6th Unit 1 The history of Life on Earth Unit Test

Scientists use evidence from their findings to support theories of life on earth. Which of these findings could not be used to provide supporting evidence that life on earth has changed over time?

• transitional fossils

• increasing complexity of fossils in younger rock layers

• increasing diversity of fossils in rock layers following an extinction

• rock layers with no fossils

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Which of these best describes the tiny leg bones that some whales have, which do not aid in their movement or serve any other function?

• structures that grow and improve in function as they are used

• structures that will become adaptations when the environment changes

• structures that are a remnant of the adaptations that the whale’s ancestors needed to survive on land

• structures that function at certain times of the year or under certain conditions

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Many fossils are found only during certain periods in the geologic record. Scientists use these fossils to determine the relative ages of rock layers. The diagram shows relative ages of four fossils.

Which statement is true of a rock layer that contains Fossil F?

• It was formed in Periods 1, 2, and 3.

• It is younger than the rock layers formed in Period 4.

• It is older than the rock layers that contain Fossil H.

• It could also contain Fossil G.

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How does relative dating help determine the age of a fossil?

• It determines whether a fossil formed before or after another fossil.

• It gives us the exact date an organism lived.

• It compares a fossil with its current living relatives and studies the differences.

• It allows us to study the radioactive elements to determine the age.

While many fossils belong to extinct groups of animals such as the dinosaurs, there are also many fossils that help scientists piece together the evolution of organisms that are still alive today. The modern horse has a very strong fossil record showing its evolution and the evolution of other horse-like organisms. The modern horse has a direct ancestral line, but fossils show that many other horse-like organisms also evolved and later became extinct along the way.

Hyracotherium is the genus of the earliest known ancestor of the horse, and Equus is the genus of the modern horse. The image shows the change in the horse’s skull over time.

Which statement is not supported by the evidence in the image?

• All of the skulls show a gap between the front and back teeth.

• The jaw of the horse became wider over time.

• The horse brain has decreased in size over time.

• The modern horse is much larger than its earliest-known ancestor.

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Examine the fossil trilobite, the larval horseshoe crab and the adult horseshoe crab.

What can be inferred about these species? Select the correct words to complete the paragraph.

Larval and adult horseshoe crabs look very similar to a 1. ____________ The domed shape of the 2. ___________ and the repeating 3._____________ with small spines are found in both species. This suggests that the trilobite and the horseshoe crab 4. _____________ a common 5. ____________

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• 1. Trilobite 2. Segments 3. Body 4. Ancestor 5. Share

• 1. Body 2. Trilobite 3. Segments 4. Share 5. Ancestor

• 1. Trilobite 2. Body 3. Segments 4. Share 5. Ancestor

• 1. Body 2. Trilobite 3. Share 4. Segments 5. Ancestor

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This illustration shows forelimb development in mouse and bat embryos.

What conclusions can be drawn from the evidence presented here? Choose all that apply.

• As embryos mature, they develop characteristics unique to their species.

• The adaptation of wings suggests that bats are more closely related to birds than to mice.

• Bats and mice share a common ancestor.

• Similarities in embryonic development indicate that bats and mice are actually the same species.

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A scientist conducts a geological survey of an area and discovers fossils of Tropites in the sediment.

Based on the evidence, approximately how long ago did the Tropites live?

• 541 million years ago

• 240 million years ago

• 180 million years ago

• 145 million years ago

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The graph shows how biodiversity of marine organisms has changed over the past 500 million years.

What is the overall trend that can be seen in the data?

• The number of species has shown great fluctuations over time.

• The number of species has remained the same over time.

• The number of species has increased over time.

• The number of species has decreased over time.

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When scientists studied geological columns from different parts of the world, they discovered something interesting: the fossils of dinosaurs and many groups of reptiles and marine invertebrates disappeared at the top of the Mesozoic section. What is the most likely explanation of this evidence?

• Organisms likely migrated to different parts of the world.

• The organisms evolved very quickly into new organisms.

• The areas no longer had the conditions needed for fossilization.

• An extinction event caused many of the organisms to die off.

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