Question 1

The evolution of horses is best characterized as ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  a linear sequence of intermediate forms leading to modern horses 
B)  an example of evolutionary convergence 
C)  poorly documented and speculative 
D)  a gradual increase in body size 
E)  a complex branched history with many extinct lineages 
A)  a linear sequence of intermediate forms leading to modern horses 
B)  an example of evolutionary convergence 
C)  poorly documented and speculative 
D)  a gradual increase in body size 
E)  a complex branched history with many extinct lineages

Question 2

Continental drift caused the large supercontinent that existed during the Paleozoic era to separate into a northern continent, called ____, and a southern continent, called ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  Pangaea; Laurasia 
B)  Laurasia; Gondwana 
C)  Gondwana; Laurasia 
D)  Pangaea; Gondwana 
E)  Gondwana; Pangaea 
A)  Pangaea; Laurasia 
B)  Laurasia; Gondwana 
C)  Gondwana; Laurasia 
D)  Pangaea; Gondwana 
E)  Gondwana; Pangaea

Question 3

If the entire history of the Earth is symbolized by a 12-month calendar, dinosaurs and mammals both appear in the month of ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  August 
B)  September 
C)  October 
D)  November 
E)  December 
A)  August 
B)  September 
C)  October 
D)  November 
E)  December

Question 4

The changing size ratio between an animal's head and the rest of its body during development is an example of ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  allometric growth 
B)  punctuated equilibrium 
C)  phyletic gradualism 
D)  heterochrony 
E)  paedomorphosis 
A)  allometric growth 
B)  punctuated equilibrium 
C)  phyletic gradualism 
D)  heterochrony 
E)  paedomorphosis

Question 5

Peter Sheldon found that the number of tail "ribs" in ____ changed over a 3 million year period with no evidence of speciation.

Accepted Answer

A)  horses 
B)  trilobites 
C)  insects 
D)  humans 
E)  ectoprocts 
A)  horses 
B)  trilobites 
C)  insects 
D)  humans 
E)  ectoprocts

Question 6

According to the geological time scale, which segment of Earth's history is the oldest?

Accepted Answer

A)  Hadean eon 
B)  Archean eon 
C)  Proterozoic eon 
D)  Paleozoic era 
E)  Cenozoic era 
A)  Hadean eon 
B)  Archean eon 
C)  Proterozoic eon 
D)  Paleozoic era 
E)  Cenozoic era

Question 7

Which terrestrial herbivore in Australia shares overall similarities in body form and ecological roles as the distantly related North American woodchuck ( Marmota monax )?

Accepted Answer

A)  marsupial mole ( Notoryctes typhlops ) 
B)  yellow-footed marsupial mouse ( Antechinus flavipes ) 
C)  wombat ( Vombatus ursinus ) 
D)  honey glider ( Petaurus breviceps ) 
E)  Tasmanian wolf ( Thylacinus cynocephalus ) 
A)  marsupial mole ( Notoryctes typhlops ) 
B)  yellow-footed marsupial mouse ( Antechinus flavipes ) 
C)  wombat ( Vombatus ursinus ) 
D)  honey glider ( Petaurus breviceps ) 
E)  Tasmanian wolf ( Thylacinus cynocephalus )

Question 8

A ____ gene determines the structure of body parts during embryonic development.

Accepted Answer

A)  homoplasy 
B)  homeostatic 
C)  homologous 
D)  homeobox 
E)  homogenous 
A)  homoplasy 
B)  homeostatic 
C)  homologous 
D)  homeobox 
E)  homogenous

Question 9

About 250 million years ago Earth's continents merged into one supercontinent called ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  Nazca 
B)  Eurasia 
C)  Laurasia 
D)  Gondwana 
E)  Pangaea 
A)  Nazca 
B)  Eurasia 
C)  Laurasia 
D)  Gondwana 
E)  Pangaea

Question 10

When rapid speciation produces a cluster of closely related species that occupy different habitats or consume different foods, the process is referred to as ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  punctuated equilibrium 
B)  disjunct dispersal 
C)  disjunct vicariance 
D)  adaptive radiation 
E)  continuous vicariance 
A)  punctuated equilibrium 
B)  disjunct dispersal 
C)  disjunct vicariance 
D)  adaptive radiation 
E)  continuous vicariance

Question 11

Which is a likely result of a mass extinction?

Accepted Answer

A)  The creation of "empty niche spaces," which can stimulate radiation of surviving groups. 
B)  The elimination of non-beneficial alleles from gene pools. 
C)  The increase in the rate of new mutations in remaining species. 
D)  The decrease in the rate of new mutations in remaining species. 
E)  The introduction of mutations that have a greater than usual effect. 
A)  The creation of "empty niche spaces," which can stimulate radiation of surviving groups. 
B)  The elimination of non-beneficial alleles from gene pools. 
C)  The increase in the rate of new mutations in remaining species. 
D)  The decrease in the rate of new mutations in remaining species. 
E)  The introduction of mutations that have a greater than usual effect.

Question 12

When scientists examined fossils of Ordovician trilobites, they found that a sample from any given stratum was almost always intermediate in their morphology between samples from strata just above or below it, providing evidence of ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  convergent evolution 
B)  rapid speciation 
C)  adaptive radiation 
D)  punctuated equilibrium 
E)  phyletic gradualism 
A)  convergent evolution 
B)  rapid speciation 
C)  adaptive radiation 
D)  punctuated equilibrium 
E)  phyletic gradualism

Question 13

The appendages in both fishes and tetrapods develop from buds of ____, the middle embryonic tissue layer.

Accepted Answer

A)  ectoderm 
B)  endoderm 
C)  mesoderm 
D)  epiderm 
E)  hypoderm 
A)  ectoderm 
B)  endoderm 
C)  mesoderm 
D)  epiderm 
E)  hypoderm

Question 14

The analysis of large-scale changes in morphology and diversity over life's 3.8-billion-year history comprises the study of ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  microevolution 
B)  mutation 
C)  macroevolution 
D)  artificial selection 
E)  genetic drift 
A)  microevolution 
B)  mutation 
C)  macroevolution 
D)  artificial selection 
E)  genetic drift

Question 15

Most fossils form in sedimentary rocks.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 16

The earliest signs of life appeared on Earth during the ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  Archean 
B)  Paleozoic 
C)  Mesozoic 
D)  Cambrian 
E)  Cenozoic 
A)  Archean 
B)  Paleozoic 
C)  Mesozoic 
D)  Cambrian 
E)  Cenozoic

Question 17

Angiosperms first appeared during the ____ period.

Accepted Answer

A)  Cambrian 
B)  Jurassic 
C)  Cretaceous 
D)  Neogene 
E)  Devonian 
A)  Cambrian 
B)  Jurassic 
C)  Cretaceous 
D)  Neogene 
E)  Devonian

Question 18

Fossilized wood and bone fragments can be accurately aged using ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  Thorium-232 
B)  Uranium-238 
C)  Uranium-235 
D)  Potassium-40 
E)  Carbon-14 
A)  Thorium-232 
B)  Uranium-238 
C)  Uranium-235 
D)  Potassium-40 
E)  Carbon-14

Question 19

Alan Cheetham observed a punctuated pattern of evolution in the ____ , small ectoprocts from the Caribbean Sea.

Accepted Answer

A)  trilobites 
B)  arthropods 
C)  crustaceans 
D)  Metrarabdotos 
E)  echinoderms 
A)  trilobites 
B)  arthropods 
C)  crustaceans 
D)  Metrarabdotos 
E)  echinoderms

Question 20

Most dinosaurs were extinct by ____ years ago.

Accepted Answer

A)  10,000 
B)  1 million 
C)  500 million 
D)  65 million 
E)  1 billion 
A)  10,000 
B)  1 million 
C)  500 million 
D)  65 million 
E)  1 billion

Exam 23: Paleobiology and Macroevolution

The evolution of horses is best characterized as ____.

Continental drift caused the large supercontinent that existed during the Paleozoic era to separate into a northern continent, called ____, and a southern continent, called ____.

If the entire history of the Earth is symbolized by a 12-month calendar, dinosaurs and mammals both appear in the month of ____.

The changing size ratio between an animal's head and the rest of its body during development is an example of ____.

Peter Sheldon found that the number of tail "ribs" in ____ changed over a 3 million year period with no evidence of speciation.

According to the geological time scale, which segment of Earth's history is the oldest?

Which terrestrial herbivore in Australia shares overall similarities in body form and ecological roles as the distantly related North American woodchuck ( Marmota monax )?

A ____ gene determines the structure of body parts during embryonic development.

About 250 million years ago Earth's continents merged into one supercontinent called ____.

When rapid speciation produces a cluster of closely related species that occupy different habitats or consume different foods, the process is referred to as ____.

Which is a likely result of a mass extinction?

When scientists examined fossils of Ordovician trilobites, they found that a sample from any given stratum was almost always intermediate in their morphology between samples from strata just above or below it, providing evidence of ____.

The appendages in both fishes and tetrapods develop from buds of ____, the middle embryonic tissue layer.

The analysis of large-scale changes in morphology and diversity over life's 3.8-billion-year history comprises the study of ____.

Most fossils form in sedimentary rocks.

The earliest signs of life appeared on Earth during the ____.

Angiosperms first appeared during the ____ period.

Fossilized wood and bone fragments can be accurately aged using ____.

Alan Cheetham observed a punctuated pattern of evolution in the ____ , small ectoprocts from the Caribbean Sea.

Most dinosaurs were extinct by ____ years ago.

Introduction to Biological Concepts and Research

Life, Chemistry, and Water

Biological Molecules: the Carbon Compounds of Life

Cells

Membranes and Transport

Energy, Enzymes, and Biological Reactions

Cellular Respiration: Harvesting Chemical Energy

Photosynthesis

Cell Communication

Cell Division and Mitosis

Meiosis: the Cellular Basis of Sexual Reproduction

Mendel, Genes, and Inheritance

Genes, Chromosomes, and Human Genetics

Dna Structure, Replication, and Organization

Gene Expression: From Dna to Protein

Regulation of Gene Expression

Bacterial and Viral Genetics

Dna Technology: Making and Using Genetically Altered Organisms, and Other Applications

Genomes and Proteomes

The Development of Evolutionary Thought

Microevolution: Genetic Changes Within Populations

Speciation

Systematic Biology: Phylogeny and Classification

The Origin of Life

Prokaryotes and Viruses

Protists

Seedless Plants

Seed Plants

Fungi

Animal Phylogeny, Acoelomates, and Protostomes

Deuterostomes: Vertebrates and Their Closest Relatives

The Plant Body

Transport in Plants

Plant Nutrition

Reproduction and Development in Flowering Plants

Plant Signals and Responses to the Environment

Introduction to Animal Organization and Physiology

Information Flow and the Neuron

Nervous Systems

Sensory Systems

The Endocrine System

Muscles, Bones, and Body Movements

The Circulatory System

Defenses Against Disease

Gas Exchange: the Respiratory System

Digestive Systems and Animal Nutrition

Regulating the Internal Environment: Osmoregulation, Excretion, and Thermoregulation

Animal Reproduction

Animal Development

Ecology and the Biosphere

Population Ecology

Population Interactions and Community Ecology

Ecosystems

Biodiversity and Conservation Biology

Animal Behavior

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Continental drift caused the large supercontinent that existed during the Paleozoic era to separate into a northern continent, called , and a southern continent, called .