Deck 22: Human Evolution

Question 1

The early atmosphere of Earth consisted mainly of

A) hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide.
B) oxygen, water vapor, and carbon monoxide.
C) water vapor, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide.
D) hydrogen, carbon monoxide, nitrogen.
E) water vapor, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide.

Answer 1

C
Explanation: The primitive atmosphere would have consisted mostly of water vapor, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide, with little, if any, oxygen.

Question 2

Which of the following statements concerning the order of evolving organisms is not true?

A) Unicellular eukaryotes evolved before multicellular eukaryotes.
B) Fishes evolved before terrestrial plants.
C) Nonflowering plants preceded the flowering plants.
D) Reptiles preceded the amphibians.
E) Fishes evolved before terrestrial animals.

Answer 2

D
Explanation: Amphibians preceded the reptiles, including the dinosaurs.

Question 3

There are no transitional fossils between different groups.

Answer 3

False
Explanation: There are many transitional fossils that have characteristics of two different groups.

Question 4

By 15 billion years ago,the solar system was in place.

Question 5

What evidence contributed to the formulation of the RNA-first hypothesis?

A) RNA was formed in MIller's experiment.
B) RNA continues to evolve chemically today.
C) More primitive cells, such as archaea, use an RNA only information system.
D) RNA can sometimes be both a substrate and an enzyme during RNA processing.
E) Protocells contain only RNA and lipids.

Question 6

There are two important aspects to biological evolution: descent from a common ancestor and the fossil record.

Question 7

What was the energy source Miller used in his 1953 experiment to replicate Earth's early environment?

A) electric spark
B) heat
C) ultraviolet radiation
D) gamma radiation
E) sunlight

Question 8

According to the textbook,what evidence is the best evidence for biological evolution?

A) fossil record
B) biogeographical evidence
C) anatomical evidence
D) biochemical evidence

Question 9

Biological evolution is the process whereby

A) humans descended from apes.
B) species change through time.
C) living cells arose from nonliving chemicals.
D) prokaryotic cells became eukaryotic cells.
E) only the strongest survive.

Question 10

What type of rock preserves fossils well?

A) sedimentary rock
B) igneous rock
C) metamorphic rock

Question 11

What is a characteristic that makes an organism able to survive and reproduce in its environment?

A) culture
B) selection
C) analogy
D) adaptation
E) homology

Question 12

What is someone who searches for and researches fossils called?

A) entomologist
B) physicist
C) paleontologist
D) geologist
E) ecologist

Question 13

The early Earth's atmosphere was not the same as it is today.

Question 14

Are you likely to find abundant fossils of soft bodied animals like jellyfish?

Question 15

We do not have any fossils of unicellular prokaryotes.The first organisms to appear in the fossil record are unicellular eukaryotes.

Question 16

Which piece of evidence would strongly support the RNA-first hypothesis?

A) finding a protocell that could carry on metabolism as well as reproduce
B) discovering a way to make RNA more stable than DNA
C) finding a mechanism whereby proteins could assemble DNA out of free nucleotides
D) being able to build microspheres that contain only protein and RNA
E) finding a living organism that uses RNA as its genetic material

Question 17

Which of the following was not an energy source on early Earth?

A) volcanoes
B) meteorites
C) lightning
D) ozone layer
E) ultraviolet radiation

Question 18

Both the RNA-first and the protein-first hypotheses must propose a manner for DNA to become the genetic material as it is today.

Question 19

What is the name of the hypothesis that states that the very first living thing came from nonliving chemicals?

A) cell theory
B) chemical evolution
C) Darwinian evolution
D) speciation
E) organic chemistry

Question 20

Miller's experiment showed that life could arise via chemical evolution.

Question 21

To study recent evolutionary events,researchers use mitochondrial DNA sequences because mitochondrial DNA changes occur frequently.

Question 22

What type of evidence for evolution would arise from a comparison of the DNA sequence of humans and monkeys?

A) biogeographical
B) anatomical
C) biochemical
D) fossil record

Question 23

On what basis was life divided into three domains?

A) rRNA sequence data
B) cytochrome c sequence data
C) mitochondrial DNA sequence data
D) the presence or absence of a nucleus and organelles

Question 24

If you run marathons and develop very strong leg muscles,and then your children are born with very strong leg muscles,this would support whose mechanism for evolutionary change?

A) Charles Darwin's process of natural selection
B) Jean-Baptiste Lamarck's process of acquired characteristics

Question 25

The wings of birds and insects are _____________ structures.

A) analogous
B) homologous

Question 26

What did Darwin conclude from the observation that there are no rabbits in South America?

A) Rabbits cannot live in South America because it is too warm.
B) Rabbits cannot live in South America because they do not have a good food source.
C) Rabbits evolved somewhere else and had no means of reaching South America.
D) Rabbits were originally found in South America but went extinct.
E) Rabbits in South America evolved into guinea pigs and thus are no longer present.

Question 27

The flipper of a whale and the wing of a bird are homologous structures.

Question 28

The fact that marsupials are not as diverse in South America as they are in Australia would be classified as what type of evidence for evolution?

A) biogeographical
B) anatomical
C) biochemical
D) fossil record

Question 29

What characteristics separate the Class Mammalia from other animals in the Phylum Chordata?

A) bipedal locomotion and an upright stance
B) heterotrophic and multicellular
C) a dorsal tubular nerve cord and notochord
D) vertebrates with hair and mammary glands
E) develop brain and tool use

Question 30

All vertebrate forelimbs are the same in that they are used for the same form of locomotion.

Question 31

Which of the following is not a vestigial structure?

A) pelvic girdle and legs in whales
B) wings for flight in most birds
C) piloerectors in humans
D) pelvic girdle in snakes
E) tailbone in humans

Question 32

Which of the following is not a similarity between humans and apes?

A) three different types of cone cells
B) opposable big toe
C) powerful and precise grip
D) smaller portion of the brain devoted to smell
E) reduced reproductive rate

Question 33

Does the spine of both a human and chimpanzee exit the skull in the same manner?

Question 34

Which of the following is not a difference between the human skeleton and the chimpanzee skeleton?

A) The human foot has an arch while the ape foot does not.
B) The human's femur angles inward to the knees while the ape's femur angles out a bit.
C) The human spine is S-shaped while the ape spine has a slight curve.
D) The human knee can support more weight than the ape knee.
E) The ribs attach to the vertebral column in humans but are free-floating in apes.

Question 35

If you run marathons and develop very strong leg muscles,and then your children are born with very strong leg muscles,this would support whose mechanism for evolutionary change?

A) Charles Darwin's process of natural selection
B) Jean-Baptiste Lamarck's process of acquired characteristics

Question 36

Which of the following is the Phylum classification for humans?

A) Eukarya
B) Animalia
C) Chordata
D) Mammalia
E) Primates

Question 37

Closer biochemical structures suggest a closer evolutionary relationship.

Question 38

What happens in chimps and humans when the snout is shortened considerably?

A) The sense of smell is dramatically reduced.
B) The eyes move to the front and allow for stereoscopic vision.
C) This allows for the development of a chin.
D) Canine teeth are lost.
E) Vocalization becomes possible.

Question 39

Chinese cabbage,brussels sprouts,and kohlrabi are all derived from a single species via artificial selection.

Question 40

Which primate is found within the anthropoid group with humans?

A) monkeys
B) lemurs
C) tarsiers
D) lorises

Question 41

What were the two different types of australopithecines?

A) erect, knuckle-walker
B) carnivorous, omnivorous
C) arboreal, terrestrial
D) gracile, robust
E) hunting, gathering

Question 42

The oldest fossils to be designated Homo sapiens are the Cro-Magnons.

Question 43

According to the out-of-Africa hypotehsis,when did Homo sapiens migrate to Europe and Asia?

A) 1000 years before present
B) 10,000 years before present
C) 100,000 years before present
D) 1 million years before present
E) 5 million years before present

Question 44

According to Bergmann's rule,

A) hominins such as Cro-Magnons were capable of symbolic thinking because they buried their dead with flowers.
B) plants and animals that live at the same time evolve together.
C) animals in colder regions have bulkier body builds.
D) variation exists because of genetic inheritance.
E) the longer two populations have been separated, the more genetically disparate they will be.

Question 45

In the out-of-Africa hypothesis,there was interbreeding between the ancestors of modern humans on three continents.

Question 46

Which of the following is not an important anatomical features for determining if a fossil is a hominin?

A) absence of sharp canines
B) bipedal posture
C) flat face
D) brain size
E) absence of a chin

Question 47

According to the multiregional continuity hypothesis,where did modern humans evolve?

A) Asia, Africa, and Europe
B) North and South America
C) Europe and North America
D) only in Africa
E) only in Asia

Question 48

Human characteristics did not evolve all at one time.

Question 49

Homo habilis was the first hominid to use fire.

Question 50

Which of the following describes the limb anatomy of australopithecine?

A) walked on all fours, forelimbs longer than hindlimbs
B) walked upright, forelimbs longer than hindlimbs
C) walked on all fours, hindlimbs longer than forelimbs
D) walked upright, hindlimbs longer than forelimbs

Question 51

The first australopithecine fossils were unearthed in

A) Europe.
B) North America.
C) South America.
D) Asia.
E) Southern Africa.

Question 52

What is the earliest fossil hominin?

A) Sahelanthropus tchadensis
B) Australopithecus robustus
C) Australopithecus africanus
D) Ardipithecus kadabba
E) Ardipithecus ramidus

Question 53

Place these in the correct order from least related to humans to most closely related to humans.1.new world monkeys; 2.gibbons; 3.lemurs; 4.gorillas; 5.chimpanzees

A) 1,2,3,4,5
B) 3,1,2,4,5
C) 3,2,4,1,5
D) 2,4,3,1,5
E) 5,1,4,3,2

Question 54

What relationship do humans have with apes?

A) They are our ancestors.
B) We both share a common ancestor.

Question 55

Which of the following is not a characteristic of the Neandertals?

A) They had massive brow ridges.
B) They are considered H. sapiens.
C) The pubic bone was long compared to ours.
D) The brain size was larger than ours.
E) They were heavily muscled.

Question 56

Which term is used to include only the gorillas,chimpanzees,and humans and their closest extinct relatives?

A) anthropoid
B) hominid
C) hominine
D) hominin
E) homo

Question 57

Which of the following is inconsistent with what is known about Homo erectus?

A) H. erectus walked erect and probably had a striding gait like ours.
B) H. erectus had a larger brain and a flatter face than Homo habilis.
C) H. erectus was much shorter than Homo species had been up to this time.
D) H. erectus babies were born in an immature state that required an extended period of care.
E) H. erectus fossils have been found in Africa, Asia, and Europe.

Question 58

How does Homo erectus differ from Homo ergaster?

A) H. erectus evolved into H. ergaster and was supplanted by H. ergaster.
B) The fossils looks very similar but H. erectus is an Asian form and H. ergaster is the African form.
C) H. erectus essentially looks like modern humans while H. ergaster is very apelike.
D) H. erectus and H. ergaster are identical except that H. erectus had tools and fire and H. ergaster did not.
E) H. erectus walked upright whle H. ergaster still walked on all fours.

Question 59

Which of the following is not a species within the genus Homo?

A) Homo erectus
B) Homo habilis
C) Homo ramidus
D) Homo sapiens
E) Homo floresiensis