Definitions
More Definitions
General Knowledge
G.K. 2
Miscellaneous
100
The length of time required for half of the radioactive atoms in a sample to decay is its _____________
What is half-life
100
A pattern of evolution in which a species evolves at a slow, steady pace.
What is gradualism.
100
One scientific hypothesis about the origin of life holds that __________ existed before DNA.
What is RNA
100
Earth’s continental plates can move as little as 3 centimeters per year. The Quaternary period has lasted for 2 million years. What is the minimum distance in kilometers that a continental plate has moved during the Quaternary period?
What is 60 km.
100
Why did oceans not exist on Earth nearly 4 billion years ago?
What is Water remained a gas because the Earth was very hot.
200
To compare the relative ages of rocks, scientists sometimes use an easily recognized and widespread fossil type called this.
What is an index fossil.
200
A species at equilibrium migrates into a new environment and soon begins a period of rapid evolution. The type of evolution that occurred is most likely __________ _______.
What is adaptive radiation.
200
Genetic diversity in prokaryotes is primarily due to __________ in DNA.
What is mutations.
200
Fossils usually provide paleontologists with information about each of the following EXCEPT an organim’s ____.
What is DNA.
200
Master control genes, or Hox genes, affect evolution through small changes during embryonic development that lead to different ________ __________.
What is body plans.
300
Paleontologists identify a new species of fossil on two different continents. What geological process would most likely responsible for this fossil being found in both places?
What is continental drift.
300
A pattern in which species experience long, stable periods interrupted by brief periods of rapid evolutionary change is called ____________.
What is punctuated equilibrium.
300
Earth’s early atmosphere was primarily composed of what three things?
What is CO2, water vapor, and N.
300
Sedimentary rock is formed from _______, ________, and ________.
What is small particles of sand, silt, and clay.
300
If a bird needed to fish out insects from the ground, what adaptation would we likely see on it?
What is a curved or long skinny beak.
400
What theory explains why the edges of Africa and South America fit together like two pieces of a puzzle?
What is plate tectonics.
400
A single species that has evolved into several different forms that live in different ways has undergone what?
What is adaptive radiation.
400
The endosymbiotic theory was proposed because mitochondria, chloroplasts, and free-living prokaryotes have similar _________ _______________.
What is cell membranes.
400
The fossil record shows what?
What is that most organisms that ever lived on Earth are now extinct.
400
In the past, mass extinctions encouraged the rapid evolution of surviving species by making what?
What is new habitats available to them.
500
The Australian flying phalanger is a marsupial flying squirrel. Its appearance, behavior, environment and diet closely resemble those of the American flying squirrel, a placental mammal. This resemblance is most likely due to what?
What is convergent evolution.
500
The process by which two species evolve in response to changes in each other over time is called _____________.
What is coevolution.
500
The endosymbiotic theory proposes that eukaryotic cells arose from _____________.
What is communities formed by prokaryotes.
500
Most fossils are found in
What is sedimentary rock.
500
Mass extinction would most likely result from which of the following events?
What is global temperatures drop several degrees after several massive volcanic eruptions.
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