RockOn #11
The picture above shows: A right-side-up dinosaur track. Mud cracks. An upside-down dinosaur track. A sideways dinosaur track; the picture should be rotated ninety degrees clockwise to be right-side-up. A sideways dinosaur track; the picture should be rotated ninety degrees counterclockwise to be right-side-up.
An upside-down dinosaur track Feedback:This is a dinosaur track, from Dinosaur Ridge, and the dinosaur stomped down into the mud, so the track is upside-down; the instructional team used the power of modern computers to invert the picture.
Which of the following was probably important in contributing to extinction of most species at the same time the dinosaurs became extinct? Centrifugal forces caused when the meteorite impact temporarily stopped the rotation of the Earth, causing the sun to appear to stand still. "Impact winter" caused when tiny pieces of dust or other materials, which were put in the air by the impact, blocked incoming sunshine for months or years, after larger pieces had fallen back to Earth. Heat from the change in Earth's orbit caused when the meteorite shoved the planet closer to the sun. Cold from the change in Earth's orbit caused when the meteorite shoved the planet farther from the sun. Silicosis caused by dissolution of the meteorite in Pepsi in the ocean.
"Impact winter" caused when tiny pieces of dust or other materials, which were put in the air by the impact, blocked incoming sunshine for months or years, after larger pieces had fallen back to Earth. Feedback:The "impact winter" likely did occur; we know that the materials thrown up by a big volcano cool the planet a degree or two for a year or two, and the meteorite would have thrown up a lot more stuff. The meteorite impact was not nearly large enough to move the planet notably or to stop the rotation. Silicosis is a lung disease caused by breathing too much silica-laden dust; other dust materials are typically more damaging, but too much of any dust can be bad. Dissolution in water does not cause lung disease. (Just for your information, some dictionaries list the long version of one form of the disease, pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, as the longest word in the English language.)
The great diversification of shelly fossils that marks the beginning of the Paleozoic Era occurred about: 5,700,000 years ago. 570,000,000 years ago. 57,000 years ago. 57,000,000 years ago. 5,700,000,000 years ago.
570,000,000 years ago Feedback:Humans were trotting around 57,000 years ago. 570,000 years is barely enough time for evolution to have changed large animals a bit, and although 5,700,000 years is enough time for noticeable change of large animals—increase in maximum size of members of the horse family, for example—the huge changes since the dinosaurs needed a bit more than 57,000,000 years (dinosaur extinction was about 65,000,000 years ago). The Paleozoic came before that, and 570,000,000 years is about right. 5,700,000,000 years is more than the age of the Earth, and so doesn't work very well.
Which of the following is part of the modern theory of evolution? Evolution usually proceeds by birth of "hopeful monsters" involving very large changes from one generation to the next. Evolution always produces bigger and more-complicated living things from smaller and simpler living things. If the body of an adult living thing is changed by its environment, those changes usually are passed on biologically to children. Diversity exists within a species, and "experiments" that tend to promote diversity sometimes occur during reproduction. Evolution proceeds in the direction desired by members of a generation.
Diversity exists within a species, and "experiments" that tend to promote diversity sometimes occur during reproduction. Feedback:No matter how hard you and your friends wish that your children will be born with the ability to fly unassisted, the kids will have to use airlines like the rest of us. You can get a tattoo without worry that your children will be born with that same tattoo. A hopeful monster would have no one to mate with. And while sometimes bigger or more-complex kids do better, sometimes smaller or simpler ones do better. But, biological "experimentation" promoting diversity does occur, providing the variability on which natural selection occurs to cause evolution.
Which of the following is not part of the evidence that the odd layer marking the extinction of the dinosaurs was caused by a large meteorite impact? Abundant soot found in the layer. Large torn-up rock blocks from a tsunami (giant wave), found in the layer near the Caribbean Sea. High concentrations of iron found in the layer. The common occurrence in the layer of otherwise-rare "shocked" quartz and other mineral types known to be formed only by quickly applied high pressures. High concentrations of iridium found in the layer.
High concentrations of iron found in the layer Feedback:We have seen several times that iron is very common, so its presence in a layer would not indicate much of anything. Features really observed in the layer that are associated with meteorites but not common elsewhere in rocks include shocked quartz from the impact, soot from wildfires, iridium from the meteorite, and a giant-wave deposit because the meteorite hit water as well as land at the edge of the Yucatan Peninsula.
The pictures labeled I and II show fossils from a sediment core collected from the floor of the Atlantic ocean, east of South Carolina. The sediment has not been disturbed by landslides or mountain building or other processes. The pictures were taken by Brian Huber, of the Smithsonian Institution, using a scanning electron microscope. The two samples in the sediment core were separated by the unique layer marking the extinction that killed the dinosaurs. Which is correct? II is older than the unique layer, and thus sat above the unique layer in the sediment on the sea floor. I is older than the unique layer, and thus was bathed in Diet Pepsi on the sea floor. II is older than the unique layer, and thus sat below the unique layer in the sediment on the sea floor. I is older than the unique layer, and thus sat below the unique layer in the sediment on the sea floor.
I is older than the unique layer, and thus sat below the unique layer in the sediment on the sea floor. Feedback:Before the impact, biodiversity was high, as shown in I, which includes fossils from below the unique layer and thus deposited before the meteorite hit. After the impact, most of the living types were killed, giving rise to the limited diversity seen in II from above the unique layer after the impact.
You are a famous scientist, renowned for the well-accepted idea you developed over the last 15 years. A new idea suddenly appears from some upstart junior scientist. For the new idea to overthrow your well-accepted idea and gain widespread scientific acceptance, what must happen? The new idea must do a better job than your old idea at predicting the outcome of one experiment that the new upstart junior scientist conducted. No matter how hard you and your friends wish that your children will be born with the ability to fly unassisted, the kids will have to use airlines like the rest of us. You can get a tattoo without worry that your children will be born with that same tattoo. A hopeful monster would have no one to mate with. And while sometimes bigger or more-complex kids do better, sometimes smaller or simpler ones do better. But, biological "experimentation" promoting diversity does occur, providing the variability on which natural selection occurs to cause evolution. The new idea must do a better job than your old idea at predicting the outcome of one experiment that you conducted. The new idea must be more consistent with the teachings of the world's religions than is your old idea. The new upstart scientist must be sexier than you are.
No matter how hard you and your friends wish that your children will be born with the ability to fly unassisted, the kids will have to use airlines like the rest of us. You can get a tattoo without worry that your children will be born with that same tattoo. A hopeful monster would have no one to mate with. And while sometimes bigger or more-complex kids do better, sometimes smaller or simpler ones do better. But, biological "experimentation" promoting diversity does occur, providing the variability on which natural selection occurs to cause evolution. Feedback:
Extinction of existing species: Occurred only at times of catastrophic mass extinctions. Occurred at a low level throughout geologic history, punctuated by mass extinctions when many types were killed over very short times. Is an unconformity. Is a process that happened in the past but cannot happen today. Occurred at a low level throughout geologic history.
Occurred at a low level throughout geologic history, punctuated by mass extinctions when many types were killed over very short times. Feedback:Extinction has happened slowly throughout geologic history, but with a few dramatic, catastrophic mass extinctions. We may be causing the latest of those mass extinctions.
Reasons why fossils of transitional forms are missing in some lineages that humans especially care about include: Rapid evolution often occurred in small populations, and fossilization is less likely in smaller populations. Transitional forms are missing from all lineages. Scientists haven't looked very hard for transitions. Evolutionary theory shows that many lineages should have developed without transitions. "Evolution" occurred by "Ford-Mustang-type" catastrophism.
Rapid evolution often occurred in small populations, and fossilization is less likely in smaller populations. Feedback: Although more searching could be valuable, lots of scientists have looked for transitional forms, which are expected based on evolutionary theory. The common occurrence of transitional forms in commonly fossilized types shows that "Ford-Mustang-type" catastrophism did not occur, but the data also show that evolution often occurred rapidly in small, isolated populations that are hard to find, and that might not be fossilized in rarely-fossilized types.
Sometimes, people with scientific backgrounds say bad things about religion, and sometimes people with religious backgrounds say bad things about science. This is because: Religion and science must disagree. Religion and science do not need to disagree, but sometimes science-background and religion-background people choose to disagree.
Religion and science do not need to disagree, but sometimes science-background and religion-background people choose to disagree. Feedback:
Think about Pennsylvania, or other places in the eastern US. What is accurate: Sediment is not accumulating anywhere, with erosion everywhere, and this has been happening for a long time, so that there is no information in a township or similar-sized area on geologic history. Sediment is accumulating everywhere now, and erosion was happening everywhere before European settlement, so the geologic record in all townships or similar-sized areas is very short. Sediment is accumulating in a few places, with erosion in most places, and this has been the pattern for a long time, so the geologic record in any township or similar-sized area is notably incomplete, and you need to combine observations from many places to get a reasonably complete geologic record. Sediment is accumulating everywhere, and has been for a long time, so in any township or similar-sized area you can find a complete record of all of geologic history. Sediment is accumulating in most places, and has been for a long time, with just a little erosion, so in any township or similar-sized area you can find a relatively complete record of all of geologic history.
Sediment is accumulating in a few places, with erosion in most places, and this has been the pattern for a long time, so the geologic record in any township or similar-sized area is notably incomplete, and you need to combine observations from many places to get a reasonably complete geologic record. Feedback:Today in Pennsylvania (and across most of the land surface of the planet), sediments are accumulating in a few human-made lakes, a few natural wetlands or natural lakes, along some streams and in some caves, but almost everywhere else is eroding. This is the typical state of affairs, so you need to correlate events across large regions to get a good geologic record.
There are many large mammals on Earth today. This is because: Small mammals wanted to become bigger, and after the dinosaurs were killed, the small mammals had their chance and so made themselves bigger. The very large mammals that were alive on Earth with the dinosaurs have gotten smaller over time because the mammals don't have to be big to compete with the dinosaurs any more. The warm blood of the many large mammals that lived before the meteorite impact allowed them to survive the cold from the meteorite impact that killed the dinosaurs. Dinosaurs in hibernation were killed by acid rain, which didn't hurt things that could run away. Small mammals were not able to outcompete the dinosaurs for big-animal jobs, but after the dinosaurs were killed, some large mammals evolved from small mammals to fill the large-animal jobs.
Small mammals were not able to outcompete the dinosaurs for big-animal jobs, but after the dinosaurs were killed, some large mammals evolved from small mammals to fill the large-animal jobs. Feedback:There are "big-animal" jobs—eating tall trees, eating smaller animals, etc. But the total number of big-animal jobs is limited. The dinosaurs filled the big-animal jobs before mammals really got going, and mammals were not able to displace the dinosaurs. Some small mammals survived the meteorite that killed the dinosaurs, and then evolved to give big mammals over millions of years and longer. There were almost no big mammals before the dinosaurs were killed off, volition has nothing to do with evolution, and running away doesn't avoid acid rain.
Statistically, and based on how many people are likely to die if they engage in or are exposed to the following problems, which is most dangerous to residents of the United States: Tornadoes. Meteorite impacts. The various diseases that come from smoking, overeating and under-exercising for a long time. Earthquakes. Commercial airline crashes.
The various diseases that come from smoking, overeating and under-exercising for a long time. Feedback: There are still meteorites in the solar system that can hit and kill, and a reputable study found that a meteorite impact might not occur for millions of years (or might occur next year...) but then might kill billions. Add up the deaths over a sufficiently long time, and plane crashes (which kill a few to a few hundred people per year) and meteorite impacts likely would be similarly dangerous. Earthquakes and tornadoes, as devastating as they can be, don't kill as many people in this country as do airline crashes. Smoking, overeating and underexercising are way more dangerous to us.
Scientists promote the teaching of evolutionary theory, in part to raise new scientists to help use evolutionary theory. How are scientists using evolutionary theory in efforts that can help people? Evolutionary theory is being used to guide thinking in computer science, but in no other way. There is no way that knowledge of evolutionary theory can possibly help anyone other than scientists, but it makes the scientists feel good. There is no way that knowledge of evolutionary theory can possibly help anyone. Evolutionary theory is being used to understand, and help fight, the emergence of antibiotic-resistant diseases, but in no other way. Today in Pennsylvania (and across most of the land surface of the planet), sediments are accumulating in a few human-made lakes, a few natural wetlands or natural lakes, along some streams and in some caves, but almost everywhere else is eroding. This is the typical state of affairs, so you need to correlate events across large regions to get a good geologic record.
Today in Pennsylvania (and across most of the land surface of the planet), sediments are accumulating in a few human-made lakes, a few natural wetlands or natural lakes, along some streams and in some caves, but almost everywhere else is eroding. This is the typical state of affairs, so you need to correlate events across large regions to get a good geologic record. Feedback:As antibiotic resistance appears in disease organisms, evolutionary biologists are helping doctors find better strategies to keep us healthy. The processes behind evolution—try new things, keep the ones that work, repeat—has been used intentionally for guidance in many human endeavors, including "evolutionary computing" in computer science. Ecologists trying to rescue ecosystems are informed by understanding of the evolutionary processes that made, and are changing, those ecosystems. Even regulations for sport fishing are guided by our understanding of evolution. In the same way as other successful ideas in science, evolution is useful in many practical ways in the real world.
Araucarioxylon arizonicum was a beautiful tree of the Mesozoic, and is the most common tree found fossilized in Petrified Forest National Park. A spectacular specimen is shown above. Based on the discussions of evolution in the textbook and lectures, it is likely that: Trees alive today are related to Araucarioxylon arizonicum, but even those modern trees most similar to Araucarioxylon arizonicum are recognizably different from it. Some trees alive today are essentially identical to Araucarioxylon arizonicum. All trees alive today are completely unrelated to Araucarioxylon arizonicum.
Trees alive today are related to Araucarioxylon arizonicum, but even those modern trees most similar to Araucarioxylon arizonicum are recognizably different from it. Feedback:Evolutionary theory indicates that living things change from generation to generation, but that all living things are related. Consistent with this, Araucarioxylon arizonicum is recognizably similar to, yet different from, Araucaria trees such as monkey puzzle that are native to southern South America today.
