Deck 16: Evidence of Evolution

Question 1

Cuvier, an anatomist and paleontologist, proposed that ____.

A) all present-day organisms have descended, with adaptations, from one--or possibly a few--original organisms
B) ​Earth's history has been marked by several periods when destruction of populations was widespread and that, after each such period, the earth was repopulated
C) ​evolutionary changes in organisms are caused by use and disuse
D) ​although evolution is responsible for all the changes that happen to species, one center of creation resulted in the original members of each species
E) ​geologic processes in Earth have not changed over billions of years

Answer 1

B

Question 2

When the theory of evolution by natural selection was first presented in 1858, authorship was credited to both Charles Darwin and ____.

A) ​Charles Lyell
B) ​Alfred Wallace
C) ​Georges Cuvier
D) ​Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
E) ​Thomas Malthus

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Scientists began to question the perfection of the "great chain of being" partially because of their studies in ____.

A) ​radiometric dating
B) ​uniformity
C) ​meteorology
D) ​astrobiology
E) ​comparative morphology

Answer 3

E

Question 4

The most important evidence that Darwin used to develop his theory of natural selection came from ____.

A) ​the Argentine pampas
B) ​his boyhood neighborhood in England
C) ​the Galápagos Islands
D) ​Australia and New Zealand
E) ​South America

Question 5

An asteroid that impacted Earth about 66 million years ago is believed to be responsible for ____.

A) ​the creation of life on Earth
B) ​a global catastrophe that may have wiped out the dinosaurs
C) ​the splitting of one land mass into continents
D) ​a mass extinction of land plants
E) ​the evolution of Earth's oceans

Question 6

Thomas Malthus proposed that ____.

A) the food supply increases faster than the population​
B) ​the population increases faster than the food supply
C) ​the food supply and population increase at the same rate
D) ​artificial selection is the key to evolution
E) ​natural selection is the key to evolution

Question 7

No convincing fossil evidence exists for ____.

A) ​evolution
B) ​extinction
C) ​Earth's age
D) ​catastrophism
E) ​uniformitarianism

Question 8

The tailbone of humans is an example of a(n) ____.

A) ​developing feature
B) ​accidental feature
C) ​vestigial feature
D) ​great chain of being
E) ​fossil structure

Question 9

The oldest fossils ____.

A) ​demonstrate the widest distribution
B) ​represent the most highly evolved organisms
C) ​are buried deeper in the ground than newer forms
D) ​are found in Africa
E) ​are primitive marine vertebrates

Question 10

Which theory was helpful to Darwin in the formulation of his theory of evolution?

A) ​catastrophism
B) ​inheritance of acquired characteristics
C) ​uniformitarianism
D) ​continental drift
E) special creationism

Question 11

Darwin's theory states, in part, that individuals with certain traits have an increased competitive edge. What is the source of these traits?

A) ​adaptation to stress
B) ​development over a lifetime
C) ​inheritance
D) ​mutation after birth
E) ​better living conditions

Question 12

Barringer Crater in Arizona was formed when a 300,000-ton asteroid slammed into Earth 50,000 years ago. Which statement accurately depicts this event?

A) ​The asteroid hit so early that it had little influence on the history of life.
B) ​The asteroid produced about 150 times the energy of the bomb that hit Hiroshima.
C) ​The impact of the asteroid resulted in a minor crater.
D) ​The cause of the crater has been determined by examining fossils found at the site.
E) ​The impact of the asteroid released only minor amounts of energy.

Question 13

Most fossils ____.

A) ​are found in sedimentary layers of rock
B) ​form without water
C) ​contain remnants of soft body parts
D) ​show evidence of extinct species
E) ​are impervious to erosion

Question 14

Which statement is least consistent with the beliefs of Lamarck?

A) "Fluida" moves into areas of the body in need of change.
B) Acquired characteristics are inherited.
C) Giraffes' necks have become longer in response to stretching.
D) Environmental pressures bring about changes in organisms.
E) ​Changes in an individual are not passed to its offspring.

Question 15

Glyptodonts are fossil forms that resemble ____.

A) ​ostriches
B) ​armadillos
C) ​kangaroos
D) ​turtles
E) ​sloths

Question 16

Which scenario would be a modern example of Lamarckianism?​

A) ​A strain of houseflies resistant to insecticides emerges.
B) ​Squirrels separated by a river are found to be unable to interbreed.
C) A son is born with a portion of his right index finger missing--the same portion that was severed from his father's hand in an accident.
D) ​A species of lizards shows changes in diet and body shape after being moved to a nearby island.
E) ​Snails are found to have thicker shells after the introduction of a predator.

Question 17

Darwin's exposure to Lyell gave him insight on the ____.

A) ​existing evidence from fossils
B) ​record of catastrophic changes that encouraged evolution
C) ​soundness of Lamarck's theories
D) ​enormous lengths of time required for geologic events
E) ​arguments for creationism

Question 18

Which statement does not represent one of Darwin's observations?

A) ​All individuals have an equal chance to survive and reproduce.
B) ​Changes in populations are gradual and take place over long periods of time.
C) ​Members of the same species may exhibit considerable variation.
D) ​Some characteristics are heritable and passed on to offspring.
E) ​Some characteristics afford their possessor a better chance of survival.

Question 19

The study of the distribution of animals and plants around the world is ____.

A) ​diversity
B) ​biogeography
C) ​ecology
D) ​natural history
E) ​environmentalism

Question 20

Natural selection results in changes in ____.

A) individuals
B) ​populations
C) ​kingdoms
D) ​phyla
E) ​animals only

Question 21

Matching
Select the most appropriate choice for each person.
a.wrote Principles of Geology
b.developed the theory of catastrophism
c.believed that giraffes have long necks because their short-necked ancestors stretched their necks and passed this change onto their offspring
d.was a naturalist who sailed on the Beagle and studied finches
e.wrote an essay relating population size to competition for limited resources
f.natural historian and author; formed early ideas of the great chain of being
Aristotle

Question 22

The Cretaceous is the most recent period of the ____ era.

A) ​Paleozoic
B) ​Cenozoic
C) ​Mesozoic
D) ​Proterozoic
E) ​Archaean

Question 23

Plate tectonic theory is based on ____.

A) ​a model in which cool material in the earth's crust rises and spreads laterally beneath the crustal plates
B) ​the idea that Earth's crust is fragmented into rigid crusts that are sinking slowly beneath crustal plates
C) ​the idea that sedimentary rock formation causes continents to drift apart slowly on their crustal plates
D) ​observations that the sea floor is slowly spreading away from oceanic ridges, driven by plumes of magma welling up from Earth's interior
E) ​evidence that severe disturbances in Earth's crust shaped the continents in a single large event

Question 24

____ are examples of trace fossils.

A) ​Skeletons
B) ​Shells
C) ​Seeds
D) ​Footprints
E) ​Leaves

Question 25

Which statement about the geologic time scale is false?

A) ​Mammals originated early in the Mesozoic era.
B) ​Radiations of marine invertebrates took place in the Mesozoic era.
C) ​Mass extinction of the dinosaurs occurred about 65 million years ago.
D) ​Reptiles originated during the Paleozoic era.
E) ​Eukaryotes originated during the Proterozoic eon.

Question 26

The supercontinent Pangea ____.

A) ​existed over 500 million years ago
B) ​broke apart to form Gondwana
C) ​formed about 270 million years ago
D) ​was located only in the southern hemisphere
E) ​formed only North and South America

Question 27

Which body of evidence is least supportive of plate tectonics theory?​

A) ​the worldwide fossil record
B) ​the global distribution of existing species
C) ​the sea-floor spreading
D) ​the shape of the continents
E) ​the size of the oceans

Question 28

Radiometric dating ____.

A) ​is based on the premise that each isotope decays at a constant rate
B) ​is unpredictable because of changes in temperature and pressure
C) ​can be used to date sedimentary rock, but not fossils
D) ​has a substantial error factor
E) ​can only be used for dating animal fossils

Question 29

Fossils from the ____ would be the oldest in the Grand Canyon.

A) ​hermit shale
B) ​redwall limestone
C) ​temple butte formation
D) ​bright angel shale
E) ​vishnu basement rocks

Question 30

The geologic time scale is often subdivided on the basis of ____.

A) ​the appearance of different radioactive isotopes in different strata
B) ​levels of background extinction
C) ​periods of mass extinction
D) ​the appearance of new species
E) ​climate change

Question 31

The large, ancient land mass that contained all the continents is known as ____.

A) ​Laurasia
B) ​Pangea
C) ​Gondwana
D) ​Atlantis
E) ​Europa

Question 32

The accompanying figure illustrates that after two half-lives, ____ percent of the parent radioisotope has decayed.

A) ​100
B) ​75
C) ​50
D) ​25
E) ​0

Question 33

The process of fossilization typically begins when an organism or traces of it ____.

A) ​settle on the seafloor
B) ​are pressurized under the weight of sediment
C) ​crystallize into minerals
D) ​are saturated with groundwater
E) ​become covered with sediments, mud, or ash

Question 34

The idea that geologic processes have formed Earth's surface by repeating the same actions over and over is known as ____.

A) ​the theory of catastrophism
B) ​plate tectonics
C) ​continental drift
D) ​the theory of uniformity
E) ​the theory of relativity

Question 35

Which interval is classified as a "period" in the geologic time scale rather than an "era"?

A) ​Mesozoic
B) ​Proterozoic
C) ​Carboniferous
D) ​Cenozoic
E) ​Paleozoic

Question 36

The operation of natural selection depends upon the fact that ____.

A) ​the strong always survive, whereas the weak always die
B) ​some individuals have a better chance to produce more offspring
C) ​mutations are always harmful
D) ​acquired characteristics are inherited
E) ​reproduction of all members of a species follows the same path

Question 37

The time it takes for half of a radioisotope's atoms to decay ____.

A) ​cannot be calculated
B) ​is used to construct the geologic time scale
C) ​is its half-life
D) ​is the same for uranium 238 and carbon 14
E) ​is highly variable

Question 38

Which habitat is most likely to be rich in fossils?

A) ​eroding hillsides
B) ​deserts
C) polar ice caps
D) ​shallow seas
E) ​rocky plateau

Question 39

Which period is the most recent?

A) ​Triassic
B) ​Silurian
C) ​Devonian
D) ​Permian
E) ​Cambrian

Question 40

Which of the following evolve?

A) ​populations only
B) ​genera only
C) ​kingdoms only
D) ​both populations and genera
E) ​populations, genera, and kingdoms

Question 41

Matching
Select the most appropriate choice for each person.
a.wrote Principles of Geology
b.developed the theory of catastrophism
c.believed that giraffes have long necks because their short-necked ancestors stretched their necks and passed this change onto their offspring
d.was a naturalist who sailed on the Beagle and studied finches
e.wrote an essay relating population size to competition for limited resources
f.natural historian and author; formed early ideas of the great chain of being
Lamarck

Question 42

How old was the world thought to be when Darwin began his voyage? How old is it thought to be now?

Question 43

Several times in Earth's history, land masses have converged as supercontinents. ____________________ and ____________________ are examples.

Question 44

Why are fossils older than 60 000 years hard to date using C14?

Question 45

Differential survival and reproduction of individuals of a population that vary in the details of shared traits is called ____________________.

Question 46

Matching
Select the most appropriate choice for each person.
a.wrote Principles of Geology
b.developed the theory of catastrophism
c.believed that giraffes have long necks because their short-necked ancestors stretched their necks and passed this change onto their offspring
d.was a naturalist who sailed on the Beagle and studied finches
e.wrote an essay relating population size to competition for limited resources
f.natural historian and author; formed early ideas of the great chain of being
Cuvier

Question 47

Matching
Select the most appropriate choice for each person.
a.wrote Principles of Geology
b.developed the theory of catastrophism
c.believed that giraffes have long necks because their short-necked ancestors stretched their necks and passed this change onto their offspring
d.was a naturalist who sailed on the Beagle and studied finches
e.wrote an essay relating population size to competition for limited resources
f.natural historian and author; formed early ideas of the great chain of being
Darwin​

Question 48

Based on what we know today, what is the best explanation for why the emu, ostrich, and rhea are so similar despite being geographically separated?

Question 49

Matching
Select the most appropriate choice for each person.
a.wrote Principles of Geology
b.developed the theory of catastrophism
c.believed that giraffes have long necks because their short-necked ancestors stretched their necks and passed this change onto their offspring
d.was a naturalist who sailed on the Beagle and studied finches
e.wrote an essay relating population size to competition for limited resources
f.natural historian and author; formed early ideas of the great chain of being
Malthus​

Question 50

The characteristic ____________________ of a radioisotope allows us to determine the age of rocks and fossils using a technique called ____________________.

Question 51

Matching
Select the most appropriate choice for each person.
a.wrote Principles of Geology
b.developed the theory of catastrophism
c.believed that giraffes have long necks because their short-necked ancestors stretched their necks and passed this change onto their offspring
d.was a naturalist who sailed on the Beagle and studied finches
e.wrote an essay relating population size to competition for limited resources
f.natural historian and author; formed early ideas of the great chain of being
Lyell​

Question 52

____________________ that impart greater ____________________ to an individual become more common in a population over generations, compared with less competitive forms.

Question 53

____________________ are evidence of life in the distant past.

Question 54

19th-century naturalists tried to reconcile traditional beliefs with physical evidence of ____________________.

Question 55

Which fossil would be the oldest in a given strata and why?