Bio 15. 1 - 15.3 Quiz

When did the big bang occur?

• 4 - 5 million years ago

• 100 - 120 million years ago

• 40 - 50 billion years ago

• 10 - 12 billion years ago

To when do the earliest known fossils date?

• 1 billion years ago

• 3.5 billion years ago

• 600 million years ago

• 4.5 billion years ago

The findings of Pasteur and others have established that

• advanced organisms cannot arise from nonliving matter, but simple microbial life often does arise from nonlife today.

• life does not arise from nonliving matter today, but in the conditions of early Earth, such an event could have occurred.

• living organisms do not arise from nonliving matter today, nor did they arise from nonlife in the past.

• living organisms regularly self-assemble (arise spontaneously) from nonliving matter.

Miller was the first to show that

• RNA spontaneously assembles from inorganic precursor; thus the earliest forms of life had an RNA genome.

• the earliest forms of life were photosynthetic rather than heterotrophic (obtaining energy from organic sources).

• amino acids and other organic molecules could have formed under conditions thought to resemble those of early Earth.

Which of the following molecule(s)/compound(s) was (were) absent from Earth's early atmosphere?

• oxygen

• methane

• hydrogen

• ammonia

What was the probable role of oxygen gas in the early stages of life's appearance on Earth? Hint: Oxygen is essential in animals

Miller-type experiments have shown that

• complex organic molecules can be produced by physical processes from inorganic components.

• simple cells can be produced in the laboratory using a "soup" of small organic molecules.

• given the conditions of early Earth, the formation of life would still require additional materials from meteorites and asteroids.

• living cells could survive in primitive Earth's atmosphere.

Which environment is thought to have promoted the dehydration synthesis of polypeptides and other macromolecules from smaller organic monomers on a prebiotic Earth?

• deep-sea hydrothermal vents

• freshwater swamps and marshes

• sediments at the bottom of the world's oceans

• hot sand, clay, or rock along the seashore

RNA molecules that can function like enzymes are called (a)   .

According to the accompanying figure, if a species were found only in Laurasia 135 million years ago, on which modern continents would its descendants most likely be found today?

• North America, Europe, and Asia

• Europe and Asia only

• Africa and South America

• North America only