Download 2015 EARTH`S HISTORY/ EVOLUTION STUDY GUIDE NAME

2015 EARTH’S HISTORY/ EVOLUTION STUDY GUIDE
NAME _________________________
1.
Which era ended with the largest mass extinction in Earth’s history? PALEOZOIC
2.
Erosion is one of the major causes of the missing rock layers, known as UNCONFORMITIES
3.
What happens during radioactive decay? RADIOACTIVE ISOTOPES BREAK DOWN INTO STABLE
ISOTOPES OF OTHER ELEMENTS.
4.
Where are most fossils preserved? IN SEDIMENTARY ROCK
5.
Which part of an animal is more commonly preserved? BONES, TEETH, SHELLS
6.
What does the rock and fossil record represent? GEOLOGIC TIME
7.
What do scientists think may have caused dinosaurs to become extinct? CLIMATE CHANGE
8.
What is it called when an area is worn down by water, wind, or other elements? EROSION
9.
Why do scientists drill out ice cores? TO RECREATE EARTHS CLIMATE HISTORY
10. What kind of scientist studies the history of plants and animals? PALEONTOLOGIST
11. What is a fault? A BREAK IN THE EARTHS CRUST
12. Name the divisions of geologic time in order from largest to smallest EON ERA PERIOD EPOCH
13. How does a geologist know that rock layers are undisturbed? ROCK LAYERS ARE HORIZONTAL.
14. Why is the fossil record incomplete? NOT ALL ORGANISMS BECAME FOSSILS
15. What is amber? HARDENED TREE SAP
16. Give two examples of a trace fossil? A MARK LEFT BY A DINOSAUR’S TAIL, A PRESERVED FOOTPRINT
17. The phrase “younger over older” could be used to remember the principle of SUPERPOSITION
18. How do geologists use the geologic time scale? TO DIVIDE EARTH’S HISTORY INTO MANAGEABLE PARTS
19. Which kind of temperatures will slow down an organism’s decay? FREEZING
20. During which era did birds and small mammals begin to evolve? MESOZOIC
21. A fossil used to date surrounding rock layers is called a(n) INDEX FOSSIL
22. How many years of Earth’s history do geologists study? ALL 4.6 BILLION YEARS
23. According to uniformitarianism, how does geologic change happen? GRADUALLY
24. How are rock layers arranged in the geologic column? OLDEST ROCKS ARE ON THE BOTTOM.
25.
If a trilobite was buried by ocean sediment, it would leave a cavity, or
a(n) MOLD
26. What process involves the comparison of rock layers with others in a sequence to determine its age?
RELATIVE DATING
27. What can a scientist learn from studying the relationships between fossils? HOW LIFE HAS CHANGED
28. What did marine fossils discovered on a Canadian mountaintop tell scientists? The rocks on the mountaintop
were once below the ocean’s surface. THE ROCKS ON THE MOUNTAINTOP WERE ONCE BELOW
THE OCEAN’S SURFACE.
29. Which era are we in now? CENOZOIC
30. What is tilting? SLANTING OF ROCK LAYERS
31. Scientists get evidence for evolution from what three sources FOSSIL, BIOLOGICAL ADAPTATIONS,
MOLECULAR(DNA)
32. Which is not a homologous structure?
a.
wings of a bird and a bee
c.
b.
leg bones of monkeys and humans d.
wings of a bird and a bat
all are homologous
33. The scientist who first proposed the theory of evolution was CHARLES DARWIN
34. Which would best allow a species to survive environmental changes?
a.
similar physical features c.
small population
b.
low mutation rate
d.
genetic diversity
35. death of a species EXTINCTION
36. change over time, with modification
EVOLUTION
37. the process that results in the survival of individuals who adjust best to their changing environment
NATURAL SELECTION
38. modification of an organism or its parts that make it more fit for its environment ADAPTATION
39. a system used to organize organisms into groups based on established criteria
BIOLOGICAL
CLASSIFICATION
40. a sudden change from the parent type caused by a change in a gene MUTATION
41. rock layers slanted by Earth’s internal forces
42. rock layers bent by Earth’s internal forces
TILTING
FOLDING
43. molten rock that has squeezed into existing rock and hardened
INTRUSION
44. a break in the Earth’s crust FAULT
45. the total number of genetic characteristics in a single species
GENETIC DIVERSITY
46. the entire set of genes that determine a characteristic or trait in an organism
GENOTYPE
47. the observable characteristics of an organism PHENOTYPE
48. structures that have similar functions but do not derive from a common ancestor
STRUCTURES
49. structures that derive from a common ancestor HOMOLOGOUS
50. process in which minerals replace tissues
MINERAL REPLACEMENT
51. fossil formed by an animal’s movement
TRACE FOSSIL
52. mark or cavity
MOLD
53. fossil from a specific time period
INDEX FOSSIL
54. preserved remains or other evidence of an organism FOSSILS
ANALOGOUS