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Explaining The Tree of Life

Total questions: 20

Worksheet time: 10mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

What was the origin of life in the sea around 3,000 million years ago?

a)

Single-celled plants

b)

Complex chemical molecules forming microscopic cells

c)

Large aquatic animals

d)

Fossilized bacteria

2.

How did the first microscopic cells replicate?

a)

Through mitosis

b)

By budding

c)

By splitting like bacteria

d)

By fusion

3.

What are modern descendants of the early chain-forming cells?

a)

Fungi

b)

Algae

c)

Bacteria

d)

Protozoa

4.

The first multicellular organisms evolved into which present-day creatures?

a)

Corals

b)

Sponges

c)

Mollusks

d)

Fish

5.

Which feature helped early mobile organisms process food?

a)

A) A tail

b)

B) A digestive cavity

c)

C) A hard shell

d)

D) Tentacles

6.

What evolutionary advantage did some segmented creatures develop?

a)

Internal skeletons

b)

Hard protective skins

c)

Bioluminescence

d)

External gills

7.

Around 450 million years ago, which creatures first ventured onto land?

a)

Insects

b)

Amphibians

c)

Armored aquatic animals

d)

Birds

8.

How did some land creatures adapt to flying?

a)

Developing hollow bones

b)

Growing elongated flaps into wings

c)

Forming lightweight exoskeletons

d)

Learning to leap between trees

9.

What evolutionary adaptation strengthened the internal rod of some marine creatures?

a)

Muscles

b)

Bone

c)

Cartilage

d)

Keratin

10.

What evolutionary advantage did early fish gain?

a)

Sharp teeth

b)

A powerful tail

c)

A hinged jaw

d)

External lungs

11.

How did some fish prepare for life on land?

a)

Developing waterproof scales

b)

Learning to breathe through their skin

c)

Growing air-gulping ability and fleshy fins

d)

Developing claws for gripping surfaces

12.

What major limitation kept early amphibians close to water?

a)

A) Their weak limbs

b)

B) Their need to lay eggs in water

c)

C) Their lack of lungs

d)

D) Their inability to regulate body temperature

13.

How did reptiles break their dependence on water?

a)

By developing dry, scaly skin and watertight eggs

b)

By forming lungs with greater capacity

c)

By becoming nocturnal hunters

d)

By living in underground burrows

14.

Which modern animals are direct descendants of reptiles?

a)

Amphibians

b)

Mammals

c)

Birds

d)

Insects

15.

What event led to the extinction of dinosaurs 65 million years ago?

a)

A) A rapid ice age

b)

B) A great disaster of unknown cause

c)

C) The rise of mammals

d)

D) Oxygen depletion in the atmosphere

16.

What evolutionary trait helped birds survive the mass extinction?

a)

Sharp claws

b)

Flight and feathered bodies

c)

Underground nesting behavior

d)

Their ability to breathe underwater

17.

What physical feature distinguished early mammals from other surviving creatures?

a)

Large eyes

b)

Warm, fur-covered bodies

c)

Thick protective shells

d)

Webbed feet

18.

How did mammals take advantage of the post-extinction world?

a)

By evolving into larger species

b)

By becoming nocturnal hunters

c)

By spreading to various environments

d)

By preying on birds

19.

What was one advantage of mammals being warm-blooded?

a)

It allowed them to migrate long distances

b)

It enabled them to be active day and night

c)

It made them resistant to disease

d)

It helped them grow faster

20.

In which environments did mammals evolve after the extinction event?

a)

Only in forests

b)

In oceans, grasslands, forests, and mountains

c)

Exclusively in the Arctic

d)

Only on islands