Chapter 17 History of Life Test
Multiple Choice
Identify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
1. What proportion of all species that ever lived has become extinct?
a. less than 1 percent
c. more than 99 percent
b. approximately one-half
d. 100 percent
2. To be useful as an index fossil, a species must have existed for a
a. long period over a wide geographic range.
b. long period over a small geographic range.
c. short period over a wide geographic range.
d. short period over a small geographic range.
3. The basic divisions of the geologic time scale from larger to smaller are
a. eras and periods.
c. relative and absolute dates.
b. periods and eras.
d. billions of years and millions of years.
4. The Mesozoic Era occurred
a. before Precambrian Time.
c. after the Paleozoic Era.
b. during Precambrian Time.
d. after the Cenozoic Era.
5. Which of the following was NOT characteristic of Earth before the oceans formed?
a. volcanic activity
c. an atmosphere of poisonous gases
b. bombardment by comets and asteroids
d. an atmosphere containing oxygen gas
6. Two gases that probably existed in Earth’s early atmosphere are
a. oxygen and hydrogen sulfide.
c. oxygen and carbon monoxide.
b. water vapor and oxygen.
d. hydrogen cyanide and carbon monoxide.
7. What prevents organic molecules from forming on their own and remaining intact today?
a. Earth is too hot.
b. Atmospheric oxygen is too reactive.
c. The necessary building blocks no longer exist.
d. There is no energy source available.
8. One necessary condition for the evolution of the first life on Earth was
a. the presence of DNA.
b. abundant oxygen in the atmosphere.
c. the presence of photosynthetic organisms.
d. the presence of liquid water.
9. Why did the development of sexual reproduction speed up the process of evolution?
a. Sexual reproduction occurs more rapidly than asexual reproduction.
b. The offspring of sexual reproduction are identical to their parents.
c. Sexual reproduction increases genetic variety.
d. Sexual reproduction limits genetic variety.
10. What was the response of the various groups of early organisms that existed when oxygen levels rose in the
atmosphere?
a. Some life forms became extinct.
b. Some life forms survived in only a few airless habitats.
c. Some life forms evolved metabolic pathways that used oxygen for respiration.
d. all of the above
11. The Cambrian Explosion resulted in the evolution of the first
a. dinosaurs and mammals.
c. bacteria.
b. representatives of most animal groups.
d. land animals.
12. The process by which two species, for example, a flower and a pollinating insect, evolve in response to each other
is called
a. convergent evolution.
c. coevolution.
b. adaptive radiation.
d. punctuated equilibrium.
13. In the past, mass extinctions encouraged the rapid evolution of surviving species
a. by changing developmental genes.
b. by making new habitats available to them.
c. because they killed all organisms that had coevolved.
d. because they spared all organisms that had evolved convergently.
14. Examples of fossils include preserved
a. eggs.
c. body parts.
b. footprints.
d. all of the above
15. Most fossils form in
a. rusty water.
c. sedimentary rock.
b. volcanic rocks.
d. the sap of ancient trees.
16. The length of time required for half of the radioactive atoms in a sample to decay is its
a. half-life.
c. radioactive date.
b. relative date.
d. period.
17. To compare the relative ages of fossils, scientists sometimes use an easily recognized species called a(an)
a. carbon fossil.
c. index fossil.
b. radioactive fossil.
d. sedimentary fossil.
18. Earth’s most recent era is the
a. Paleozoic.
c. Cenozoic.
b. Mesozoic.
d. Precambrian.
19. Why did oceans not exist on Earth nearly 4 billion years ago?
a. No water molecules were present.
b. Water remained a gas because Earth was very hot.
c. Water existed as ice because Earth was very cold.
d. There was no oxygen gas in the atmosphere.
20. In addition to hydrogen, two of the gases used in Miller and Urey’s experiment were
a. nitrogen and carbon monoxide.
c. methane and ammonia.
b. hydrogen cyanide and oxygen.
d. carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide.
21. The first organisms on Earth were most like today’s
a. bacteria.
c. multicellular organisms.
b. eukaryotes.
d. DNA molecules.
22. A very large mass extinction in which trilobites and amphibians disappeared occurred at the end of the
a. Precambrian Era.
c. Paleozoic Era.
b. Cambrian Period.
d. Quaternary Period.
23. During the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, the dominant land animals were
a. amphibians.
c. grazing mammals.
b. dinosaurs.
d. human ancestors.
24. A single species that has evolved into several different forms that live in different ways has undergone
a. adaptive radiation.
c. punctuated equilibrium.
b. coevolution.
d. mass extinction.
25. Sharks, dolphins, and penguins all have streamlined bodies and appendages that enable them to move through
water. These similarities are the result of
a. coevolution.
c. asexual reproduction.
b. convergent evolution.
d. adaptive radiation.
Chapter 17 History of Life Test
Answer Section
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