SUST 115 Exam 1

Match the event and the time in history. Note: if the options do not match exactly to your notes from the lesson, do your best to match times on the same order of magnitude (e.g. 50 million years ago ~ 65 million years ago). A. The last glacial maximum B. Homo sapiens first emerged in Africa C. Global temperatures were higher D. Global temperatures became more variable

1. 200,000 years ago - B 2. 50 million years ago - C 3. 25,000 years ago - A 4. 3 million years ago - D

English scientist William Smith is credited with showing how fossils could be used to compare rocks from different formations around the world. A. True B. False

True

Extinctions as well as appearances of species in the fossil record mark many of the geologic time scale boundaries A. True B. False

True

From a biologist's perspective, preserving biodiversity (the genetic diversity contained in plant and animal species) is a big part of sustainability. True False

True

From a planner's perspective, sustainability involves integrating urban development and design with nature preservation. True False

True

From a sociologist's perspective, sustainability involves who decides whether or not individuals, families, neighborhoods, etc. have equitable access to resources. True False

True

From an economist's perspective, sustainability is a function of the environmental costs of industrial activity. True False

True

From an ethicist point of view, sustainability is whether or not nature has rights and if humans perceive they are part of (instead of apart from) nature. True False

True

Hypotheses are proposed explanations for a fairly narrow set of phenomena, whereas theories are broad explanations for a wide range of phenomena. True False

True

Italian scientist Giovanni Arduino is credited with starting to name rock layers by depth and composition building off the work of Danish Scientist Nicholas Steno. A. True B. False

True

One way to look at the geologic time scale is that it tells the story about the history of the Earth A. True B. False

True

Scientists use the rock and fossil record to help determine the geologic time scale. True False

True

Why did Homo survive whereas Paranthropus went extinct? A. Homo became more versatile in response to short-lived large swings between drier and wetter climate. B. Paranthropus was not adapted to handle a long-term trend towards grassland-dominated savanna.

A. Homo became more versatile in response to short-lived large swings between drier and wetter climate.

Humans are more closely related to Gorillini (gorillas) than to Pan (chimpanzees and bonobos). True False

False

A law is _______ A. A mathematical description of a natural phenomenon B. A phenomenon, like gravity, that we can't model, but we know it exists C. Another term for a theory D. Just a more complicated and detailed version of a hypothesis

A. A mathematical description of a natural phenomenon

Which term describes the largest/longest intervals of geologic time as described by scientist? A. Eons B. Eras C. Periods

A. Eons

Overall, the hominin fossil record and the environmental record better support that: A. Hominines evolved during times when the climate of east Africa fluctuated between extreme wet and dry conditions. B. Bipedalism and increased brain size were driven by a long-term trend towards increased aridity and the expansion of the savanna C. All of the above D. None of the above

A. Hominines evolved during times when the climate of east Africa fluctuated between extreme wet and dry conditions.

Savannas are: A. Open tropical ecosystems composed of grasses and sedges, sometimes spotted with clusters of woody trees. B. Tropical rainforests common in East Africa C. Desert-like ecosystems composed of shrubs and xerophytes. D. None of the above.

A. Open tropical ecosystems composed of grasses and sedges, sometimes spotted with clusters of woody trees.

The meanings and uses of the words hypothesis and theory for scientists are very different compared how the general public uses and understands the words A. True - The general public's use of these words is many times very different from what they mean in science. B. False - The general public understands the scientific meanings and uses of these words and uses them the same way C. False - Scientists use these words the same way the general public uses them so as to not confuse the general public.

A. True - The general public's use of these words is many times very different from what they mean in science.

100,000 years in the geologic history of Earth would be considered A. Immensely long B. A drop in the bucket C. Half of Earth's history D. An extremely significant amount of time

B. A drop in the bucket

Once a theory has been formed, it rarely is updated or changed A. True - it takes so much work once a theory is made that no one wants to update or change it with new information B. False - theories are constantly updated as new information become available, old hypotheses are thrown out, new hypotheses are tested and stand up to scrutiny. C. False - theories are changed on a regular, set schedule whether or not there is new information D. True - theories can only be changed every few years, so many scientist do not have the time to update the theory

B. False - theories are constantly updated as new information become available, old hypotheses are thrown out, new hypotheses are tested and stand up to scrutiny.

Theories are easily accepted by scientists A. True - theories are hunches that require little confirmation B. False - theories require a lot of support from many different lines of evidence to be accepted by scientists C. True - they are supported by little supporting evidence D. False - theories are not very important to scientists. Only scientific laws matter

B. False - theories require a lot of support from many different lines of evidence to be accepted by scientists

The savanna hypothesis states that: A. Hominin speciation was driven by abrupt and fast climate fluctuations B. Long-term towards increased aridity and the expansion of the savanna were major drivers of hominin evolution. C. All of the above D. None of the above

B. Long-term towards increased aridity and the expansion of the savanna were major drivers of hominin evolution.

Human ancestors with more diverse diets were more likely to: A. Go extinct during times when environmental conditions change. B. Survive during times when environmental conditions change

B. Survive during times when environmental conditions change

The Earth is approximately ________ years old. A. 6,000 B. 46,000,000 C. 4,600,000,000 D. There is no way to know

C. 4,600,000,000

The geologic time scale was created by one scientist, Nicholas Steno. A. True B. False

False

A hypothesis is a random guess or attempt at explaining a phenomenon A. True - a hypothesis is a random guess made by a single person or scientist B. True - a hypothesis is a random guess made by a group of collaborating scientists C. False - a hypothesis is usually based on prior experience, observations, evidence, etc. D. False - a hypothesis is a fact that will never change

C. False - a hypothesis is usually based on prior experience, observations, evidence, etc.

Geologically speaking with reference to the entire history of the earth, the dinosaurs went extinct when? A. Shortly after the formation of Earth B. In the first billion years of Earth's history C. In the most recent 2% of the history of Earth D. Before the first fish formed

C. In the most recent 2% of the history of Earth

Relative to the percent of time dominating the surface of Earth, which organisms have the longest reign? A. Dinosaurs B. Plants C. Prokaryotes - microscopic, single (or uni)-celled organisms that do not contain a nucleus D. Eukaryotes - microscopic, single or multi-celled organisms that contain a nucleus. E. Humans

C. Prokaryotes - microscopic, single (or uni)-celled organisms that do not contain a nucleus

Why is Lake Turkana important for studying hominin evolution? A. It is located in a region with most of the fossil record of early human origins B. It contains seidemtns that can be used to study past climate fluctuations C. It is located in a region that has experienced large climate fluctuations during key periods of human evolution. D. All of the above E. None of the above

D. All of the above

Let's imagine the entire history of Earth as if it were mapped to a single calendar year. What day in that year would the first dinosaurs arrive? A. January 30 B. February 14 C. March 15 D. December 10 E. December 30

D. December 10

Theories and hypotheses essentially are the same thing A. True - They are usually the same thing B. True - Although a hypothesis can be much more complicated than a theory C. False - Hypotheses are more complicated D. False - Theories are made from integrating and combining different hypotheses and can be used to predict E. Both are fake news

D. False - Theories are made from integrating and combining different hypotheses and can be used to predict

The theory of natural selection, which aims to explain the evolution of life, is 'just' a theory. True False

False

Understanding geologic time is significant because it helps us A. Understand humans' impact on our environment B. Understand how organisms evolve over time C. Understand the possibility for life on other planets D. Understand the processes of natural selection and evolution E. All of the above

E. All of the above

Which organism first dominated Earth? A. Dinosaurs B. Insects C. Plants D. Fish E. Bacteria

E. Bacteria

Let's imagine the entire history of Earth as if it were mapped to a single calendar year. On what day would the dinosaurs go extinct? A. February 15 B. March 20 C. May 10 D. September 30 E. December 24

E. December 24

Let's imagine the entire history of Earth as if it were mapped to a single calendar year. On what day would "Modern Man" arrive? A. January 25 B. May 30 C. June 20 D. November 25 E. December 31

E. December 31

Which of the following definitions or domains of sustainability were discussed and explored in the sustainability reading on "Methods of Defining 'Sustainability' "? A. Biological B. Economic C. Sociological D. Planning E. Ethical F. All of the above

F. All of the above

Which of the following statements are true? A. A hypothesis is a random guess or attempt at explaining a phenomenon. B. Theories and hypotheses are essentially the same thing. C. Theories are easily accepted by scientists. D. A theory is a random guess or attempt at explaining a phenomenon. E. Over-arching theories can be easily refuted and discarded. F. None of the above statements are true.

F. None of the above statements are true.

According to the article, one impediment for society to achieve sustainability includes the current population size and its growing rate of consumption. True False

True

We use the geologic time scale to describe and divide the history of the Earth into different sections. A. True B. False

True