History of Biological Diversity Sample Questions (BIO 204 WWU)

The early atmosphere of Earth probably retained all of the following molecules in substantial amounts except A) H2. B) CH4. C) CO2. D) N2. E) H2O.

A) H2.

Which gas was probably least abundant in Earth's early atmosphere? A) O2 B) CO C) CH4 D) H2O E) NH3

A) O2

The ancestors of which free-living cells were the earliest autotrophs to contribute to the formation of Earth's oxidizing atmosphere? .A) cyanobacteria B) chloroplasts C) mitochondria D) seaweeds .E) endosymbionts

A) cyanobacteria

In what way were conditions on Earth more than 2 billion years ago different from those on Earth today? A) The early Earth had water vapor in its atmosphere. B) The early Earth was intensely bombarded by large space debris. C) The early Earth had an oxidizing atmosphere. D) Less ultraviolet radiation penetrated the early atmosphere. E) The early atmosphere had significant quantities of ozone.

B) The early Earth was intensely bombarded by large space debris.

One current view of the origin of life proposes that, rather than forming in the atmosphere, the first organic compounds on Earth my have formed A) on dry land. B) near deep-sea vents. C) from viruses. D) in northern Africa. E) when chunks that broke off from the moon bombarded Earth.

B) near deep-sea vents.

Arrange these events from earliest to most recent. 1. emission of lava in what is now Siberia at time of Permian extinctions 2. emission of lava that solidified at the same time as iron-bearing terrestrial rocks began to rust 3. emission of lava that solidified at the same time as the first banded iron formations formed 4. emission of lava in what is now India at time of Cretaceous extinctions A. 3, 1, 2, 4 B. 3, 2, 1, 4 C. 3, 1, 4, 2 D. 1, 3, 2, 4 E. 1, 2, 3, 4

B. 3, 2, 1, 4

A major evolutionary episode that corresponded in time most closely with the formation of Pangaea was the A) origin of humans. B) Cambrian explosion. C) Permian extinctions. D) Pleistocene ice ages. E) Cretaceous extinctions

C) Permian extinctions.

Recent evidence indicates that the first major diversification of multicellular eukaryotes may have coincided in time with the A) origin of prokaryotes. B) switch to an oxidizing atmosphere. C) melting that ended the "snowball Earth" period. D) origin of multicellular organisms. E) massive eruptions of deep-sea vents.

C) melting that ended the "snowball Earth" period.

The best classification system is that which most closely A) unites organisms that possess similar morphologies. B) conforms to traditional, Linnaean taxonomic practices. C) reflects evolutionary history. D) corroborates the classification scheme in use at the time of Charles Darwin. E) reflects the basic separation of prokaryotes from eukaryotes.

C) reflects evolutionary history.

Fossilized mats called stromatolites A) all date from 2.7 billion years ago. B) formed around deep-sea vents and provide the first evidence of life on Earth. .C) resemble bacterial communities that are found today in some warm, shallow, salty bays. D) provide evidence that plants moved onto land in the company of fungi around 500 million years ago. E) contain the first undisputed fossils of eukaryotes and date from 2.1 billion years ago.

C) resemble bacterial communities that are found today in some warm, shallow, salty bays.

How many half-lives should have elapsed if 12.5% of the parent isotope remains in a fossil at the time of analysis? A) one B) two C) three D) four E) five

C) three

What is the correct sequence of these events, from earliest to most recent, in the evolution of life on Earth? 1. origin of mitochondria 2. origin of multicellular eukaryotes 3. origin of chloroplasts 4. origin of cyanobacteria 5. origin of fungal-plant symbioses A. 4, 3, 2, 1, 5 B. 4, 1, 2, 3, 5 C. 4, 1, 3, 2, 5 D. 4, 3, 1, 5, 2 E 4, 1, 2, 5

C. 4, 1, 3, 2, 5

If the half-life of carbon-14 is about 5,730 years, then a fossil that has one-eighth the normal proportion of carbon-14 to carbon-12 is probably ________ years old. A) 1,400 B) 2,800 C) 11,200 D) 16,800 E) 22,400

D) 16,800

1. A paleontologist estimates that when a particular rock formed, it contained 12 mg of the radioactive isotope potassium-40. The rock now contains 3 mg of potassium-40. The half-life of potassium-40 is 1.3 billion years. About how old is the rock? 1.A) 0.4 billion years 1.B) 0.3 billion years 1.C) 1.3 billion years 1.D) 2.6 billion years 1.E) 5.2 billion years

D) 2.6 billion years

Approximately how far back in time does the fossil record extend? A) 6,000 years B) 3,500,000 years C) 6,000,000 years D) 3,500,000,000 years E) 5,000,000,000,000 years

D) 3,500,000,000 years

What was the consequence of the release of oxygen gas by plant and bacterial photosynthesis? It A) made life on land difficult for aerobic organisms. B) changed the atmosphere from oxidizing to reducing. C) made it easier to maintain reduced molecules. D) made Earth an oxidizing environment. E) prevented the formation of an ozone layer.

D) made Earth an oxidizing environment.

The oxygen revolution changed Earth's environment dramatically. Which of the following adaptations took advantage of this change? A) the evolution of chloroplasts after early protists engulfed photosynthetic cyanobacteria B) the persistence of some animal groups in anaerobic habitats C) the evolution of photosynthetic pigments that protected early algae from the corrosive effects of oxygen D) the evolution of cellular respiration, which used oxygen to help harvest energy from fuel molecules E) the evolution of multicellular eukaryotic colonies from symbiotic communities of prokaryotes

D) the evolution of cellular respiration, which used oxygen to help harvest energy from fuel molecules

The animals and plants of India show large differences from species in nearby Southeast Asia. Why might this be true? A) The species have become separated by convergent evolution. B) The climates of the two regions are completely different. C) India is in the process of separating from the rest of Asia. D) Life in India was wiped out by ancient volcanic eruptions. E) India was a separate continent until relatively recently.

E) India was a separate continent until relatively recently.

Which of the following statements provides the strongest evidence that prokaryotes evolved before eukaryotes? A) the primitive structure of plants B) meteorites that have struck Earth C) abiotic laboratory experiments that produced liposomes D) Liposomes resemble prokaryotic cells. E) The oldest fossilized cells resemble prokaryotes.

E) The oldest fossilized cells resemble prokaryotes.

If two continental land masses converge and are united during continental drift, then the collision should bring about A) a net loss of intertidal zone and coastal habitat. B) the extinction of species adapted to intertidal and coastal habitats. C) an overall increase in the surface area located in the continental interior. D) an increase in climatic extremes in the interior of the new supercontinent. E) all of the above

E) all of the above

Which measurement would help determine absolute dates by radiometric means? A) the accumulation of the daughter isotope B) the loss of parent isotopes C) the loss of daughter isotopes D) all three of these E) only A and B

E) only A and B The accumulation of the daughter isotope and the loss of parent isotopes