Question 1

Which of the following is an example of natural selection?

Accepted Answer

A)  birds that evolve a new beak shape in order to exploit a different food source 
B)  the extinction of the mammoths due to hunting by a new predator 
C)  fossils of trilobites that have the same morphology but are separated by millions of years 
D)  the mass extinction of the dinosaurs due to a meteorite's impact 65 million years ago 
A)  birds that evolve a new beak shape in order to exploit a different food source 
B)  the extinction of the mammoths due to hunting by a new predator 
C)  fossils of trilobites that have the same morphology but are separated by millions of years 
D)  the mass extinction of the dinosaurs due to a meteorite's impact 65 million years ago A

Question 2

Which of the following would NOT be considered a fossil?

Accepted Answer

A)  a dinosaur bone 
B)  a dinosaur footprint 
C)  the impression of a fern leaf 
D)  a basalt dike 
A)  a dinosaur bone 
B)  a dinosaur footprint 
C)  the impression of a fern leaf 
D)  a basalt dike D

Question 3

Fossils of ________ are known as extraordinary fossils.

Accepted Answer

A)  hard parts 
B)  soft parts 
C)  bones 
D)  teeth 
A)  hard parts 
B)  soft parts 
C)  bones 
D)  teeth B

Question 4

Darwin believed that the finches on the Galapagos Islands were once a single species but had ________ into several different species that could each eat different types of food.

Accepted Answer

A)  regressed 
B)  reverted 
C)  evolved 
D)  relapsed 
A)  regressed 
B)  reverted 
C)  evolved 
D)  relapsed

Question 5

Which major kingdom would a bivalve belong to?

Accepted Answer

A)  Protista 
B)  Animalia 
C)  Plantae 
D)  Fungi 
A)  Protista 
B)  Animalia 
C)  Plantae 
D)  Fungi

Question 6

Label each fossil in the image below with the common fossil name.

Accepted Answer

See image

Question 7

What type of fossil is shown in the picture below?

Accepted Answer

A)  impressions 
B)  mold fossils 
C)  hard parts 
D)  trace fossils 
A)  impressions 
B)  mold fossils 
C)  hard parts 
D)  trace fossils

Question 8

Explain how the leaves in the image below were formed.

Accepted Answer

The leaves died and were burie

Question 9

Petrified wood is a type of

Accepted Answer

A)  permineralized fossil. 
B)  chemical fossil. 
C)  trace fossil. 
D)  body fossil preserved in tar. 
A)  permineralized fossil. 
B)  chemical fossil. 
C)  trace fossil. 
D)  body fossil preserved in tar.

Question 10

If a mastodon dies while walking along a river,what needs to happen in order to fossilize the body?

Accepted Answer

A)  A drought must occur so the body can be dried out. 
B)  A flood must occur so that sediment can wash over the body. 
C)  No changes are necessary; it will be preserved just by being near a river. 
D)  The body must be carried away by scavengers to another location. 
A)  A drought must occur so the body can be dried out. 
B)  A flood must occur so that sediment can wash over the body. 
C)  No changes are necessary; it will be preserved just by being near a river. 
D)  The body must be carried away by scavengers to another location.

Question 11

Which of the following circumstances is likely to preserve a fossil?

Accepted Answer

A)  Leaves from an ancient oak tree fall to the ground in a forest. 
B)  A mammoth dies of starvation in the middle of a vast dry plain. 
C)  A jellyfish is buried by a submarine landslide. 
D)  Bacteria living in the ocean die near the shoreline and sink to the bottom. 
A)  Leaves from an ancient oak tree fall to the ground in a forest. 
B)  A mammoth dies of starvation in the middle of a vast dry plain. 
C)  A jellyfish is buried by a submarine landslide. 
D)  Bacteria living in the ocean die near the shoreline and sink to the bottom.

Question 12

Explain why the fossil record is incomplete.

Accepted Answer

The fossil record is incomplete because

Question 13

If two animals are members of the same kingdom,how closely are they related in comparison to two animals that are members of the same genus?

Accepted Answer

A)  Animals of the same kingdom are less closely related than those of the same genus. 
B)  Animals of the same kingdom are more closely related than those of the same genus. 
C)  There is no way to tell how closely related either are without more information. 
D)  Animals of the same kingdom are not related at all. 
A)  Animals of the same kingdom are less closely related than those of the same genus. 
B)  Animals of the same kingdom are more closely related than those of the same genus. 
C)  There is no way to tell how closely related either are without more information. 
D)  Animals of the same kingdom are not related at all.

Question 14

What type of fossil is composed of footprints or burrows?

Accepted Answer

A)  mold or cast 
B)  chemical fossil 
C)  trace fossil 
D)  body fossil 
A)  mold or cast 
B)  chemical fossil 
C)  trace fossil 
D)  body fossil

Question 15

What type of fossil forms when a buried organism decays or is dissolved,but the original shape is preserved in the sediment?

Accepted Answer

A)  body fossil 
B)  trace fossil 
C)  mold fossil 
D)  cast fossil 
A)  body fossil 
B)  trace fossil 
C)  mold fossil 
D)  cast fossil

Question 16

How is a mass extinction event different from extinction?

Accepted Answer

An extinction occurs when the

Question 17

Sixty-five million years ago the dinosaurs were wiped out by a __________.Similar events have occurred at least five times in the Earth's history.

Accepted Answer

A)  mass extinction event 
B)  punctuated equilibrium 
C)  millennia-long drought 
D)  Plinian volcanic eruption 
A)  mass extinction event 
B)  punctuated equilibrium 
C)  millennia-long drought 
D)  Plinian volcanic eruption

Question 18

Which of the following statements regarding the fossil record is true?

Accepted Answer

A)  Every minute of the Earth's history is recorded in the rock record. 
B)  The fossil record contains remains of animals only. 
C)  All organisms have a high preservation potential. 
D)  Paleontologists have not yet found all the fossils that are in the rocks. 
A)  Every minute of the Earth's history is recorded in the rock record. 
B)  The fossil record contains remains of animals only. 
C)  All organisms have a high preservation potential. 
D)  Paleontologists have not yet found all the fossils that are in the rocks.

Question 19

What is natural selection?

Accepted Answer

A)  the theory that all life began in shallow coastal pools of protein-rich water 
B)  the theory that all life on the Earth has evolved from single-celled organisms 
C)  the idea that animals who share specialized characteristics are part of a genus 
D)  the passing on of beneficial characteristics so that the most adaptable survive 
A)  the theory that all life began in shallow coastal pools of protein-rich water 
B)  the theory that all life on the Earth has evolved from single-celled organisms 
C)  the idea that animals who share specialized characteristics are part of a genus 
D)  the passing on of beneficial characteristics so that the most adaptable survive

Question 20

What type of fossil is shown in the picture?

Accepted Answer

A)  body fossil 
B)  trace fossil 
C)  permineralized fossil 
D)  cast fossil 
A)  body fossil 
B)  trace fossil 
C)  permineralized fossil 
D)  cast fossil

Exam 28: Memories of Past Life: Fossils and Evolution

Which of the following is an example of natural selection?

Which of the following would NOT be considered a fossil?

Fossils of ________ are known as extraordinary fossils.

Darwin believed that the finches on the Galapagos Islands were once a single species but had ________ into several different species that could each eat different types of food.

Which major kingdom would a bivalve belong to?

Label each fossil in the image below with the common fossil name.

What type of fossil is shown in the picture below?

Explain how the leaves in the image below were formed.

Petrified wood is a type of

If a mastodon dies while walking along a river,what needs to happen in order to fossilize the body?

Which of the following circumstances is likely to preserve a fossil?

Explain why the fossil record is incomplete.

If two animals are members of the same kingdom,how closely are they related in comparison to two animals that are members of the same genus?

What type of fossil is composed of footprints or burrows?

What type of fossil forms when a buried organism decays or is dissolved,but the original shape is preserved in the sediment?

How is a mass extinction event different from extinction?

Sixty-five million years ago the dinosaurs were wiped out by a __________.Similar events have occurred at least five times in the Earth's history.

Which of the following statements regarding the fossil record is true?

What is natural selection?

What type of fossil is shown in the picture?

Cosmology and the Birth of the Earth

Journey to the Center of the Earth

Drifting Continents and Spreading Seas

The Way the Earth Works: Plate Tectonics

Patterns in Nature: Minerals

Up From the Inferno: Magma and Igneous Rocks

Pages of Earths Past: Sedimentary Rocks

Metamorphism: a Process of Change

The Wrath of Vulcan: Volcanic Eruptions

A Violent Pulse: Earthquakes

Crags,cracks,and Crumples: Crustal Deformation and Mountain Building

Deep Time: How Old Is Old

A Biography of the Earth

Squeezing Power From a Stone: Energy Resources

Riches in Rock: Mineral Resources

Unsafe Ground: Landslides and Other Mass Movements

Streams and Floods: the Geology of Running Water

Restless Realm: Oceans and Coasts

A Hidden Reserve: Groundwater

An Envelope of Gas: the Earths Atmosphere and Climate

Dry Regions: the Geology of Deserts

Amazing Ice: Glaciers and Ice Ages

Global Change in the Earth System

Introducing Rocks

a Surface Veneer: Sediments and Soils

the Rock Cycle in the Earth System

the Earths Interior, Revisited: Seismic Layering, Gravity, and the Magnetic Field

Ever-Changing Landscapes and the Hydrologic Cycle

Prelude: and Just What Is Geology

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