Question 1

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

Accepted Answer

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 planetF) C) and E)
G) C) and D)

Question 2

The "Age of Fishes" was the:

Accepted Answer

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

Question 3

The "Cambrian explosion" refers to:

Accepted Answer

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 correctF) A) and D)
G) B) and D)

Question 4

Which of the following did not occur during Precambrian time?

Accepted Answer

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

Question 5

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?

Accepted Answer

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.F) A) and C)
G) All of the above

Question 6

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

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 7

The mass extinctions of the Permian period:

Accepted Answer

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 correctF) B) and D)
G) B) and C)

Question 8

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

Accepted Answer

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

Question 9

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

Accepted Answer

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?F) B) and C)
G) C) and D)

Question 10

A time of great adaptive radiation for mammals occurred during the Tertiary period.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 11

The two major extinctions of living species occurred during the Mesozoic era.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 12

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

Accepted Answer

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

Question 13

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

Accepted Answer

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 correctF) None of the above
G) C) and D)

Question 14

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

Accepted Answer

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 membranesF) B) and C)
G) A) and D)

Question 15

Ediacaran organisms lived during the:

Accepted Answer

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

Question 16

Our closest living relatives on the evolutionary tree are:

Accepted Answer

A)  Gibbons
B)  Gorillas
C)  Orangutans
D)  Homo erectus
E)  ChimpanzeesF) A) and B)
G) A) and C)

Question 17

Homo sapiens first appeared during the:

Accepted Answer

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

Question 18

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

Accepted Answer

A)  Proterozoic, water
B)  Archean, water
C)  Archean, hydrogen sulfide
D)  Proterozoic, hydrogen sulfide
E)  Paleozoic, waterF) C) and E)
G) None of the above

Question 19

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

Accepted Answer

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

Question 20

The "Age of Amphibians" was the:

Accepted Answer

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

Exam 14: The Origin and History of Life

The two major extinctions of living species occurred during the Mesozoic era.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The mass extinctions of the Permian period:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

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?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following did not occur during Precambrian time?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Homo sapiens first appeared during the:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

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

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

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

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

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

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

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

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

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

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

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

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Ediacaran organisms lived during the:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

A time of great adaptive radiation for mammals occurred during the Tertiary period.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The "Age of Amphibians" was the:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

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

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The "Age of Fishes" was the:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Our closest living relatives on the evolutionary tree are:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

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

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

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

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The "Cambrian explosion" refers to:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

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

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified