question

A structure formed from proteinoids that has many cellular properties is called a ______.

answer

microsphere

question

A specific, recognizable layer within the sediment is called a ______.

answer

stratum

question

Under appropriate conditions, a ______ droplet will incorporate substances from its surroundings forming a semipermeable boundary.

answer

coacervate

question

A structural difference between reptiles and mammals that is seen in a transitional form in the fossils of Jeholodens deals with

answer

the positioning of the legs.

question

The ______ is based on the principle that mutations in certain parts of the genome occur at fixed rates and can be used to determine how long two species have been evolving separately

answer

molecular clock

question

The Cairns-Smith hypothesis for the development of polymers emphasizes the importance of ______ as an environment in which polymerization occurred.

answer

clay

question

The rhino-like dinosaurs that roamed in large herds during the cretaceous period where called ______.

answer

triceratops

question

Which era contains the Paleogene and Neogene periods?

answer

Cenozoic

question

The Cairns-Smith hypothesis describes the development of

answer

of RNA and polypeptides together.

question

The Ordovician extinction of organisms on Gondwana was most likely the result of ______.

answer

continental drift

question

Which of the following is ancestral to all mammals?

answer

Therapsid

question

It took approximately ______ billion years after the evolution of the first eukaryotic cell before multicellularity occurred.

answer

2.2

question

The most accepted hypothesis for the cause of the Permian extinction describes an increase in carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere that results in

answer

global warming due to too much carbon dioxide.

question

The extinction of several species of large mammal during the Pleistocene epoch may have been the result of

answer

humans hunting.

question

The enzyme found in retroviruses that can make a DNA copy of a RNA molecule is called ______ transcriptase

answer

reverse

question

Stanley Miller's chemical evolution experiment has been criticized because it is unlikely that primitive Earth's atmosphere contained ______.

answer

ammonia

question

The group of dinosaurs that gave rise to birds were called ______.

answer

theropods

question

In addition to the water that was present at the Earth's formation. New water may have been added by way of

answer

comets

question

The large flying dinosaurs of the Jurassic period were called ______.

answer

pterosaurs

question

The Cretaceous, Devonian, and Triassic extinctions may all have been the result of

answer

a bolide event

question

Evidence supporting the idea that a bolide was responsible for the Cretaceous extinction includes the presence of ______ in Cretaceous clay.

answer

iridium

question

If the Earth had developed any closer to the sun than we are, any water initially present would have ______.

answer

evaporated

question

A small polypeptide with catalytic properties that forms microspheres in water is called a(n) ______.

answer

proteinoid

LearnSmart Chp. 18 – Flashcards

Unlock all answers in this set

Haven't found what you were looking for?

Search for samples, answers to your questions and flashcards