Quiz on Life Origins and Minerals

The word ‘they’ in paragraph 1 refers to__________.

• mats

• origins

• bacteria

• DNA

According to the passage, what is RNA?

• A protein

• A molecule

• A nucleotide

• A cell

The phrase ‘took a backseat’ is closest in meaning to

• enjoyed more dominance

• turned to be useless

• stepped back to its place

• became less important

According to the passage, what is NOT true about RNA?

• It is the crux of a widely accepted theory on the origin of life.

• It is believed to be most important for early life.

• Like DNA, it executes many duties in human cells.

• There is still disagreement over how RNA first appeared.

What does Robert Shapiro mean when he says, ‘To adopt this, you have to believe we were incredibly lucky’?

• Supporters of RNA world hypothesis must think that humans were extremely blessed.

• Humans were incredibly lucky because the RNA was the first form of life on Earth.

• He believes it is near impossible that RNA accidentally arose on Earth.

• Humans were unlucky because the RNA world hypothesis is highly improbable.

Which of the following statements would Dawkins most probably support?

• As there are a countless number of planets, it is surprising that life arose on Earth only.

• Life may exist on planets other than Earth and in universes other than ours.

• There are many universes like ours, which contain an incredible number of planets.

• Given the colossal number of planets, the appearance of life on one of them was not unusual.

According to the passage, which is most likely supported by Robert Shapiro?

• Life on Earth first came from outer space.

• It is highly possible that DNA was present in earliest stages of life.

• Earliest life might not have arisen in the form of complex molecules.

• Life has arisen more than once on Earth.

Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a hypothesis of life origin?

• Life was formed elsewhere and then came to Earth.

• Life was brought to Earth with crashing comets.

• RNA played a central role in the early form of life.

• DNA is more efficient than RNA for primitive life.

Which of following conclusions can be drawn from this passage?

• Among many hypotheses for life origin on Earth, RNA remains the most important one.

• Many theories of the origin of life have been proposed but no fully accepted theory exists.

• Trying to explain what happened billions of years ago is an extremely difficult but possible task.

• The answer to the question of how life appeared would have important implications for the likelihood of finding life elsewhere in the universe.

Which of the following best describes the organization of this passage?

• A general presentation followed by a detailed discussion of both sides of an issue.

• A list of possible answers to a question followed by a discussion of their strengths and weaknesses.

• A general statement of an issue followed by a discussion of possible answers.

• A discussion of different aspects wrapped up by an answer to the question.