Question 1

Which insects belong to the group of hemimetabolous insects?

Accepted Answer

A) moths and cockroaches 
B) beetles and dragonflies 
C) beetles and ants 
D) dragonflies and cockroaches

Question 2

Which of the following is the oldest of the eras that make up the geological time scale?

Accepted Answer

A) the Hadean 
B) the Paleozoic 
C) the Mesozoic 
D) the Cenozoic

Question 3

In what eons was there very little appearance of new forms of life, how long did they last, and why was there so little diversification?

Accepted Answer

The answer of In what eons was there very little...

Question 4

Why is the traditional taxon class Reptilia considered paraphyletic?

Accepted Answer

A) It includes an ancestor and all of its descendants. 
B) It includes an ancestor and some, but not all, of its descendants. 
C) It does not include an ancestor along with some of its descendants. 
D) It does not include an ancestor along with all of its descendants.

Question 5

Which group of animals represents the surviving dinosaurs?

Accepted Answer

A) birds 
B) crocodiles and alligators 
C) snakes and lizards 
D) turtles

Question 6

What do systematists need to consider in order to complete phylogenetic trees or cladograms?

Accepted Answer

A) similar organisms only 
B) extinct and extant organisms 
C) extinct organisms only 
D) extant organisms only

Question 7

Some fossils, particular plant fossils, are moulds or impressions. Why may the three-dimensional analysis of these fossils be difficult?

Accepted Answer

A) because these organisms may have been compressed shortly after death 
B) because these organisms may have been compressed long after death 
C) because these organisms may have been compressed while still being alive 
D) because these organisms may have been compressed dissolved

Question 8

Match each of the following events with the correct time period.
-continents coalesce into Pangaea; mass extinction at the end of this period destroys 85% of life

Accepted Answer

A) Archaean 
B) Cambrian 
C) Silurian 
D) Devonian 
E) Carboniferous
F)Permian
G)Triassic
H)Jurassic
I)Cretaceous
J)Paleocene

Question 9

Which of the following is an example of analogous characters?

Accepted Answer

A) the tailbone of a human being and the tail of a monkey 
B) the arm of a human, the wing of a bird, and the leg of a dog 
C) the bones in the wings of bats, birds, and pterosaurs 
D) the sweet potato and potato as food storage

Question 10

Nodes represent common ancestors that underwent cladogenesis and produced two descendant clades.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 11

Match each of the following events with the correct time period.
-origin of life; evolution of prokaryotes

Accepted Answer

A) Archaean 
B) Cambrian 
C) Silurian 
D) Devonian 
E) Carboniferous
F)Permian
G)Triassic
H)Jurassic
I)Cretaceous
J)Paleocene

Question 12

Which insects belong to the group of holometabolous insects?

Accepted Answer

A) beetles, moths, dragonflies, and cockroaches 
B) beetles, moths, ants, and dragonflies 
C) beetles, moths, ants, and cockroaches 
D) beetles, moths, ants, and flies

Question 13

Which of the following applies to fossils found in the same stratum?

Accepted Answer

A) They represent organisms that lived and died at different times in the past. 
B) They represent organisms that lived and died at roughly the same time in the past. 
C) They represent organisms that lived at roughly the same time in the past. 
D) They represent organisms that died at roughly the same time in the past.

Question 14

A single pregnant female parakeet arrives in Hawaii early in its history. After millions of years, her descendants have successfully adapted to a variety of foods and habitats. What is this is the result of?

Accepted Answer

A) genetic drift 
B) adaptive radiation 
C) allopatric speciation 
D) sympatric speciation

Question 15

What is convergent evolution?

Accepted Answer

A) a tendency among organisms living under the different conditions to develop different body forms 
B) a tendency among organisms living under the same conditions to develop different body forms 
C) a tendency among organisms living under the same conditions to develop similar body forms 
D) a tendency among organisms living under the different conditions to develop similar body forms

Question 16

What do some systematists want to replace Linnaean hierarchy for classifying and naming organisms with?

Accepted Answer

A) PhyloCode 
B) description 
C) morphological divergence 
D) PhyloClass

Question 17

What suggests that the earliest movement of animals onto land occurred as short visits?

Accepted Answer

A) the movement of modern fishes onto land 
B) the movement of modern fishes and annelids onto land 
C) the movement of modern fishes, annelids, and molluscs onto land 
D) the movement of modern fishes, annelids, molluscs, and arthropods onto land

Question 18

In what types of rocks are fossils found?

Accepted Answer

A) metamorphic rocks 
B) igneous rocks 
C) sedimentary rocks 
D) crystalline rocks

Question 19

What are the factors that make the fossil record biased and incomplete?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What are the factors that make the...

Question 20

Recent research on fossil records of lambeosaurines implies the function of their bony crest. Which of the following is its most probable function?

Accepted Answer

A) adornments that attracted mates 
B) snorkels that facilitated breathing underwater 
C) weapons in male combat 
D) resonating chambers that produced honking vocalizations

Exam 20: Understanding the History of Life on Earth