Deck 7: Evolution and the Fossil Record

Question 1

Over the course of geological time, the extinction rate for mammals has exceeded __________ percent per million years.

A) 1 to 2
B) 10 to 20
C) 40
D) 50

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The cornerstone of modern genetics, which was discovered by Gregor Mendel, is called

A) deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).
B) particulate inheritance.
C) chromosomes.
D) mutations.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Darwin noted the separation of different marine species by the Isthmus of Panama and concluded that this separation of species meant that

A) marine animals were not good at crossing dry land.
B) there was no good way to explain this oddity.
C) an external agent scattered species across the planet.
D) the species on each side came into being where they lived.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

__________ is the term used to describe remarkably rapid evolutionary expansions of one or more phyla, classes, orders, or families during brief intervals of geologic time.

A) Taxonomic grouping
B) Ecologic competition
C) Evolutionary radiations
D) Adaptive breakthroughs

Question 5

__________ undergo mutation without any effect on adaptation.

A) Amino acids
B) Related taxa with poor fossil records
C) Molecular clocks
D) Neutral genes

Question 6

In a mass extinction, tropical species are particularly vulnerable because of

A) generalized ecologic requirements and small communities.
B) complex communities, specialized ecologic requirements, and small populations.
C) the simplicity of the communities and the generalized nature of their requirements.
D) associations with non-tropical species and large body size of the main living organisms.

Question 7

The typical pattern of evolutionary radiation, such as that seen in the record of hexacorals, is characterized by evolution that

A) produced large-scale divergence at a very early stage, but not much divergence later on.
B) produced large-scale divergence that continued for many millions of years.
C) produced only new genera and species at the early stages.
D) does not seem to affect the body plan.

Question 8

In general, __________ is the result of particularly extreme impacts of the limiting factors that normally hold populations in check.

A) extinction
B) pseudoextinction
C) adaptation
D) convergence

Question 9

Darwin noted the geographic distribution of species, for example, the rheas (flightless birds) are found only in __________, whereas their relatives, the emus and ostriches, are found elsewhere.

A) Europe, Asia, and Africa
B) South America
C) Australia and Africa
D) North America

Question 10

Using the molecular clock method for determining how long ago two species, A1 and A2, diverged, what would be the time estimate if species A1 differed from species A2 by 30 percent and the mutation rate were was 1 percent per million years?

A) 3 million years
B) 30 million years
C) 300 million years
D) 3000 million years

Question 11

Evolutionary convergence within two or more different biological groups, for example, the evolution of __________, is convincing evidence of adaptation in biological forms.

A) Asian dinosaurs and African mammals
B) marsupial mammals of Australia
C) cichlid fishes of Africa and those in Australia
D) fossil and modern hexacorals of the world

Question 12

When a new species originates from a preexisting species, we call this

A) mutation.
B) speciation.
C) regulation.
D) genetic drift.

Question 13

The common origin of toes of land-dwelling mammals, fingers of humans, and wings of bats is an example of

A) homology.
B) vestigial organs.
C) natural selection.
D) origin of species.

Question 14

Darwin's observations on the common ancestry of vertebrates were based on

A) frogs and toads of the Galápagos Islands.
B) early embryos of South American animals.
C) various South American adaptations.
D) finches and tortoises of the Galápagos Islands.

Question 15

__________ are specialized features of animals and plants, which perform one or more useful functions.

A) Adaptations
B) Ground plans
C) Ecologic niches
D) Evolutionary divergences

Question 16

According to Darwin, the kinds of individuals that came to predominate as generation followed generation could be said to be

A) members of a limited breeding population.
B) capable of producing more total offspring.
C) favored by natural selection.
D) without vestigial organs.

Question 17

Mutation of __________ can profoundly modify an organism.

A) chromosomes
B) a regulatory gene
C) any part of the DNA
D) the nucleus of the cell

Question 18

The evolutionary radiation of the highly distinctive adaptations of cichlid fishes in Lake Victoria is reminiscent of

A) Jurassic hexacorals.
B) Darwin's tortoises and finches.
C) Devonian fishes with paddle-like fins.
D) certain ancestral beavers.

Question 19

The single largest mass extinction in Earth's history rose above the level of a __________-percent loss of then-living marine genera over an interval of a few million years or less.

A) 10- to 20
B) 40
C) 60
D) 80

Question 20

The modern hexacorals that build reefs in the world's oceans experienced their first adaptive radiation during

A) Paleocene.
B) Late Cretaceous.
C) Middle Jurassic.
D) Late Triassic.

Question 21

__________ is the earliest recognized whale fossil.

A) Indohyus
B) Pakicetus
C) Ambulocetus
D) Gryphaea

Question 22

The ancestors of the modern-day manatee were a species of

A) whale.
B) rodents.
C) elephant.
D) four-legged, terrestrial mammals, about 2 m long.

Question 23

Today, the rate of extinction of species surpasses the great mass extinctions of the geologic past, and the largest number of extinctions can be traced to

A) human exploitation of animals.
B) human destruction of habitats.
C) organisms that are ecological opportunists.
D) vast numbers of meteorite impacts.

Question 24

The oldest known horse, which is called __________, had four toes on each fore foot, three toes on each hind foot, and simple molar teeth.

A) Equus
B) Hipparion
C) Mesohippus
D) Hyracotherium

Question 25

A mass extinction of nearly all ammonite species occurred near the beginning of __________.

A) Triassic
B) Jurassic
C) Cretaceous
D) Paleocene

Question 26

An ancestral horse with a simple tooth is the

A) Hyracotherium.
B) Mesohippus.
C) Hipparion.
D) Equus.

Question 27

The distribution of the percentage extinction for genera of marine animals throughout Phanerozoic shows that there has/have been __________ great mass extinction(s) over the past 500 million years that claimed 40 percent or more of these genera.

A) one
B) two
C) three
D) four

Question 28

During a 12-million year interval within Jurassic, the shell of __________ became larger, thinner, and flatter.

A) Gryphaea
B) Equus
C) Ambulocetus
D) Indohyus

Question 29

Dollo's law says that

A) extinction is forever.
B) a punctuational model exists for evolution.
C) a gradualistic model exists for evolution.
D) extinction is reversible under the right conditions.

Question 30

Cope's rule says that __________ tends to increase during the evolution of a group of animals.

A) turnover rate
B) the number of males fighting for females
C) the number of vertebrate animals
D) body size