What Is the History of Life On Earth?
1. Know which organisms are the earliest known fossils.
2. Regarding cyanobacteria, be able to:
explain why they have been found as ancient fossils, while other types of bacteria
have not.
indicate how they obtained nutrients.
describe how (and why) their activities began to change earth's atmosphere.
3. Compare, in general terms, the processes of photosynthesis and chemosynthesis.
4. Know the difference between the terms autotrophic and heterotrophic and indicate
which organisms on early earth were autotrophs vs. heterotrophs.
5. Indicate the significance of the theory of endosymbiosis and be able to name the
group of prokaryotes that are responsible for 1) chloroplasts in algae and plant cells,
and 2) mitochondria in all eukaryotic cells.
6. Be able to explain how a true multicellular organism differs from a protist colony.
7. Regarding the two largest mass extinction events in earth's history:
When did each occur (at the end of which period)?
What was the main effect of each on biodiversity?
8. There will be a matching question on the exam that covers the following information
Known the era or period in which each of the following occurred:
before which era prokaryotes arose from protocells
period when most animal lineages appeared
period when fish diversified ("age of fish")
period when plants colonized land and became widespread
period when ferns and amphibians were dominant and coal deposits were formed
period when conifers appeared on land and reptiles became widespread
era when dinosaurs were dominant ("age of reptiles")
era when birds and mammals diversified and became dominant on land ("age of
mammals")
9. Regarding the human lineage, know:
characteristics that separate hominoids from the other primates
which 2 hominoid groups are the most closely related to humans
the significance of Australopithecines ("Lucy") and continent where they lived
approximately times (number of years ago) when the hominoid line arose and
when Homo sapiens first appeared