Deck 28: Memories of Past Life: Fossils and Evolution

Question 1

Imagine that a layer of leaves is scattered along a forest floor;what must happen in order to preserve these leaves as fossils?

A)The leaves must be picked up by wind or animals and carried to a desert.
B)The leaves must be buried slowly so that the leaves can begin to rot.
C)The leaves must be buried rapidly in order to keep out oxygen.
D)The leaves will never be preserved as they do not contain hard parts.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which major kingdom would a bivalve belong to?

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

Answer 2

B

Question 3

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?

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.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

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

A)Leaves from an ancient oak tree fall to the ground in a forest.
B)A mammoth dies from starvation in the middle of a vast dry plain.
C)A ground sloth walks along the edge of a river in the wet mud.
D)Bacteria living in the ocean die near the shoreline and sink to the bottom.

Question 5

Which of the following is a brachiopod?

A)Figure 1
B)Figure 2
C)Figure 3
D)Figure 4

Question 6

In which of the following rocks might you find fossils?

A)gneiss
B)limestone
C)granite
D)basalt

Question 7

The following is an example of what type of fossil?

A)trace fossil
B)permineralized organism
C)carbonized impression
D)mold or cast fossil

Question 8

Why is the preservation potential of an organism higher if it dies in an anoxic (oxygen-poor)environment?

A)The organism will die more quickly without oxygen.
B)Anoxic environments contain abundant amounts of amber.
C)The organism does not decay in an anoxic environment.
D)Oxygen decreases the rate of permineralization.

Question 9

Why do plants generally become carbonized impressions if they are preserved as fossils?

A)because chemical reactions leave behind only the carbon
B)because they are often decayed away before fossilization
C)because they are easily moved by winds and water
D)because they are generally scavenged by animals

Question 10

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

A)Not every minute of Earth's history is recorded in the rock record.
B)The fossil record does not contain any fossil remains of plants,only animals.
C)Not all organisms have a high preservation potential.
D)Paleontologists have not yet found all the fossils that are in the rocks.

Question 11

Which of the following is NOT necessary in order to be preserved as a fossil?

A)hard parts
B)rapid burial
C)anoxic environment
D)tough skin or fur

Question 12

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

A)A drought must occur so that sediment can be blown over the body.
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 13

Which of the following would NOT be considered a fossil?

A)Figure 1
B)Figure 2
C)Figure 3
D)Figure 4

Question 14

Petrified wood is a type of ________.

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

Question 15

Why is the preservation potential of feathers so low?

A)because birds usually die in dry environments
B)because feathers do not contain hard parts
C)because feathers are very small and thus are not well preserved
D)because birds die in forests,areas with high oxygen levels

Question 16

What type of fossil is shown in the picture?

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

Question 17

What type of fossil is composed of footprints or burrows?

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

Question 18

Fossils are found in ________ rocks.

A)metamorphic
B)foliated
C)sedimentary
D)intrusive

Question 19

What type of fossil is shown in the picture below?

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

Question 20

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

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

Question 21

If a volcanic eruption occurs that blocks out some of the sunlight long enough for many plants to die,what (if anything)will happen to the carnivorous animal species?

A)They will eventually die along with many other species in the food chain.
B)The carnivorous animals will need to adapt to eat other plant species.
C)They will die from the drop in temperature before the plant deaths affect them.
D)Nothing will happen;carnivorous animals will not be affected by plant death.

Question 22

Which of the following is an example of natural selection?

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

Question 23

What is natural selection?

A)the theory that all life began in shallow coastal pools of protein-rich water
B)the theory that all life on 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 24

When the last member of a species dies,this is called ________.

A)fossilization
B)natural selection
C)extinction
D)preservation

Question 25

At least five of these have occurred in Earth's history,one of which occurred 65 million years ago and wiped out the dinosaurs.

A)mass extinction event
B)punctuated equilibrium
C)millennia-long drought
D)phylogenetic tree