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BSHS Origin of Life and Classification

Total questions: 9

Worksheet time: 5mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

One of the accepted scientific theories describing the origin of life on Earth is known as chemical evolution (including the "coacervate hypothesis"). According to this theory, which of the following events would need to occur first for life to evolve?

a)

onset of photosynthesis

b)

origin of genetic material

c)

Synthesis of organic molecules

d)

formation of the plasma membrane

2.

Which types of organisms developed first due to the early environmental conditions on Earth?

a)

prokaryotic and aerobic

b)

prokaryotic and anaerobic

c)

eukaryotic and aerobic

d)

eukaryotic and anaerobic

3.

The Miller-Urey experiment of 1953 was designed to test the hypothesis that lightning supplied the energy needed to turn atmospheric gases into organic molecules such as amino acids. Which of the following describes why the Miller-Urey theory is widely accepted today?

a)

Amino acids spontaneously form from molecules in the atmosphere today.

b)

Organic molecules are present today in extremely high concentrations.

c)

The process of synthesizing organic molecules from a mixture of gases has been successfully modeled in the

laboratory.

d)

No other alternative hypotheses have been introduced.

4.

This diagram shows a proposed theory of the origin of eukaryotic cells, called endosymbiosis.

Which of the following explains why cells that contained mitochondria-like organelles had an evolutionary advantage?

a)

They were able to photosynthesize

b)

They had more DNA

c)

They were able to make more use of

available energy

d)

They were immune to bacterial invasion

5.

Organisms classified as fungi have unique characteristics. Which of the following characteristics is found only in organisms classified in the kingdom fungi?

a)

single cells without a nucleus

b)

multicellular with chloroplasts

c)

multicellular filaments that absorb nutrients

d)

colonies of single, photosynthetic cells that reproduce asexually

6.

This diagram represents possible evolutionary pathways of certain organisms.

Which species is most closely related to species L?

a)

species E

b)

species F

c)

species G

d)

species I

7.

Which kingdoms have photosynthetic organisms?

a)

fungi and plants

b)

fungi and protists

c)

protists and plants

d)

plants and animals

8.

Some characteristics of a recently discovered organism are listed in the table.

Based on the given characteristics, this organism would be classified in which

kingdom?

a)

eubacteria

b)

fungi

c)

plantae

d)

protista

9.

In 1990, Carl Woese introduced the three-domain system for classifying living things, after the advancement of DNA analysis allowed for a comparison of species' genetic codes. Which of the following is the best explanation for why domains were added to the previous system of classification?

a)

The old system of classification was wrong and needed to be corrected.

b)

New species are evolving too quickly to keep up with the old system of classification

c)

Domains have always been included, they were just made official recently.

d)

Some organisms, which were previously characterized together, were determined to be genetically very

different.