Evolutionary History- chapter 15

Multiple Choice

Which of the following statements best describes stromatolites?

• They are fossilized remains of ancient plants.

• They are layered, rock-like structures built by photosynthetic bacteria.

• They are the oldest known animal fossils.

• They are formed by volcanic activity.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is NOT one of the four stages through which the first life may have evolved?

• Abiotic synthesis of small organic molecules

• Formation of multicellular organisms

• Packaging of molecules into protocells

• Origin of self-replicating molecules

Reorder

Arrange the following events in the correct chronological order:

• Origin of Earth

• Prokaryotes

• Atmospheric oxygen

• Single celled eukaryotes

• Multicellular eukaryotes

1

2

3

4

5

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

Multiple Choice

What is radiometric dating primarily used for?

• Dating rocks and fossils

• Measuring atmospheric pressure

• Determining the age of living organisms

• Predicting volcanic eruptions

Multiple Choice

Checkpoint question: The fraction of carbon-14 remaining in a fossilized skull is found to be 1/64. Using Figure 15.5, what is the age of the fossil?

• About 34,200 years

• About 28,500 years

• About 17,100 years

• About 57,000 years

Fill in the Blanks

The supercontinent that existed about 250 million years ago was called

.

Open Ended

Explain how the formation and breakup of Pangaea influenced the distribution and diversification of organisms on Earth.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following statements about mass extinctions is correct?

• Mass extinctions are caused only by asteroid impacts.

• More than 50% of Earth's species can be lost during a mass extinction.

• Mass extinctions never affect the diversity of life.

• The Permian extinction was caused by an asteroid.

Multiple Choice

Adaptive radiations often follow which of the following events?

• Mass extinctions

• Plate tectonics

• Gradual climate change

• Loss of genetic diversity

Open Ended

Describe the process of adaptive radiation and explain when it is most likely to occur.

Open Ended

Checkpoint question: Why did marsupial mammals undergo more diversification on the continent of Australia than elsewhere in the world?

Drag and Drop

According to binomial nomenclature, each organism has a two-part scientific name. The first part is its​

Placeholder

and the second part is its​

Placeholder

.

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

genus

species

family

domain

class

kingdom

Multiple Choice

Convergent evolution is when

• Different species adapt similarly to similar environments.

• The same species adapts differently to similar environments.

• Similar species share a recent common ancestor.

• The number of species in an environment decreases because they become the same species.

Multiple Choice

According to this evolutionary tree, which two bears share the most DNA in common?

• giant panda and spectacled bear

• sloth bear and sun bear

• American black bear and Asian black bear

• polar bear and brown bear