Fossil Record Evolution

Which statement best describes dinosaurs?

• Dinosaurs evolved into other animals during the Cenozoic Era.

• Dinosaurs died out because of natural causes during the Paleozoic Era.

• Dinosaurs died out because of a mass extinction at the end of the Mesozoic Era.

• Dinosaurs died out because of natural causes and a mass extinction during the Paleozoic Era.

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NGSS.MS-LS4-1

When the last individual of a species dies, that species is considered ____

• adapted

• rare

• extinct

• evolved

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NGSS.MS-LS4-1

Which is an example of a sudden change that could explain the extinction of a species?

• a mountain range isolates a spices

• Earth’s tectonic plates move

• sea level changes

• a volcano erupts

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NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

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What role does evolution play during the Cenozoic Era?

• Evolution caused the extinction of the dinosaurs.

• Evolution did not play a role during the Cenozoic Era.

• Evolution led to mass extinctions, including many primate species.

• Evolution led to a greater diversity of living things, including humans.

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It is accepted in the scientific community that whales evolved from land mammals. How would fossils provide evidence of this?

• Fossils show that fish evolved into sharks.

• Fossils show that sharks evolved into whales.

• Fossils show that land mammals learned to swim.

• Fossils show forelimbs adapting to fins, nostrils moving from the front of the head to the top, and hindlimbs becoming shorter.

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Using the diagram, place the fossils in order of appearance from oldest to newest.

• Trilobite, Bivalve, Gastropod, Ammonite

• Ammonite, Gastropod, Bivalve, Trilobite

• Bivalve, Trilobite, Ammonite, Gastropod

• They all evolved at about the same time.

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NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

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What is a vestigial structure?

• A structure found on an organism which is no longer useful but shows the links between common ancestors.

• Structures which evolved independently based on selective pressures.

• Structures that organisms have in common, such as fur on cats and dogs.

• Structures that organisms inherit that increase their fitness for the environment in which they live.

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NGSS.MS-LS4-2

What is radioactive dating?

• Toxic relationships.

• A change in the DNA of organisms over time.

• A technique used to determine the age of a fossil, by calculating the number of half-lives that have occurred.

• Evidence of past volcanic eruptions.

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NGSS.HS-PS1-8

Which law states that in layers of sedimentary rock, the top layer and the fossils contained within it are youngest, and the bottom layer and the fossils contained within it are the oldest?

• Law of Antiquity

• Law of Gravity

• Law of Geology

• Law of Superposition

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NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

Which rock layer contains the newest fossils?

• F

• E

• B

• C

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