Benchmark #4 Study Guide

Front

Microbial life on early Earth played a crucial role in soil formation, paving the way for terrestrial plant evolution.

Back

This process exemplifies the concept of "coevolution."

Front

Trilobite fossils are useful as index fossils.

Back

They provide information about the approximate or relative ages of the rocks and the fossils they contain.

Front

Describe the theory of plate tectonics.

Back

geologic processes, such as continental drift, volcanoes, and earthquakes, resulting from plate movement

Front

RNA can replicate itself under certain circumstances, supporting the RNA World hypothesis.

Back

Self-replicating RNA supports the idea of RNA as a precursor to DNA.

Front

The theory of plate tectonics explains Earth's surface is divided into moving plates.

Back

Plate tectonics is fundamental to understanding geological processes.

Front

RNA is similar to DNA but contains uracil instead of thymine.

Back

Uracil replaces thymine in RNA.

Front

Extinctions of many species drastically alter whole ecosystems.

Back

Ecosystem dynamics are significantly affected by species extinctions.

Front

The theory of evolution explains how living things and their environment affect one another.

Back

Evolution describes the interaction between organisms and their environment.

Front

Key role of photosynthetic protists in aquatic environments.

Back

They form the base of the aquatic food web.

Front

Does someone who tests positive for retrovirus always exhibit symptoms?

Back

No, because a viral gene can replicate with the host’s genome for many generations without causing illness.