Atmosphere
What is the process that added oxygen to Earth’s atmosphere and allowed for more complex life to evolve?
Photosynthesis
Why are trilobite fossils more common than fossils of land organisms?
What is because they had hard shells and lived in environments favorable for fossilization?
What is one reason birds were able to survive the dinosaur extinction?
What is their ability to fly or their small size requiring fewer resources?
What adaptation allowed reptiles to reproduce away from water?
What are hard-shelled eggs?
What evolutionary process increases genetic variation and helps organisms adapt?
What is sexual reproduction?
Oxygenation caused the extinction of which type of organisms?
What are anaerobic bacteria?
What is one trait that contributed to the success of trilobites in ancient oceans?
What is their hard exoskeleton?
What are two causes of the Great Dying mass extinction?
What are climate change and volcanic activity?
What adaptation helped amphibians move onto land?
What are lungs and limbs for movement?
What type of cell evolved after prokaryotes and has a nucleus?
What is a eukaryotic cell?
How did oxygenation indirectly support the evolution of multicellular organisms?
by creating conditions for more energy production and complex life forms
Why are land organisms less likely to become fossils compared to marine organisms?
What is because they are less likely to be buried in sediment?
How did trees contribute to the Great Dying?
What is they formed fossil fuels that burned, releasing greenhouse gases?
How did scaly skin help reptiles survive on land?
What is by reducing water loss?
How did photosynthesis impact the development of life on Earth?
What is by adding oxygen to the atmosphere?
Name one experiment that showed how the building blocks of life could form under early Earth conditions.
Miller Urey Experiment
In what environments are fossils most likely to form?
What are marine environments or areas with rapid burial?
What factors contributed to the extinction of large mammals (megafauna) during the last 50,000 years?
What are climate change and overhunting by humans?
What two traits helped mammals dominate after the extinction of the dinosaurs?
What are hair for insulation and nurturing their young?
What environmental change triggered the Cambrian Explosion?
What is increased oxygen levels?
During which geological event did oxygen levels and hard body parts play a key role in the diversification of life?
What is the Cambrian Explosion?
Name one reason the fossil record is important to understanding Earth’s history.
What is it helps scientists study ancient ecosystems and evolutionary processes?
The mass extinction that killed the largest percentage of species.
What is the Great Dying?
Which adaptation allowed birds to find food and escape danger during extinction events?
What is the ability to fly?
What is one way human activity in the Anthropocene has significantly changed Earth's ecosystems?
What is deforestation, urbanization, or the release of greenhouse gases causing climate change?