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Life in the Universe, 4e (Bennett)
Chapter 6 The Origin and Evolution of Life on Earth

1) Why have studies of the geological record not enabled us to determine how life on Earth
originated?
A) the first living organisms would have left absolutely no trace of their existence
B) life was planted on the Earth by an advanced civilization so there is no evidence in the
geological record to find
C) the geological record does not extend back to the time that life originated
D) the oldest rocks are too deep inside the Earth for us to retrieve
Answer: C

2) Which approach is currently proving to be the most promising way of determining how life on
Earth originated?
A) studies of Martian meteorites
B) studies of organisms living around deep-sea ocean vents
C) studies of the fossil record
D) laboratory simulations of conditions present on the early Earth
Answer: D

3) The first life to originate on Earth must be


A) at least as old as the oldest fossils
B) exactly the same age as the oldest fossils
C) younger than the oldest fossils
D) much older than the oldest fossils
Answer: A

4) If a fossil were to be discovered which was 3.7 billion years old this would tell us that life on
Earth must have arisen
A) exactly 3.7 billion years ago
B) at least 3.7 billion years ago
C) less than 3.7 billion years ago
D) much later than 3.7 billion years ago
Answer: B

5) Stromatolites are
A) fossils of the first organisms to introduce oxygen into the atmosphere
B) fossils of the first multicellular organisms
C) layers of sediment that once contained colonies of ancient microbes
D) fossils of the first eukaryotes
Answer: C

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6) Stromatolites date back to approximately
A) 4.6 billion years ago
B) 3.5 billion years ago
C) 3.85 billion years ago
D) 4.0 billion years ago
Answer: B

7) Modern day living stromatolites which resemble ancient stromatolites very closely have been
found in
A) the Yucatan peninsula, Mexico
B) South West Greenland
C) Western Australia
D) Yellowstone National Park, U.S.A.
Answer: C

8) Microfossils are
A) fossilized microbes
B) the remains of very small dinosaurs
C) the remains of the very first multicellular organisms
D) the remains of the tiny organisms which were first to colonize onto land
Answer: A

9) Why is the claim of the discovery of microfossils controversial?


A) they are found in rocks from the Hadean Eon
B) it is not clear whether they are of biological or mineral origin
C) the rocks they are found in are probably contaminated by terrestrial bacteria
D) they are too small to be of biological origin
Answer: B

10) Currently, the strongest evidence for microfossils dates to approximately


A) 4.0 billion years ago
B) 3.5 billion years ago
C) 3.4 billion years ago
D) 3.9 billion years ago
Answer: C

11) Microfossils found in northwestern Australia in 2011 appears to have used compounds based
on which element for metabolism?
A) sulfur
B) oxygen
C) nitrogen
D) carbon
Answer: A

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12) Microfossils found in northwestern Australia in 2011 appear to have been
A) photoheterotrophs
B) chemoheterotrophs
C) photoautotrophs
D) chemoautotrophs
Answer: C

13) Microfossil evidence suggests that life


A) originated when the Earth formed 4.6 billion years ago
B) originated about 3.4 billion years ago
C) existed 3.85 billion years ago
D) existed and was well established by 3.4 to 3.5 billion years ago
Answer: D

14) Why can studies of carbon isotopes be used to detect the presence of past biological activity
in rocks?
A) living organisms absorb only the most common carbon isotope
B) living organisms remove all carbon from rocks
C) living organisms absorb certain carbon isotopes more easily than others
D) carbon isotopes are found only in living organisms
Answer: C

15) A sample of an ancient sedimentary rock contains slightly less of the isotope carbon-13 than
found in inorganic material. One possible explanation for this is that
A) it was a meteorite that fell from the sky
B) some kind of radioactive decay occurred in it in the past
C) it used to be at the bottom of an ancient ocean
D) some kind of biological activity occurred in it in the past
Answer: D

16) Carbon isotope evidence from rocks found on an island off the coast of Greenland, although
controversial, suggests that life may have
A) existed and was well established by3.4 to 3.5 billion years ago
B) originated about 3.4 billion years ago
C) existed 3.85 billion years ago
D) originated when the Earth formed 4.6 billion years ago
Answer: C

17) The rocks found in Greenland with carbon isotope ratios suggestive of life are
A) igneous
B) sedimentary
C) metamorphic
D) a mixture of sedimentary and metamorphic
Answer: B

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18) Current geological evidence suggests that life
A) took billions of years to appear
B) appeared as soon as the Earth formed
C) appeared quite early in Earth's history
D) appeared relatively recently in Earth's history
Answer: C

19) Where in the "Tree of Life" will current organisms be located that are most closely related to
the common ancestor of all life on Earth?
A) at the branch between animals and plants
B) very close to the root
C) at the branch between Archaea and Eukarya
D) very far from the root
Answer: B

20) Organisms close to each other on the "Tree of Life"


A) are genetically very different
B) look very similar to the eye
C) are genetically identical
D) are genetically very similar
Answer: D

21) Organisms far from each other on the "Tree of Life"


A) are genetically very similar
B) are genetically very different
C) look very similar to the eye
D) are genetically identical
Answer: B

22) As life on Earth evolved, its DNA


A) changed gradually into RNA
B) stayed the same
C) became gradually less complex
D) became gradually more complex
Answer: D

23) Life probably did not originate on the land surface because
A) impacts would have destroyed any life that appeared
B) water was not plentiful on land
C) there was no ozone layer to shield out harmful UV rays
D) organic materials were not present on the land
Answer: C

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24) In the 19th century, Charles Darwin suggested that life may have originated
A) in shallow ponds on land
B) deep beneath the oceans
C) beneath the surface of the Earth
D) in the atmosphere
Answer: A

25) Current evidence suggests that life on Earth


A) originated in shallow ponds on land
B) was delivered from elsewhere in meteorites
C) was deliberately planted by an advanced civilization
D) originated close to deep-sea volcanic vents or underground
Answer: D

26) In order for organic molecules to have formed on the early Earth, what do we know could
not have been present in the atmosphere in significant quantities?
A) oxygen (O2)
B) nitrogen (N2)
C) carbon dioxide (CO2)
D) argon (Ar)
Answer: A

27) In the original Miller—Urey experiment it was assumed that carbon and nitrogen in the early
atmosphere were present as
A) carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen (N2)
B) carbonates (CO3-) and nitrates (NO3-)
C) methane (CH4) and ammonia (NH3)
D) carbon and nitrogen atoms
Answer: C

28) In modern Miller—Urey experiments it is assumed that carbon and nitrogen in the early
atmosphere were present as
A) methane (CH4) and ammonia (NH3)
B) carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen (N2)
C) carbonates (CO3-) and nitrates (NO3-)
D) carbon and nitrogen atoms
Answer: B

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29) Under what conditions will prebiotic molecules NOT be manufactured in Miller—Urey
experiments?
A) if ammonia (NH3) is present in the flask
B) if methane (CH4) is present in the flask
C) if oxygen (O2) is present in the flask
D) if carbon dioxide (CO2) is present in the flask
Answer: C

30) Which of the following was an important source of prebiotic molecules (e.g., amino acids)
on the early Earth?
A) molecules produced on the surface by impacts
B) molecules produced by chemical reactions near deep-sea ocean vents
C) molecules transported to the surface by impacts
D) all of these
Answer: D

31) In 2014, when scientists used a laser to simulate the conditions generated when a large
impact hits a mixture of prebiotic molecules, they were able to produce
A) all 20 amino acids used in life
B) all four DNA bases used in life
C) complex carbohydrates
D) simple proteins
Answer: B

32) The transition from chemistry to biology occurred


A) gradually in a number of distinct steps
B) very quickly in in one single step
C) very quickly in a number of distinct steps
D) gradually in one single step
Answer: A

33) The first self-replicating molecule was probably


A) a simple carbohydrate
B) DNA
C) a simple protein
D) RNA
Answer: D

34) What is the "chicken-and-egg" type problem we face when trying to decide which came
first–proteins or nucleic acids?
A) proteins and nucleic acids probably looked very different before the origin of life
B) nucleic acids cannot replicate without proteins, and proteins cannot be made without nucleic
acids
C) early proteins and nucleic acids were very similar to each other
D) proteins and nucleic acids are always present together at the same time
Answer: B

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35) Why do we think that RNA was probably the first self-replicating molecule?
A) it is able to replicate at high temperatures found near deep-sea ocean vents
B) it is much simpler than DNA
C) in laboratory studies researchers have shown that it is able to catalyze its own replication
D) it is able to replicate using carbohydrates rather than proteins
Answer: C

36) RNA catalysts in cells are referred to as


A) enzymes
B) ribozymes
C) ribosomes
D) chemzymes
Answer: B

37) Why do we think that DNA was probably NOT the first self-replicating molecule?
A) it is able to replicate using carbohydrates rather than proteins
B) it is far to complex to have been the first self-replicating molecule
C) it is able to replicate at high temperatures found near deep ocean vents
D) laboratory have shown that it is able to catalyze its own replication
Answer: B

38) The first molecules of RNA were probably made


A) on the surfaces of clays or other minerals
B) deep within the earth
C) in the atmosphere
D) in space and then transported to the Earth in meteorites
Answer: A

39) Why are clay surfaces good at promoting the formation of biological polymers?
A) they are the only types of material monomers will stick to
B) they bring monomers close together, allowing them to react with each other
C) they are very common on the Earth
D) clays are made of biological polymers
Answer: B

40) What is one reason that early life formed cells?


A) cell walls prevent heat from escaping
B) cells concentrate molecules together so they react more easily
C) only cells can replicate
D) biological reactions can occur only within cells
Answer: B

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41) What is one reason that early life formed cells?
A) only cells can replicate
B) cell walls prevent heat from escaping
C) cells help to protect fragile biological molecules from the outside environment
D) biological reactions can occur only within cells
Answer: C

42) One type of early protocell (pre-cells) probably consisted of small droplets of
A) water
B) clay
C) concentrated amino acids
D) nucleic acids
Answer: C

43) One type of early protocell (pre-cells) probably consisted of small droplets of
A) water
B) clay
C) lipids
D) nucleic acids
Answer: C

44) What was one reason that RNA was eventually replaced by DNA as the molecule of choice
for storing genetic information?
A) the bases that make up DNA became much more common
B) DNA is far more stable than RNA
C) DNA can catalyze its own replication
D) the double helix of DNA is better able to correct errors in replication
Answer: D

45) One theory for the origin of life suggests that the earth and Life were created by some
omnipotent being. This is referred to as
A) panspermia
B) intelligent design
C) naturism
D) chemical evolution
Answer: B

46) One theory for the origin of life suggests that life was transported to Earth in meteorites. This
is referred to as
A) naturism
B) intelligent design
C) panspermia
D) chemical evolution
Answer: C

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47) Most meteorites from the inner solar system originate from
A) the Moon
B) Mars
C) Mercury
D) Venus
Answer: A

48) For microbes to survive the journey in a meteorite from another solar system body to the
Earth they would have to survive the
A) impact that blasted the rock off of the surface of its home world
B) high energy particles and radiation in space
C) entry through our atmosphere
D) all of these
Answer: D

49) One theory for the origin of life suggests that life formed spontaneously from increasingly
complex chemical reactions on the Earth. This is referred to as
A) intelligent design
B) naturism
C) panspermia
D) chemical evolution
Answer: D

50) Based on current scientific evidence, the theory that has been most successful at explaining
the origin of life on Earth is
A) naturism
B) panspermia
C) intelligent design
D) chemical evolution
Answer: D

51) Why is the chemical evolution model preferred by scientists over other theories for the origin
of life on Earth?
A) it is the theory that best fits the available data
B) because we have been able to create Life in the laboratory
C) because it was written down in ancient scriptures
D) because the other theories have been shown to be incorrect
Answer: A

52) Based on current scientific evidence, what is the likelihood that life on Earth was created by
some omnipotent being?
A) very unlikely but not impossible
B) impossible
C) certain
D) very likely
Answer: A

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53) Based on current scientific evidence, what is the likelihood that life on Earth was transported
to Earth in meteorites?
A) impossible
B) very likely
C) certain
D) possible
Answer: D

54) Based on current scientific evidence, what is the likelihood that life on Earth formed
spontaneously from increasingly complex chemical reactions?
A) very likely
B) certain
C) impossible
D) very unlikely
Answer: A

55) To date, meteorites have been identified originating from which planets and moons?
A) Mars only
B) All terrestrial planets
C) The Moon and Mars
D) The Moon only
Answer: C

56) The possibility of life being transferred from another planet like Mars largely depends on
whether that life can survive
A) being lasted from the parent planet
B) inside the meteorite with very little water present
C) long enough in space to make the journey to Earth
D) the impact onto the Earth's surface
Answer: C

57) If we eventually find life on Mars, we could tell if panspermia may have occurred between
Mars and Earth if
A) the biochemistry of Martian life is very different than life on Earth
B) the biochemistry of Martian life is very similar to life on Earth
C) Martian life shows evidence for natural selection
D) Martian life is cellular
Answer: B

58) The first living organisms probably resembled


A) single-celled eukaryotes
B) multicellular eukaryotes
C) single-celled prokaryotes
D) multicellular prokaryotes
Answer: C

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59) The very first living organisms on the Earth were probably
A) chemoheterotrophs
B) photoautotrophs
C) photoheterotrophs
D) chemoautotrophs
Answer: D

60) The first living organisms interacted with the atmosphere


A) sexually
B) symbiotically
C) aerobically
D) anaerobically
Answer: D

61) Compared to life today the rate of diversification in early organism was probably
A) exactly the same as it is today
B) much slower than it is today
C) much faster than it is today
D) just slightly slower than it is today
Answer: C

62) The first living organisms to develop photosynthesis were probably


A) purple and green sulfur bacteria
B) trilobites
C) cyanobacteria
D) stromatolites
Answer: A

63) Aerobic organisms first started building up oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere around
A) 4.6 billion years ago
B) 3.5 billion years ago
C) 4.0 billion years ago
D) 2.5 billion years ago
Answer: D

64) What do we mean by "The Oxygen Crisis" in relation to the evolution of life on Earth?
A) the extinction of older anaerobic life as oxygen builds up in the atmosphere
B) the time period before the development of the ozone layer
C) a period when evolution accelerated so rapidly that there was insufficient oxygen available
D) the destruction of oxygen in the early atmosphere
Answer: A

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65) The "oxygen crisis" occurred around
A) 2 billion years ago
B) 3.5 billion years ago
C) 2.5 billion years ago
D) 4 billion years ago
Answer: A

66) The first eukarya appeared


A) 4.6 billion years ago
B) around 3.5 billion years ago
C) 4.0 billion years ago
D) at least 2.1 billion years ago or perhaps even earlier
Answer: D

67) What is one piece of evidence that some organelles like mitochondria and chloroplasts within
eukaryotes used to be independent prokaryotes that were incorporated into eukaryotic cells?
A) the DNA inside organelles is not made of the same four bases as the DNA in the host cells
B) organelles float around independently inside eukaryotic cells
C) prokaryotes are seen incorporating into cells today
D) organelles are very similar to present-day bacteria, suggesting a common ancestor
Answer: D

68) What is one piece of evidence that some organelles like mitochondria and chloroplasts within
eukaryotes used to be independent prokaryotes that were incorporated into eukaryotic cells?
A) prokaryotes are seen incorporating into cells today
B) organelles float around independently inside eukaryotic cells
C) the DNA inside organelles is not made of the same four bases as the DNA in the host cells
D) they have their own DNA and reproduce independently of the host cell
Answer: D

69) The relationship between organelles and their host cells can best be described as
A) viral
B) sexual
C) symbiotic
D) parasitic
Answer: C

70) All multicellular organisms are


A) Bacteria
B) Prokaryotes
C) Archaea
D) Eukarya
Answer: D

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71) The first multicellular organism appears around
A) 542 million years ago
B) 1.2 billion years ago
C) 65 million years ago
D) 3.5 billion years ago
Answer: B

72) Today, which organisms have the highest biomass?


A) fungi
B) plants
C) animals
D) microbes
Answer: D

73) The highest level of classification of plants and animals is a


A) kingdom
B) phylum
C) class
D) order
Answer: B

74) Plants and animals belong to the phylum


A) annelida
B) echinodemata
C) cnidaria
D) chordata
Answer: D

75) The Cambrian Explosion began approximately


A) 2.1 billion years ago
B) 542 million years ago
C) 1.2 billion years ago
D) 65 million years ago
Answer: B

76) What happened at the start of the Cambrian Period?


A) the first oxygen-producing bacteria appeared
B) the first dinosaurs appeared
C) early humans first appeared
D) an explosion of genetic diversity appeared, leading to the appearance of the first animals
Answer: D

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77) Why do we believe the Cambrian explosion occurred so suddenly?
A) oxygen concentrations reached critical levels necessary to support more complex life
B) organisms became sufficiently complex that more diversity became possible
C) climate change due the end of the last snowball Earth phase
D) all of these
Answer: D

78) An explosion of genetic diversity similar to that which occurred during the Cambrian Period
hasn't happened recently, most likely because
A) evolution of life on Earth is no longer occurring
B) such an explosion can occur only for simple organisms and not complex ones
C) there are no more ecological niches available to allow this to happen
D) of the widespread presence of efficient predators that make it much more difficult for entirely
new organisms to appear
Answer: D

79) The colonization of life onto land was closely tied to the
A) appearance of multicellular organisms
B) development of photosynthesis
C) oceans being overcrowded
D) development of the ozone layer
Answer: D

80) The colonization of land by plants appears to have begun about


A) 542 million years ago
B) 360 million years ago
C) 65 million years ago
D) 475 million years ago
Answer: D

81) One of the first large organisms to develop the means to live on land were probably
A) plants
B) insects
C) reptiles
D) mammals
Answer: A

82) The first plants probably evolved from


A) plankton
B) algae
C) corals
D) seaweed
Answer: B

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83) During the Carboniferous Period,
A) the carbon dioxide cycle started to operate for the first time
B) carbon-rich meteorites impacted the Earth
C) the first carbon-based life appeared
D) land was covered with dense forests with the appearance of the first insects and amphibians
Answer: D

84) The Carboniferous Period began about


A) 475 million years ago
B) 65 million years ago
C) 360 million years ago
D) 542 million years ago
Answer: C

85) The fossil fuel deposits we use today are the remains of organisms from which period in
Earth's history?
A) The Cretaceous Period
B) The Carboniferous Period
C) The Cambrian Period
D) The Archaean Eon
Answer: B

86) Chemical reactions which remove oxygen from the atmosphere are known as
A) oxidation reactions
B) hydrolysis reactions
C) precipitation reactions
D) acid-base reactions
Answer: A

87) Most likely, oxygen was first released into the atmosphere by
A) the decomposition of dead organisms
B) plants
C) cyanobacteria
D) oxidation reactions
Answer: C

88) The presence of which rocks show that between 2 and 3 billion years ago the atmosphere
contained less than 1% of the amount of oxygen it contains today?
A) limestone
B) banded iron formations
C) silicate clays
D) sandstone
Answer: B

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89) How long did it take for oxygen to build up in the Earth's atmosphere to its present levels?
A) at least 542 million years
B) at least 360 million years
C) at least 2 billion years
D) at least 3.5 billion years
Answer: C

90) The point in time at which oxygen started to build up in the Earth's atmosphere is referred to
as the
A) great oxidation event
B) great oxygen crisis
C) great oxygenation event
D) great photosynthetic event
Answer: A

91) Once oxygen started to be manufactured by cyanobacteria, why did it take so long to build
up to significant levels?
A) initially most of the oxygen escaped into space
B) oxidation of surface rock and ocean minerals occurred
C) initially most of the oxygen produced dissolved in the oceans
D) initially most of the oxygen was converted into water by reaction with hydrogen
Answer: B

92) The concentration of oxygen in the atmosphere has been near or above its current value for
the past
A) 200 million years
B) 542 million years
C) 65 million years
D) 360 million years
Answer: A

93) If the conditions required for substantial amounts of oxygen to build up in a planetary
atmosphere are quite rare, then life on other worlds
A) will probably not be present
B) will progress much more rapidly because there would be less oxidation
C) will progress at a similar rate as that on the Earth, except that it will remain anaerobic
D) may still be common but may never be able to evolve past microscopic forms
Answer: D

94) Reptiles evolved from amphibians about


A) 475 million years ago
B) 542 million years ago
C) 360 million years ago
D) 245 million years ago
Answer: D

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95) The most well-known impact crater in North America is
A) Crater Lake in Oregon
B) Meteor Crater in Arizona
C) Great Crater in Iowa
D) Odessa Crater in Texas
Answer: B

96) What was the last geological period in Earth's history during which the dinosaurs lived?
A) The Cretaceous Period
B) The Tertiary Period
C) The Triassic Period
D) The Carboniferous Period
Answer: A

97) What was the first geological period in Earth's history after the dinosaurs became extinct?
A) The Cretaceous Period
B) The Carboniferous Period
C) The Tertiary Period
D) The Triassic Period
Answer: C

98) What is the K-T boundary?


A) a layer of dark sediment in the geological record formed at the same time humans learned to
use fire
B) a boundary between rocks containing the oldest life and older rocks that contained no life
C) a boundary between the Earth's crust and the molten rock beneath it
D) a layer of dark sediment in the geological record separating the Cretaceous and Tertiary
periods of Earth's history
Answer: D

99) Approximately how long ago did the dinosaurs suddenly become extinct?
A) 6 million years ago
B) 65 million years ago
C) 245 million years ago
D) 10,000 years ago
Answer: B

100) What is the most compelling piece of evidence that suggests that the dinosaurs were made
extinct by the impact of an asteroid 65 million years ago?
A) a layer of sediment laid down at that time which is littered with dinosaur fossils
B) dinosaur fossils are found in rock layers older than 65 million years but not younger than 65
million years
C) a layer of sediment laid down at that time which is rich in the element Iridium (Ir), an element
common in asteroids but less common on the Earth
D) the crater from this impact can still be seen in the deserts of Arizona
Answer: C

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101) Impacts of large asteroids on the Earth's surface generally result in
A) localized destruction close to the impact area
B) the destruction of most but not all life on Earth
C) the formation of Moons
D) total destruction of all life on Earth
Answer: B

102) Where did the asteroid that is believed responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs hit the
surface of the Earth?
A) in Siberia in Russia
B) in the desert in Arizona
C) in the middle of the Pacific Ocean
D) in the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico
Answer: D

103) What is the one piece of evidence that suggests that the dinosaurs were made extinct by the
impact of an asteroid 65 million years ago?
A) the crater from this impact can still be seen in the deserts of Arizona
B) a layer of sediment laid down at that time contains grains of shocked quartz, solidified rock
droplets, and soot from global wildfires
C) a layer of sediment laid down at that time is littered with dinosaur fossils
D) dinosaur fossils are found in rock layers older than 65 million years but not younger than 65
million years
Answer: B

104) Dust and smoke blown up into the Earth's atmosphere from the massive impact of an
asteroid 65 million years ago
A) removed most of the oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere by oxidation
B) rapidly escaped into space, having very little effect on the Earth's climate
C) blocked sunlight, causing global temperatures to fall on the Earth and subsequently shutting
down photosynthesis for up to a year
D) trapped heat in the Earth's atmosphere, causing global temperatures to rise
Answer: C

105) Modern mammals are descendants of


A) birds that were able to survive the impact that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago
B) sea animals that colonized the land after the impact that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million
years ago
C) early mammals that lived under the ground that were able to survive the impact that helped to
wipe out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago
D) early mammals that killed off the dinosaurs
Answer: C

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106) How many mass extinctions have occurred over the last 500 million years?
A) 5
B) 1
C) 4
D) 3
Answer: A

107) The most severe mass extinction during the past 500 million years occurred at the end of
which geological period?
A) Devonian
B) Triassic
C) Permian
D) Cretaceous
Answer: C

108) The Permian extinction event was mostly likely caused by


A) widespread volcanic activity in Siberia
B) an asteroid impact
C) the onset of a snowball Earth phase
D) the reversal of the Earth's magnetic field
Answer: A

109) Immediately after the Permian extinction event, the carbon dioxide and methane released by
volcanism caused the Earth to
A) initiate a snowball Earth phase
B) start an ice age
C) begin a period of intense global warming
D) completely change the composition of its atmosphere
Answer: C

110) Which of the following are possible causes for mass extinctions on Earth?
A) episodes of widespread volcanism
B) impacts of asteroids
C) snowball Earth episodes
D) all of these can be responsible for mass extinctions
Answer: D

111) Which of the following are possible causes for mass extinctions on Earth?
A) gamma ray bursts and supernova explosions
B) episodes of widespread volcanism
C) magnetic field reversals
D) all of these can be responsible for mass extinctions
Answer: D

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112) A small piece of debris that burns up in the atmosphere is called a
A) meteor
B) meteorite
C) asteroid
D) meteoroid
Answer: A

113) Meteor add approximately what mass to the Earth each year?
A) a few tons
B) millions of tons
C) thousands of tons
D) tens of thousands of tons
Answer: D

114) A large piece of debris that only partially burns up in the atmosphere, leaving a fragment to
hit the surface, is called a
A) meteor
B) hail stone
C) meteorite
D) meteoroid
Answer: C

115) What was special about the Tunguska impact in Siberia on 1908?
A) the object exploded completely before it hit the ground
B) the object that hit was a comet and not an asteroid
C) the event had been predicted long before it happened
D) the impact created the biggest impact crater seen in recorded history
Answer: A

116) In 1994, fragments of the Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 were observed to collide with the
planet
A) Mars
B) Saturn
C) Jupiter
D) Venus
Answer: C

117) What was the approximate diameter of the object which denoted in the sky above
Chelyabinsk in 2013?
A) 10 km
B) 20 meters
C) 1 meter
D) 100 meters
Answer: B

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118) Most of the injuries caused by the Chelyabinsk event in 2013 were caused by
A) smoke inhalation
B) UV radiation from the fireball
C) glass shattered by the shock wave
D) the sonic boom as the object passed through the Earth's atmosphere
Answer: C

119) The probability of Earth being hit by a 10 km asteroid in the next few hundred years is
A) impossible to predict
B) very high
C) zero
D) small but not zero
Answer: D

120) The probability of Earth being hit by a 10 km asteroid in the next few hundred million years
is
A) almost certain
B) impossible to predict
C) zero
D) small but not zero
Answer: A

121) Asteroids which could possibly collide with the Earth at some time in the future are known
as
A) killer asteroids
B) Earth-crossing asteroids
C) Armageddon asteroids
D) potentially hazardous asteroids
Answer: D

122) Humans
A) and primates evolved from a common ancestor
B) and primates evolved directly from dinosaurs
C) and primates evolved directly from birds
D) evolved directly from modern primates
Answer: A

123) The oldest hominid so far discovered dates back to


A) 540 million years ago
B) 65 million years ago
C) a few thousand years ago
D) 6 to 7 million years ago
Answer: D

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124) The earliest Homo sapiens appeared about
A) 25 million years ago
B) 6 to 7 million years ago
C) 200,000 years ago
D) 545 million years ago
Answer: C

125) What is one advantage that primates have over other forms of life?
A) the ability to run fast
B) extra-large brains
C) the opposable thumb
D) the ability to walk upright
Answer: C

126) How similar are humans and chimpanzees genetically?


A) very different, having only approximately 25% of DNA sequences in common
B) very similar indeed, having approximately 98% of DNA sequences in common
C) fairly similar indeed, having approximately 60% of DNA sequences in common
D) unique, having no DNA sequences in common
Answer: B

127) The LEAST significant evolutionary changes in human beings over the past 10,000 to
40,000 years have been
A) biological
B) political
C) technological
D) cultural
Answer: D

128) The "top-down" approach to creating artificial life starts


A) in the laboratory with the raw ingredients of life, and seeks to reproduce life in much the
same way that it presumably originated billions of years ago
B) with a complex organism and then removes cells that are not absolutely necessary
C) with existing organisms and genetically strips them down, then tries to rebuild them into new
species
D) with animal cells and attempts to clone them
Answer: C

129) The "bottom-up" approach to creating artificial life starts


A) with simple bacteria and attempts to add DNA sequences to them to make them more
complex
B) with advanced robots and attempts to make them able to reproduce
C) in the laboratory with the raw ingredients of life, and seeks to reproduce life in much the same
way that it presumably originated billions of years ago
D) with existing organisms and genetically strips them down, then tries to rebuild them into new
species
Answer: C
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130) What is the main potential concern regarding the creation of artificial life?
A) that they would rapidly evolve and replace existing life on Earth
B) that they would be used by hostile nations to build clone armies
C) that they might be the source of new diseases or toxins for which terrestrial life would have
little resistance
D) that they would travel on our robotic space probes and contaminate other planets
Answer: C

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