Chapter 18 QUIZ

The primary reason that dragonflies grew so much larger 300 million years ago than they do today is that

• they lacked predators then.

• they were able to exploit an aquatic niche that no longer exists.

• there was more oxygen in the air then.

• there was more nitrogen in the air then.

The first person to realize that the relative ages of rocks can be determined by examining strata was

• Charles Darwin.

• Alfred Russel Wallace.

• Alfred Wegener.

• Nicolaus Steno.

The first person to put forth the idea that Earth's continents are in continual but slow motion was

• Charles Darwin.

• Alfred Russel Wallace.

• Nicolaus Steno.

• Alfred Wegener.

Suppose you were to drill a hole toward the center of Earth. Which of the following is the correct order of the layers you would encounter?

• Magma, mantle, lithospheric plate

• Mantle, magma, lithospheric plate

• Lithopsheric plate, magma, mantle

• Lithospheric plate, mantle, magma

All of the plants living at a particular time or place are called its

• biota.

• flora.

• fauna.

• igneous species.

Which of the following conditions would increase the likelihood of an animal's being fossilized?

• Living in an oxygen-rich environment

• Having an exoskeleton

• Living in an area where geological processes often transform rocks

• none of these answers are correct

Humans reached North America approximately ____ years ago.

• 500

• 1,500

• 15,000

• 100,000

Vertebrates whose well-protected eggs that can withstand a dry environment are known as

• trilobites.

• ediacaran.

• crinoides.

• amniotes.

Which of the following led to increases in atmospheric oxygen?

• The first photosynthetic bacteria

• The first aerobic bacteria

• The proliferation of flowering plants

• Both the first photosynthetic bacteria AND the proliferation of flowering plants.

The half-life of a particular radioactive isotope of element X is 100 years. If you know that 400 years ago a fossil contained 10 mg of this isotope, you would expect to find about _____ mg in that fossil today.

• 5

• 2.5

• 0.6

• 0.3