Exam 15: Tracing Evolutionary History

The process through which species not closely related may come to resemble one another if they live in a similar environment is known as

How can a phylogenetic tree be used to make predictions?

How do scientists calibrate a molecular clock for a group of organisms with known nucleotide sequences?

Which of the following is an example of exaptation?

Earth's continents and seafloors together form a thin outer layer of the planet called the

You find the frozen remains of a woolly mammoth in an Alaskan glacier. You analyze a bit of the tusk and find that its 14C:12C ratio is about one-fourth (25%) of the baseline level typically found in living organisms. Given that the half-life of 14C is 5,730 years, when did the mammoth die?

The Mesozoic era is often called the age of reptiles. Which of the following also occurred during this era?

Geologists have evidence that over the past 1.5 billion years

Structures that evolved from the same structure in a common ancestor are

The family Felidae (cats) is distributed across Africa, Eurasia, North America, and South America and is hypothesized to have eight major lineages (Panthera, bay cat, caracal, ocelot, lynx, puma, leopard, and domestic cat groups) as shown in this phylogenetic tree, constructed from DNA sequences. Scientists used a molecular clock and fossil evidence to date the divergence of each group. The dates of divergence are provided in the accompanying figure. -Which groups would be expected to have the greatest number of genetic differences?

Ever since Darwin, systematics has tried to

Divergence time estimates based on molecular clocks are

The branching "tree of life" analogy

In 1942 a scientist testing part of a radar system discovered that a candy bar in his pocket had melted. Intrigued, he tried placing an egg near the system he was working on; it exploded and splattered him with hot egg. In this way it was discovered that part of the radar system could be used to cook foods, which led to the development of the microwave oven. When this kind of repurposing occurs in biological systems, it is called

Molecular data can be used to assess relationships among the major groups of living organisms whose common ancestors lived millions or billions of years ago. Similar techniques can be used to assess relationships among populations within a species. How can molecular techniques be useful for such varied comparisons?

The earliest known flowering plants date to the

The findings of Pasteur and others have established that

The Himalayas are an example of a mountain range that formed as a result of

A(n) ________ has been used to estimate that humans began to wear clothing between 83,000 and 170,000 years ago.

The existence of nest-building in crocodiles and birds led to a prediction that this behavior was also present in