The History of Life 2023

What is a scientist that studies fossils?

• Paleontologist

• Fossiologist

• Dinologist

• Physicist

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What provides evidence about the history of life on Earth, and shows how organisms change through time?

• fossil record

• index fossil

• geologic time scale

• half-life

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NGSS.MS-LS4-1

When scientists use radioactive isotopes to estimate the age of a fossil, this is use of

• fossil record

• relative dating

• geologic time scale

• radiometric dating

Eras are subdivided into these

• era

• period

• second

• decade

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True or False: Evidence from the fossil record shows that species change gradually over time.

• True

• False

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What can scientists learn from studying the relationships between fossils?

• how old all rock layers are

• how life changed over time

• how many relatives fossils had

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A fossil can form when...

• an organism leaves an imprint in sediment, which hardens into stone.

• groundwater minerals seep into preserved bone and shell materials.

• an organism is trapped in sticky plant resin that hardens into amber.

• all of the above

Why doesn't the fossil record include every species that has lived on Earth? There is only one correct answer.

• Very few living things end up as fossils.

• Scientists are unable to determine what species some fossils are.

• Most fossils on Earth have not yet been found.

• The record has not been updated in many years.

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NGSS.MS-LS4-1

The earliest fossils show that Earth's earliest life forms were organisms with...

• complex cells.

• a single, simple cell.

• a nucleus.

• no cells.

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Which factor most likely caused the Cambrian Explosion?

• increasing oxygen levels in the atmosphere

• changes in oceans

• developments in living organisms

• all of the above