Chapter 17 Quiz

. Which method is least useful for dating rock strata, fossils, or events in geologic time?

Radiometric dating

The order of stratigraphic layers

The presence of specific fossils

The written historical record

Observations of present day erosion, weathering, sedimentation, and lithification

. According to modern estimates, the current universe formed about _______ and Earth itself formed about _______.

13.5 years before present; 4.5 years before present

6,000 years ago; 6,000 years ago

10 billion years ago; 4.6 billion years ago

543 Mya; 65 Mya

14 Gya; 4.6 Gya

. Which feature is universal among organisms, thus implying that all living things derive from a common ancestor?

The genetic code

The machinery of replication and protein synthesis

Basic metabolic reactions

The use of l optical isomers of amino acids as building blocks for proteins

All of the above

. The Archean and Proterozoic are

the two major groups of bacteria.

the two prokaryotic empires.

referred to as Precambrian time.

stromatolites.

mitochondria and chloroplasts derived from bacterial lineages.

. Before endosymbiosis could occur, what must have been present?

An atmosphere with high levels of oxygen

Aggregated continental crust via plate tectonics

Oceans with salinities close to the modern level

Multiple species of prokaryotic organisms

An ozone layer, to protect genetic material from the effects of ultraviolet radiation

. A major event in the history of life was the evolution of multicellularity, which is a prerequisite for

endosymbiotic bacteria.

an increase in the availability of nitrogen.

large body size and the development of organs.

protein synthesis.

photosynthesis.

. What is necessary for organisms to evolve distinct tissues and organs?

Selective pressure from predators on their prey

Control of gene expression allowing specialization of different cells

An increase of oxygen in the atmosphere, allowing larger body size

Solar energy from the sun to replace energy lost from entropy

Abundant food resources

. Which hypothesis is least likely to explain the rapid evolution of morphological diversity during the Cambrian explosion?

Regulatory genes underwent major evolutionary change.

Morphological changes led to novel interactions among species.

A mass extinction opened up ecological niche space, allowing an evolutionary radiation of animals.

Predation selected for enhanced diversity of defensive phenotypes.

Environmental oxygen increased.

. Most of the different _______ first appeared during the Cambrian.

modern animal phyla

ecological niches

classes of RNA

endosymbionts

plant tissue types

. Which ecological niche could not have existed at the dawn of the Carboniferous period?

Seed predators

Pelagic (swimming) predators

Benthic (bottom dwelling) detritivores

Ectoparasites

Nectar-feeding pollinators

. A group of species has a Gondwanan distribution. Therefore, it is most likely that they first diversified

in the Cenozoic era, after the Cretaceous mass extinction.

in the Pleistocene epoch.

in the Cambrian period.

between the Cretaceous and Paleogene periods.

between the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras.

. The most massive extinction event in the history of Earth, in which 96 percent of all species became extinct over the course of a few thousand years, occurred during the

Cretaceous.

Devonian.

Orodovician.

Permian.

Silurian.

. Shell-breaking predators and shelled molluscs in the Mesozoic (like insects and angiosperms in the Cretaceous) affected each other's evolution by

augmenting each other's diversity.

causing each other's extinction.

reducing each other's diversity.

ensuring each other's survival.

creating refugia for each other.

. What is the most likely explanation for the adaptive radiation of marine invertebrates after the Triassic period?

New lifestyles appeared, opening up new ecological opportunities.

A massive influx of carbon allowed for increased productivity.

Moving continents caused repeated iterations of climate change.

They refilled ecological niche spaces left after the end-Triassic mass extinction.

The evolution of shells allowed them to escape their predators.

. The Mesozoic era is often called the "Age of Reptiles" because dinosaurs were conspicuous, dominant, and diverse in their environment. For the same reason, scientists of the future might call the Cenozoic era the

"Age of Bony Fishes."

"Age of Birds."

"Age of Mammals."

"Age of Angiosperms."

All of these are potentially correct.

. The timing for the diversification of placental mammals is controversial. Which line of evidence suggests earlier, rather than later, adaptive radiation for mammals?

The extinction of dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous

A sparse mammalian fossil record until the Cenozoic

DNA sequence differences indicating that most mammalian orders were present in the late Cretaceous

The fact that most mammalian fossils that can be grouped with modern examples occur after the end of the Cretaceous

The small size of most Cretaceous mammals

. How did fluctuations in Pleistocene glaciation affect the distribution of organisms?

Isolated populations diverged and became separate species.

Frequent shifts in the distributions of species moved populations around and prevented isolation through genetic mixing.

Populations remained in their glacial refugia, isolated from the major range of their species.

Populations spread rapidly over large areas from one or more local refugia.

All of the above

. During the Pleistocene, a large proportion of large-bodied birds and mammals became extinct. This so-called megafaunal extinction can best be attributed to

volcanic activity.

climate change only.

human activities only.

climate change and human activities.

the impact of a large asteroid.

Chapter 17 Quiz

Quiz Content