Deck 14: The Origin and History of Life

Question 1

The Soviet chemist Oparin suggested that for organic molecules to form on Earth,the atmosphere was probably rich in:

A)Oxygen
B)Oxygen and water
C)Helium
D)Argon
E)Hydrogen

Answer 1

E

Question 2

Which scientist,using meat placed in sealed containers and meat in open containers,helped disprove the theory of spontaneous generation?

A)Louis Pasteur
B)Lazzaro Spallanzani
C)Charles Darwin
D)Francesco Redi
E)Svante Arrhenius

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Ediacaran organisms:

A)Have been thought to be ferns, worms, or fungi
B)Lived during the Precambrian period
C)Lived from about 600 million years ago to about 540 million years ago
D)Did not leave any modern day descendants
E)All are correct

Answer 3

E

Question 4

Carl Woese named an ancient aggregate of DNA,RNA,proteins,and lipids a:

A)Progenote
B)Cell
C)Molecule
D)Liposome
E)Domain

Question 5

Evidence supporting the idea that mitochondria and chloroplasts in present-day cells originated as independent organisms includes:

A)Similarities in DNA sequences between mitochondrial and bacterial genomes
B)Similarities in size and shape between mitochondria and some prokaryotes
C)Similarity between photosynthetic pigments in chloroplasts and cyanobacteria
D)Similarity in the way mitochondria, chloroplasts, and prokaryotes reproduce
E)All of these are correct

Question 6

The last shared ancestor for today's cell types is thought to have arisen about:

A)Six billion years ago
B)Four billion years ago
C)Four million years ago
D)Three billion years ago
E)Three million years ago

Question 7

Which scientist is given credit for proposing the endosymbiont theory?

A)Charles Darwin
B)Louis Pasteur
C)Svante Arrenhius
D)Stanley Miller
E)Lynn Margulis

Question 8

It is thought that eukaryotes probably originated about:

A)Four billion years ago
B)Two billion years ago
C)Four million years ago
D)Three billion years ago
E)Three million years ago

Question 9

Which of the following were found in the Cambrian seas?

A)Red and green algae
B)Sponges and jellyfish
C)Trilobites and nautiloids
D)Mollusks and worms
E)All are correct

Question 10

Photosynthesis probably originated during the __________ eon and most likely used _____________ as an electron donor.

A)Proterozoic, water
B)Archean, water
C)Archean, hydrogen sulfide
D)Proterozoic, hydrogen sulfide
E)Paleozoic, water

Question 11

Clues from geology and paleontology suggest that simple cells or their precursors arose about:

A)Six billion years ago
B)Six million years ago
C)Four billion years ago
D)Four million years ago
E)One million years ago

Question 12

Ediacaran organisms lived during the:

A)Precambrian period
B)Cambrian period
C)Devonian period
D)Silurian period
E)Jurassic period

Question 13

The "Cambrian explosion" refers to:

A)The mass extinction of dinosaurs
B)The appearance of fossils for all major phyla of animals
C)The development of the first true cell
D)The origination of life
E)All are correct

Question 14

Which scientist,using S-shaped curved open-necked flasks to keep out bacteria but allow air and the "vital principle" in,helped disprove the theory of spontaneous generation?

A)Louis Pasteur
B)Francesco Redi
C)Lazzaro Spallanzani
D)Charles Darwin
E)Svante Arrhenius

Question 15

It is thought that the first multicellular organisms arose about:

A)1.2 billion years ago
B)500 million years ago
C)Two billion years ago
D)3.5 billion years ago
E)Six billion years ago

Question 16

Which of the following is not a similarity supporting the endosymbiont theory?

A)Similarity in the DNA of mitochondria and prokaryotes
B)Similarity in the lysosomes of prokaryotes and mitochondria
C)Similarity in the RNA of mitochondria and prokaryotes
D)Similarity in the ribosomes of mitochondria and prokaryotes
E)All of these support the endosymbiont theory

Question 17

It is thought that the first cells probably arose about:

A)500 million years ago
B)1.2 billion years ago
C)Two billion years ago
D)Six billion years ago
E)3.5 billion years ago

Question 18

Which theory is used to help explain the origin of chloroplasts and mitochondria?

A)The theory of spontaneous generation
B)The theory of natural selection
C)The geologic time theory
D)The cell theory
E)The endosymbiont theory

Question 19

Which of the following did not occur during Precambrian time?

A)Life originated
B)Ancestors of all modern animals appear
C)Photosynthesis evolved
D)O₂ accumulated in the Earth's atmosphere
E)Eukaryotes arose

Question 20

Stanley Miller's first prebiotic simulation experiment showed that under the right conditions,Oparin's ancient atmosphere could allow for the formation of:

A)Living cells
B)Amino acids
C)Plants
D)DNA molecules
E)Liposomes

Question 21

The first vascular plants evolved during the:

A)Cambrian period
B)Ordovician period
C)Silurian period
D)Devonian period
E)Carboniferous period

Question 22

A mass extinction perhaps caused by a large asteroid hitting Earth near the Yucatan peninsula occurred during the:

A)Cretaceous period
B)Jurassic period
C)Triassic period
D)Permian period
E)Cambrian period

Question 23

The "Age of Amphibians" was the:

A)Permian period
B)Ordovician period
C)Silurian period
D)Devonian period
E)Carboniferous period

Question 24

The "Age of Fishes" was the:

A)Devonian period
B)Ordovician period
C)Silurian period
D)Carboniferous period
E)Permian period

Question 25

The three periods of the Mesozoic era in sequence from most ancient to most recent are:

A)Permian, Triassic, and Jurassic
B)Cambrian, Ordovician, and Silurian
C)Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous
D)Cretaceous, Jurassic, and Triassic
E)Silurian, Ordovician, and Cambrian

Question 26

The Cenozoic era consists of the:

A)Triassic and Jurassic periods
B)Tertiary and Quaternary periods
C)Cretaceous and Tertiary periods
D)Permian and Triassic periods
E)Jurassic and Cretaceous periods

Question 27

The Primate order arose about:

A)1 million years ago
B)10 million years ago
C)25 million years ago
D)60 million years ago
E)100 million years ago

Question 28

Primitive reptiles first appeared during the:

A)Cambrian period
B)Ordovician period
C)Carboniferous period
D)Silurian period
E)Devonian period

Question 29

Characteristics shared by primates include:

A)Flat nails instead of claws
B)Grasping hands with opposable thumbs
C)Stereoscopic vision and excellent depth perception
D)Large brain size in comparison to body size
E)All are correct

Question 30

Small animals called thecodonts and therapsids were the primary forms of animal life at the beginning of the:

A)Devonian period
B)Jurassic period
C)Permian period
D)Triassic period
E)Cretaceous period

Question 31

Homo sapiens first appeared during the:

A)Cretaceous period
B)Tertiary period
C)Permian period
D)Mesozoic era
E)Quaternary period

Question 32

Placental mammals appeared during the:

A)Triassic period
B)Jurassic period
C)Cretaceous period
D)Permian period
E)Tertiary period

Question 33

The Burgess Shale fossils are from the:

A)Ordovician period
B)Silurian period
C)Cambrian period
D)Devonian period
E)Carboniferous period

Question 34

The first vertebrates to leave fossil evidence,jawless fishes appeared during this time:

A)Cambrian period
B)Ordovician period
C)Silurian period
D)Devonian period
E)Carboniferous period

Question 35

The first amphibians appeared during the:

A)Cambrian period
B)Ordovician period
C)Devonian period
D)Silurian period
E)Carboniferous period

Question 36

The mass extinctions of the Permian period:

A)Paved the way for the age of dinosaurs
B)Was caused by a drop in sea level
C)Was caused by a rise in global temperature
D)Was caused by a long series of volcanic eruptions
E)All are correct

Question 37

The Mesozoic era lasted from about:

A)65 million years ago to 2 million years ago
B)500 million years ago to 250 million years ago
C)250 million years ago to 65 million years ago
D)540 million years ago to 250 million years ago
E)One billion years ago to 500 million years ago

Question 38

The amniote egg in which an embryo could develop completely on dry land arose during the:

A)Ordovician period
B)Permian period
C)Silurian period
D)Cambrian period
E)Devonian period

Question 39

The "Age of Dinosaurs" lasted about 120 million years and included the:

A)Cambrian and Ordovician periods
B)Jurassic and Cretaceous periods
C)Carboniferous and Permian periods
D)Triassic and Jurassic periods
E)Cretaceous and Tertiary periods

Question 40

The first flowering plants,first true mammals,and first true frogs appeared during the:

A)Cretaceous period
B)Cambrian period
C)Triassic period
D)Jurassic period
E)Permian period

Question 41

The three groups in the primate lineage are:

A)Monkeys, gibbons, and orangutans
B)Gorillas, bonobos, and chimpanzees
C)Prosimians, simians, and hominoids
D)Chimpanzees, gorillas, and humans
E)Hominines, hominids, and hominoids

Question 42

How is the ability of phospholipids to spontaneously form membranes when placed in water important in the origin of life on Earth?

A)Membranes are used by cells to catalyze reactions
B)Membranes are used by cells to store genetic information
C)Membranes protect a cell from high temperatures and pressures in the environment
D)Membranes are used by cells to isolate their contents from the environment
E)Membranes protect a cell for gasses in the atmosphere

Question 43

How might multicellular organisms have arisen?

A)Single-celled organisms joined together, or failed to separate after cell division
B)Single-celled organisms joined together
C)Single-celled organisms failed to separate after cell division
D)Single-celled organisms joined together, or absorbed other species by endocytosis
E)One species of organism absorbed another species by endocytosis

Question 44

How could an asteroid hitting the Yucatan peninsula in what is now Central America cause a worldwide mass extinction?

A)By blocking the sun and inhibiting photosynthesis
B)By using up all of the oxygen in the atmosphere
C)Most of the animals in the world were in the tropics of Central America
D)By causing massive floods
E)By heating up the planet

Question 45

Hominines include:

A)Humans
B)Humans, chimpanzees, and gorillas
C)Gibbons and orangutans
D)Chimpanzees and gorillas
E)All are correct

Question 46

Chloroplasts arose by endocytosis of ______.

A)An aerobic bacterium
B)A photosynthetic bacteria
C)An anaerobic bacterium
D)An aerobic archaea
E)A photosynthetic archaea

Question 47

Our closest living relatives on the evolutionary tree are:

A)Gibbons
B)Gorillas
C)Orangutans
D)Homo erectus
E)Chimpanzees

Question 48

A buried skeletal find of a specimen has the foramen magnum tucked beneath the skull; this indicates that the skeletal remains are:

A)Of a chimpanzee
B)Of a human
C)Of a lesser ape
D)Of a gorilla
E)All are correct

Question 49

Hominids include:

A)Humans
B)Orangutans
C)Chimpanzees
D)Gorillas
E)All are correct

Question 50

During the first 5-600 million years on Earth the atmosphere was primarily methane,ammonia,and hydrogen,much like other planets in our solar system.How would these conditions favor the formation of biological molecules?

A)Many chemical reactions are favored by high temperature and pressure
B)Many chemical reactions are inhibited by high temperature and pressure
C)Oxygen will break down many organic molecules by reduction
D)Oxygen will break down many organic molecules by oxidation
E)Oxygen is necessary to produce many organic molecules

Question 51

Mitochondria evolved before chloroplasts based on which observation?

A)Mitochondria produced the oxygen found in the atmosphere
B)All organisms have mitochondria
C)All eukaryotes have mitochondria, but not chloroplasts
D)All prokaryotes have mitochondria, but not chloroplasts
E)Mitochondria are larger than chloroplasts

Question 52

How might multicellular organisms have arisen?

A)Single-celled organisms joined together
B)Single-celled organisms failed to separate after cell division
C)Single-celled organisms joined together, or absorbed other species by endocytosis
D)One species of organism absorbed another species by endocytosis
E)Single-celled organisms joined together, or failed to separate after cell division

Question 53

Clays often have charged surfaces.How may this have been important in the formation of organic macromolecules?

A)They are a source of ATP to run chemical reactions
B)They form covalent bonds with organic building blocks
C)They can form templates by binding organic building blocks
D)They are a source of oxygen to break down organic building blocks
E)They are formed from meteorites that carried organic molecules to Earth

Question 54

A buried skeletal find has the foramen magnum near but not at the rear of the skull; this indicates the skeletal remains may be those of:

A)A human
B)A gorilla
C)A dog or a gorilla
D)A gorilla or a human

Question 55

Mitochondria arose by endocytosis of ______.

A)An anaerobic bacterium
B)A photosynthetic bacteria
C)An aerobic bacterium
D)An aerobic archaea
E)A photosynthetic archaea

Question 56

During the first 5-600 million years on Earth temperatures ranged from 500-1000°C,atmospheric pressure was 10 times current levels and the planet was bombarded with meteorites.How would these conditions favor the formation of biological molecules?

A)Many chemical reactions are favored by high temperature and pressure
B)Many chemical reactions are inhibited by high temperature and pressure
C)Oxygen will break down many organic molecules by oxidation
D)Oxygen will break down many organic molecules by reduction
E)Oxygen is necessary to produce many organic molecules

Question 57

The swinging from one arm to the other with the body dangling below is:

A)Bipedalism
B)Brachiation
C)"Knuckle walking"
D)Quatrapedalism
E)All are correct

Question 58

The carbon dioxide released from burning coal or oil comes from which of the following?

A)Carbon dioxide trapped in rocks and compressed into oil and coal
B)Carbon dioxide trapped in the ocean and compressed into oil and coal
C)Carbon dioxide released from volcanoes
D)Carbon dioxide fixed by plants during photosynthesis
E)Carbon in the tissues from dinosaurs

Question 59

Advantages of bipedalism include:

A)Movement through the treetops and clinging to vines
B)Ability to run faster
C)Freeing of hands to carry objects and use tools
D)Increased brain size
E)All are correct

Question 60

Why do scientists hypothesize that RNA was the first form of genetic material?

A)RNA can catalyze reactions and store genetic information
B)RNA can catalyze reactions
C)RNA can store genetic information
D)RNA can store genetic information and form membranes
E)RNA can catalyze reactions and form membranes

Question 61

The theory that complex organisms could arise suddenly from the nonliving was called "The theory of Spontaneous Generation."

Question 62

Scientists use mitochondrial DNA to track the migration of humans across the planet.After a group migrates away from their ancestral homeland,any mutations that occur are not mixed with those left in the ancestral population.Based on this,mitochondrial DNA samples taken from ____ would have the fewest unique mutations,representing the original and oldest DNA sequences.

A)Asia
B)Australia
C)Europe
D)Africa
E)Americas

Question 63

Scientists use mitochondrial DNA to track the migration of humans across the planet.After a group migrates away from their ancestral homeland,any mutations that occur are not mixed with those left in the ancestral population.Based on this,mitochondrial DNA samples taken from ____ would have the most unique mutations,representing the most recent population to migrate to a new area.

A)Africa
B)Asia
C)Australia
D)Europe
E)Americas

Question 64

Humans are less hairy and muscular than chimps,yet have 99% DNA sequence similarity.This is consistent with which hypothesis to account for the differences between humans and chimps?

A)Human and chimp proteins are essentially the same, but are turned on and off at different times.
B)Humans and chimps do not share many genes in common.
C)After the divergence of chimps and humans, changes in the human lineage caused some genes to stop working.
D)Most differences between human and chimp DNA sequences are in the regions that code for proteins.
E)Humans are more evolved than chimps.

Question 65

Which of the following allowed Homo sapiens to develop complex cultures unlike other members of the Homo genus?

A)The ability to walk upright
B)The development of agriculture
C)The ability to migrate out of Africa
D)Changes in skin color
E)The ability to use stone tools

Question 66

Humans and chimps are both able to:

A)Walk upright
B)Walk upright and use tools
C)Communicate
D)Use tools and communicate
E)Use tools

Question 67

The earliest cells probably originated about 3.5 billion years ago.

Question 68

Natural selection would have favored progenotes that could use more diverse food sources.

Question 69

To determine the sequence of Clint the chimpanzee's DNA,the DNA was first:

A)Placed into bacteria
B)Placed into a computer
C)Cloned into a plasmid
D)Transcribed into RNA
E)Translated into protein

Question 70

The transcription factor FOXP2 has two mutations in humans that are not found in chimps.This transcription factor regulates the expression of genes that allow humans to speak.This is consistent with which hypothesis to account for the differences between humans and chimps?

A)After the divergence of chimps and humans, changes in the human lineage caused some genes to stop working.
B)Human and chimp proteins are essentially the same, but are turned on and off at different times.
C)Humans and chimps do not share many genes in common.
D)Most differences between human and chimp DNA sequences are in the regions that code for proteins.
E)Humans are more evolved than chimps.

Question 71

To determine the sequence of Clint the chimpanzee's DNA,the tens of millions of DNA sequences were ____ to create a complete genome sequence.

A)Cloned into plasmids
B)Placed into bacteria
C)Transcribed into RNA
D)Analyzed on a computer
E)Translated into protein

Question 72

Chromosome 2 in Homo sapiens formed when two smaller chromosomes fused,after the chimpanzee and human lineages split.As a result,humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes and chimpanzees have 24 and can no longer form fertile offspring (Fig.14.31).This would be an example of:

A)Gradualism
B)Natural selection
C)Artificial selection
D)Punctuated equilibrium
E)Fertilization

Question 73

Humans and chimps are both:

A)Primates and hominids
B)Primates
C)Hominids
D)Homo sapiens
E)Primates and Homo sapiens

Question 74

The early report that Stanley Miller had created "Life in a Test Tube" in his prebiotic simulations was correct.

Question 75

Based on DNA sequence analysis,humans and chimps have 96% of their DNA sequences alike,with 99% of the coding regions alike.The biggest differences between the sequences of chimps and humans are in which of the following?

A)Regions are transcribed into proteins
B)All regions are equally different
C)Regions that do not encode proteins
D)Regions that are transcribed into RNA
E)DNA found outside of the chromosomes

Question 76

The enzyme that copies RNA into complementary DNA is RNA polymerase.

Question 77

The "endosymbiotic theory" states that eukaryotic cells work together to form a multicellular organism.

Question 78

The geologic time scale is divided into eons,eras,periods,and epochs defined by major geological or biological events.

Question 79

By comparing the sequences of human and chimpanzee DNA sequences,scientists may be able to answer which of the following questions?

A)Which genes control the ability to speak?
B)Which genes lead to the development of opposable thumbs?
C)Which genes give binocular vision?
D)Which genes lead to the development of large brains?
E)Which genes give good visual depth perception?

Question 80

Chromosome 2 in Homo sapiens formed when two smaller chromosomes fused,after the chimpanzee and human lineages split.As a result,humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes and chimpanzees have 24 and can no longer form fertile offspring (Fig.14.31).This would allow humans and chimps to evolve independently while living in the same location also known as:

A)Gradualism
B)Allopatric speciation
C)Parapatric speciation
D)Natural selection
E)Sympatric speciation