Exam 21: The Origin and Evolutionary History of Life

Describe the distinguishing organisms and major biological events associated with the following geological time units. A. Precambrian time B. Paleozoic era C. Mesozoic era D. Cenozoic era

What kind of organisms likely perished due to the increase of oxygen in the atmosphere three billion years ago?

Which hypothesis suggests that organic molecules formed near Earth's surface in pools of water?

Amphibians evolved directly from which ancestral organisms?

Identify three ways in which the evolution of photosynthetic autotrophs affected either the atmosphere or other organisms.

During the process of splitting water during photosynthesis, the first cyanobacteria released _____ into the atmosphere.

Presently, it is thought that organic polymers may have formed and accumulated on:

The iron-sulfur world hypothesis suggests that organic molecules formed near:

Which was a possible source of high energy on early Earth that likely contributed to the origin of life?

The occurrence of an RNA world early in the history of life can never be proven, but experiments with _____ have shown that it is feasible.

Which theory states that eukaryotic organelles originated as prokaryotes that survived ingestion by a host cell and ultimately evolved mutualistic relationships with the host cell?

Describe the four requirements for chemical evolution and why each was essential.

Figure 21-1 Refer to the accompanying figure. Which organelle evolved from the photosynthetic bacteria?

Stromatolites are rocklike columns composed of:

During which time period did shallow seas cover much of the land and another burst of evolutionary diversification occur?

What was a significant outcome of the Miller and Urey experiment?

The prebiotic soup hypothesis proposes that organic molecules formed from cracks in the ocean floor. ______________

Amino acids and other organic molecules were formed in the laboratory of Miller and Urey from which of the following?

The greatest mass extinction of all time occurred at the end of the ____ era, in which more than 90% of all existing marine organisms became extinct.