Download 1. The principle of uniformitarianism is often summarized by saying

Quiz 1
1. The principle of uniformitarianism is often summarized by saying
A)
supernatural forces are at work.
B)
conditions exiting today cannot form rocks as in the past.
C)
the present is the key to the past.
D)
rocks cannot be made in the laboratory.
2. A mineral is
A)
a type of rock.
B)
a naturally occurring inorganic solid element or compound.
C)
formed mainly of sand grains.
D)
interlocking or bonded grains of matter.
3. __________ form by the cooling of molten material to the point at which it hardens or
freezes.
A)
Magmas
B)
Igneous rocks
C)
Minerals
D)
Sedimentary rocks
4. Sedimentary rocks made of fragments of skeletons of once-living organisms are called
A)
shale.
B)
limestone.
C)
sandstone.
D)
crystalline rock.
5. The arrangement of sedimentary rocks in discrete layers is called
A)
metamorphism.
B)
stratification.
C)
cementation.
D)
lithification.
6.
The ordering known as fossil succession
A)
cannot be used to establish the relative age of rocks that lie far apart.
B)
was one of the few things that eighteenth-century surveyor William Smith did not notice
about the rocks he collected.
C)
reflects the sequence of organic evolution on Earth.
D)
has to do with bivalve mollusks and a few other select fossil groups that lived at times
since animal life became quite diverse.
7. __________ is the process in which material that is heated deep within the asthenosphere
rises to displace cooler, less dense material near the surface.
A)
Subduction
B)
Plate tectonics
C)
Convection
D)
Transformation
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8. An atom of silicon has an atomic number of 14, meaning that all atoms of silicon have
A)
14 nuclei.
B)
14 neutrons.
C)
14 electrons.
D)
14 protons.
9. Dolomite resembles calcite, but about half the calcium ions are replaced by
A)
magnesium.
B)
iron.
C)
strontium.
D)
carbon.
10. Coarse grain size (crystal size) is usually associated with
A)
flood basalts.
B)
pillow lavas.
C)
plutons.
D)
tuffs.
11. The most important chemical process of lithification is
A)
compaction.
B)
cementation.
C)
weathering.
D)
evaporation.
12. __________ are sediments consisting of nearly spherical grains, which grow by rolling
around and accumulating aragonite needles on their surfaces.
A)
Oolites
B)
Ooliths
C)
Limestones
D)
Cherts
13. The average direction of slope of __________ indicates the general direction of prevailing
winds when ancient beds were deposited to form a dune.
A)
mudcracks
B)
graded beds
C)
cross-bedding
D)
ripples
14. Heat and pressure turn leafy and woody plant tissue that accumulates in oxygen-deprived
water into a brown coal called
A)
lignite.
B)
peat.
C)
soft coal.
D)
hard coal.
15. Of the major mineral groups, the one that is dominant in all igneous, sedimentary, and
metamorphic rocks is called
A)
silicates.
B)
carbonates.
C)
sulfates.
D)
sulfides.
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1. In soft-part fossil preservation, the key to survival of soft tissue is
A) bacteria that cause decay.
B) oily plant debris.
C) protection from oxygen.
D) absence of sunlight.
2. Tracks, trails, burrows, and other marks left by animal activity are known as
A) impressions.
B) carbonizations.
C) molds.
D) trace fossils.
3. Biomarkers are
A) chemical residues in rocks.
B) teeth and bones.
C) fossil fuels.
D) impressions and molds.
4. The extinct group of animals known as __________ actually occupied an intermediate
evolutionary position between reptiles and mammals.
A) jawed fish
B) reptiles
C) therapsids
D) amphibians
5. Archaea are notable for
A) forming greenish scums in lakes, streams, or the sea.
B) breaking down the cells and tissues of dead organisms.
C) causing some diseases in plants and animals.
D) tolerance of extreme environmental conditions.
6. The name of this group of plants means “seed within a vessel.”
A) angiosperms
B) gymnosperms
C) mosses
D) Ferns
7. Most species of animals on Earth are
A) insects.
B) crustaceans.
C) onychophorans.
D) mollusks.
8. Today, this small group of bivalves includes the living genus Lingula, but during
Paleozoic this group was very common in the world’s oceans.
A) brachiopods
B) bryozoans
C) arthropods
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D)
ecdysozoans
9. A sedimentary feature that provides detailed information about ancient swamps choked
with vegetation is a
A) layer of quartz sand.
B) layer of shale.
C) coal bed.
D) layer of sandy shale.
10. Among coarse-grained deposits of ancient deserts and arid basins, the sedimentary
structure __________ is characteristic of sand dunes.
A) dropstones
B) trough cross-stratification
C) braided stream deposits
D) Varves
11. Meandering river sediments that accumulate inside of a river bend are said to form a
A) backswamp.
B) delta.
C) natural levee.
D) point bar.
12. __________ beds, which consist largely of sand and silt, are nearly horizontal, except
where they are locally cross-bedded.
A) Delta-plain
B) Delta-front
C) Prodelta
D) Distributary channels
13. As a delta progrades, deposits of the __________ will lie directly on top of deposits of
the prodelta.
A) delta-front
B) prodelta
C) delta-plain
D) distributary channels
14. In a river-dominated delta, the site of functioning distributary channels is called the
A) abandoned lobe.
B) active lobe.
C) bird-foot delta.
D) meandering river.
15. Knobby, intertidal structures formed by cyanobacteria are called
A) stromatolites.
B) patch reefs.
C) organic reefs.
D) carbonate platforms.
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Quiz 3
1. Diversity is usually relatively high in
A) communities with heavy predation.
B)
C)
D)
communities with normal levels of predation.
communities dominated by opportunistic species.
habitats with unstable environmental conditions.
2. A by-product of photosynthesis that is a major constituent in Earth’s atmosphere is
A) carbon dioxide.
B) oxygen.
C) nitrogen.
D) water vapor.
3.
A)
B)
C)
D)
Terrestrial climates on land near the equator tend to be
tropical rain forests.
large deserts.
savannahs.
grasslands.
4.
Evergreen, coniferous forests, dominated by spruce, pine, and fir, are located adjacent to the
subarctic ecosystem known as
savannahs.
tundras.
glaciers.
ice caps.
A)
B)
C)
D)
5.
A)
B)
C)
D)
Temperate forests, dominated by maples, oaks, and beeches (plus flowering plants), are
located in
tropical rain forests.
savannahs and grasslands.
warm climate areas with long summers.
Mediterranean climates.
6.
A)
B)
C)
D)
Fossil angiosperms are valuable indicators of climates over the past __________ years.
3 billion
3 million
80 to 90 million
80,000 to 90,000
7.
The upper layer of the ocean, where enough light penetrates the water to permit plants to
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A)
B)
C)
D)
conduct photosynthesis, is called the __________ and occurs at depths of __________ meters
in most instances.
subtidal seafloor; 300 to 600
photic zone; 100 to 200
intertidal zone; about 500
epicontinental sea; about 1600
8.
A)
B)
C)
D)
Select the organism below that is not a type of phytoplankton.
zooplankton
dinoflagellates
diatoms
calcareous nannoplankton
9.
A)
B)
C)
D)
__________ strain zooplankton from sea water.
Sharks
Baleen whales
Carnivorous whales
Crabs and starfishes
10.
A)
B)
C)
D)
__________ form in areas where rainfall is sufficient for grasses, but not forests, to grow.
Savannahs
Glaciers
Deserts
Tundras
11.
A)
B)
C)
D)
Murchison’s Silurian was defined primarily on the basis of
the nature of sedimentary rocks lying directly upon ancient crystalline rocks.
seven distinct fossil mammalian faunas of the Paris Basin.
expansion of glaciers at the south pole that was related to a mass extinction.
trilobites, brachiopods, and crinoids, and also corals that formed small reefs.
12.
A)
B)
C)
D)
Uppermost ___________ rocks document an episode of widespread extinction and expansion
of glaciers near the south pole that we know was related to that extinction.
Ordovician
Cretaceous
Cambrian
Silurian
13.
A)
B)
C)
D)
Select the characteristic below that is not consistent with an index or guide fossil.
It is very rare in the stratigraphic record.
It is easily distinguished from other taxa.
It is geographically widespread.
It occurs in many kinds of sedimentary rock and in many places.
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14.
A regression might result in a sandy beach deposit (or facies) being deposited over a (an)
__________ deposit (or facies).
A)
B)
C)
D)
muddy offshore
meandering stream
muddy lagoon
gravelly alluvial fan
15.
A)
B)
C)
D)
Preservation of deposits resulting from instantaneous events among sedimentary layers is the
basis for correlation in
event stratigraphy.
biostratigraphy.
isotope stratigraphy.
lithostratigraphy.
16.
A)
B)
C)
D)
Global changes of sea level are termed
sequences.
marker beds.
seismic stratigraphy.
eustatic changes.
Historical Geology - Quiz 4
1.
Darwin noted the separation of different marine species by the Isthmus of Panama and concluded that this
separation of species meant
A)
marine animals were not good at crossing dry land.
B)
there was no good way to explain this oddity.
C)
that the species on each side came into being where they lived.
D)
that an external agent scattered species across the planet.
2.
A)
B)
C)
D)
Darwin’s observations on the common ancestry of vertebrates were based on
finches and tortoises of the Galápagos Islands.
frogs and toads on island land masses.
early embryos of different animals.
various South American adaptations.
3.
of
A)
B)
C)
D)
The common origin of toes of land-dwelling mammals, fingers of humans, and wings of bats is an example
4.
A)
B)
C)
D)
Mutation of __________ can profoundly modify an organism.
chromosomes
any part of the DNA
a regulatory gene
the nucleus of the cell
homology.
vestigial organs.
natural selection.
origin of species.
5.
__________ is the term used to describe remarkably rapid evolutionary expansions of one or more phyla,
classes, orders, or families during brief intervals of geologic time.
A)
Horizontal gene transfer
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B)
C)
D)
Ecologic competition
Evolutionary radiations
Adaptive breakthroughs
6.
by
A)
B)
C)
D)
The typical pattern of evolutionary radiation, such as that seen in the record of hexacorals, is characterized
evolution that produced large-scale divergence that continued for many millions of years.
evolution that produced large-scale divergence at a very early stage, but not much divergence later on.
evolution that produced only new genera and species at the early stages.
evolution that does not seem to affect the body plan.
7.
Evolutionary convergence within two or more different biological groups, for example, the evolution of
__________, is convincing evidence of adaptation in biological forms.
A)
marsupial mammals of Australia and the placental mammals of other continents
B)
Asian dinosaurs and African mammals
C)
cichlid fishes of Africa and those in Australia
D)
fossil and modern hexacorals of the world
8.
Over the course of geological time, the extinction rate for mammals has exceeded __________ percent per
million years.
A)
1 to 2
B)
10 to 20
C)
40
D)
50
9.
The largest mass extinctions in Earth’s history rise above the level of __________ loss of then-living
genera over an interval of a few million years or less.
A)
10 to 20
B)
40
C)
60
D)
80
10.
A)
B)
C)
D)
Cope’s rule says that __________ tends to increase during the evolution of a group of animals.
the number of offspring
the number of males fighting for females
the number of vertebrate animals
body size
11.
A)
B)
C)
D)
Dollo’s law says
extinction is forever.
there is a punctuational model for evolution.
there is a gradualistic model for evolution.
genetic change spreads rapidly through a population.
12.
The __________ is an amphibian species that was produced when a speciation event consisting of a simple
genetic change that impeded normal development of the thyroid gland occurred.
A)
Gryphaea
B)
manatee
C)
Amia
D)
axolotl
13.
The oldest known horse had four toes on each fore foot, three toes on each hind foot, and simple molar
teeth. This horse (named __________) was the size of a small dog today.
A)
Equus
B)
Hipparion
C)
Mesohippus
D)
Hyracotherium
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14.
Today, the rate of extinction of species surpasses the great mass extinctions of the geologic past and the
largest number of extinctions can be traced to
A)
human destruction of habitats.
B)
human exploitation of animals.
C)
organisms that are ecological opportunists.
D)
vast numbers of meteorite impacts.
15. What is Taphonomy?
A) The systematic classification of life forms
B) The study of the origin and burial of fossils
C) The study of how bones permineralize
D) The study of the impact of regressions and transgressions on fossil preservation
16. What is an Articulated skeleton?
A) A skeleton containing all of the bones, but not necessarily in their correct positions
B) A skeleton with all of the vertebrae intact
C) A skeleton with the bones in their proper positions relative to one another
D) A mold of a skeleton
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