Fossil Record
Homology
Cladograms
Random
Rates of Change
100
Why have so few organisms become fossilized?
fossils form vary rarely and only under certain conditions
100
The diagram shows the transformation of forelimbs through a variety of animal species. Which two organisms show the most divergence from human forelimbs in terms of what we know as "fingers"
horse and lion
100
Based on the cladogram below, which two organisms have hair or fur?
rodents and primates
100
Why do distantly related species in very different places sometimes share similar traits?
In similar environments, organisms may develop similar adaptations to survive in that environment.
100
Which type of change do we see after a mass extinction event?
punctuated equilibrium or abrupt appearance.
200
Weathering and erosion occurred on a stream bank and exposed rock layers containing fossils. The fossils were found in the following order from bottom to top:
According to this information, what does this tell us about the environment over time?
a forest was replaced by a freshwater lake
200
In cats, the bones in the legs involved in walking are very similar to the bones of whales' flippers that are involved in swimming. These are examples of —
homologous structures
200
Based on the cladogram, which animals most likely have egg shells?
reptiles and birds
200
What provides the greatest evidence of common ancestry?
molecular homology
200
This is a slow and continuous rate of change
What is gradualism?
300
Which area shows the organism that became extinct first?
bottom layer
300
the wings of butterflies and bats are what kind of structures
analogous
300
Based on the cladogram, which characteristic represents the commonality between fish and primates?
vertebrae
300
How is abrupt appearance different than gradualism?
gradualism is a slow and continuous rate of evolution while abrupt appearance is a rapid rate of evolution followed by stasis
300
A scientist is examining layers of the earth and tracking information about animal fossils found in each layer. For many of the deeper layers there are consistently large animal skulls but there is a sudden shift in the skull size in one layer and they are all much smaller at that point for the remaining layers until the earth's surface. What does this suggest?
that an environmental change caused a smaller animal to become prevalent
400
Which layer of the fossil record would contain the organism that became extint most recently?
The top
400
Some kinds of snakes have vestigial pelvic bones that have similar characteristics to the pelvic bones of turtles. this observation provides evidence that .....
turtles and snakes share a common ancestor
400
The cladogram shows the evolution of an aquatic mammal indicated by the fossil records.
Which discovery would challenge the validity of this argument?
A fossil of an aquatic mammal 60 million years old
a fossil of an aquatic mammal that has existed for less than one million years
a fossil of a terrestrial mammal species that lived 60 million years ago
a fossil of an aquatic mammal at the same time as a terrestrial mammal
A fossil of an aquatic mammal 60 million years old
400
A biologist is studying an environment that contains many different types of finches.
What are two methods the scientist can use to determine how closely related the different types of finches are?
comparing DNA (molecular homology) and examining physical traits like beak shape
400
There are various hypotheses as to why the dinosaurs became extinct. The meteorite hypothesis credits the extinction to a meteorite colliding with the Earth. The volcanic activity hypothesis links the extinction to an increase in volcanic eruptions.
The discovery of a large crater that formed on Earth about 65 million years ago could be used as evidence to support which of these hypotheses?
only the meteorite hypothesis
500
What two ways do scientist date fossils?
Relative dating and radiometric dating
500
The DNA of the following four species was compared to determine whether any evolutionary relationship existed. According to the chart, which species is the most closely related to Species 3?
Species 1ATGTAGC
Species 2ATCTGAC
Species 3AGGTACC
Species 4AGGCGGC
one
500
Based on the cladogram, which characteristics tie rodents and primates most closely together?
hair/fur and amniotic egg
500
After examining the fossil record, scientist have determined that horses today are much larger than their extinct ancestors. What conclusion can we draw that would be supported by this information?
Larger horses survived better and passed their traits to offspring
500
Fossil evidence shows that early horses were much smaller than modern horses. Scientists have identified a pattern in which their size increased over millions of years. Which term best describes this pattern of evolutionary change?
What is gradualism?