Name: Historical Geology Exam II Spring, 2008 1. What are early Paleozoic (Cambrian-Ordovician) biotas essentially the story of? a) The story of life b) The story of trilobites c) The story of plants d) The story of life in the sea 2. What was the difference between the bodies of animals in the Neoproterozoic and the Cambrian? a) Bodies were bigger in the Cambrian b) Bodies were soft in the Neoproterozoic but had hard shells or skeletons in the Cambrian c) Bodies were more streamlined in the Cambrian d) Bodies were symmetric in the Cambrian 3. What did most terrestrial environments (other than lakes and wetlands) look like before the Silurian? a. Moss covered b. Filled with stromatolites c. Barren rock and soil d. Forest covered 4. What is vascular about vascular plants? a. They vacillate between wet and dry environments b. They vacillate between photosynthesis and respiration c. They could also live off of dead tissue like fungi and mushrooms d. They have tubes to transport water and food 5. What is the evolutionary advantage for a plant in having a seed? a. It lets the plant survive in drier habitats b. It lets a plant survive in wetter habitats c. It lets a plant survive in colder habitats d. It lets a plant be pollinated by an insect 6. When did invertebrate animals (insects) first begin to inhabit the land? a. Late Cambrian-Early Ordovician b. Late Ordovician-Early Silurian c. Late Silurian-Early Devonian d. Late Permian-Early Cretaceous 7. Of plants, herbivores and carnivores, what is the order in which they first inhabit the land? a. First herbivores, then plants, then carnivores b. First plants, then herbivores, then carnivores c. First carnivores, then herbivores, then plants d. They all came at about the same time 1
8. When did vertebrate animals start to inhabit the land? a. Late Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian) b. Late Permian c. Early Ordovician d. The Cretaceous 9. The Carboniferous, Silurian and Devonian Systems were all identified separately. What caused scientists to decide that the temporal order was Silurian first, Devonian second and Carboniferous last? a. That is the way they appeared in outcrops: Silurian on the bottom, Devonian in between and Carboniferous on top b. Fossils from the Devonian appeared to be transitional between those of the Silurian and Carboniferous c. The Silurian had lots of fish, the Carboniferous had a lot of coal, and Devonian had both d. Because you couldn't have fish before you had coal 10. What happened to marine taxa organisms after the massive extinction at the end of the Ordovician? a. The marine Reptiles expanded to fill opened the ecological niches b. They never quite recovered c. There was another great evolutionary radiation in the marine realm shortly thereafter d. Marine organisms moved to the land 11. What changes occurred to land plants in the interval from the mid-silurian to the end of the Devonian? a. They went from the first appearing on land to forming upland forests b. They went from oceans to the swamps c. They went from stromatolites to club mosses d. Both B and C are true 12. What type of fish first appeared in the Early Silurian? a. The Placoderms b The Lobe-finned fishes c. The Acanthodians d. The earliest jawed fishes 13. When did the first ammonoids appear? a. In the Early Cambrian b. In the Early Ordovician c. In the Early Devonian d. In the Early Permian 14. When did the first spiders, centipedes and flightless insects first appear? a. In the Middle Cambrian b. In the Middle Ordovician c. In the Middle Devonian d. In the Middle Permian 2
15. What animals directly evolved from the acanthodians? a. The Mammals b. The Reptiles c. The Fishes d. The Cephalopods 16. When did the first Ray-finned fishes, Lobe-finned fishes, Placoderms and Amphibians appear? a. Middle to Late Cambrian b. Middle to Late Ordovician c. Middle to Late Devonian d. Middle to Late Permian 17. What bony parts of jawless fishes evolved into jaws? a. Jaws evolved from mouths b. Jaws evolved from denticles c. Jaws evolved from gills d. Jaws evolved from the gillbars closest to the mouth 18. What were the placoderms? a. The Bony-skinned fishes b. The cartilaginous fishes c. The bony fishes d. Heavily armored fishes with jaws, e.g. Dunkleostus 19. What are the two main groups of bony fishes? a. Ray-finned and Lobe-finned b. Chondrichthyes and Osteichthyes c. Teleost and Paleost d. Endothermic and Ectothermic 20. What sedimentary deposit is characteristic of the Carboniferous Period? a. Red Beds b. Carbonates c. Coal d. Shales 21. What happened to climates during the Permian? a. They became colder b. They became drier c. They became wetter d. Both A and C 22. What 'devastating event brought the Paleozoic Era to an end? a. The greatest glacial epoch ever b. The end of the Dinosaurs c. The failure of the Midcontinent Rift d. The greatest mass extinction ever 3
23. What caused sea level to drop at the end of the Mississippian? a. Global tectonism b. High rates of crustal formation c. The dramatic expansion of glaciers on Gondwanaland d. Global warming 24. When did extensive coal swamps appear on land? a. Late Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian) b. Late Permian c. Early Ordovician d. The Cretaceous 25. When did Amphibians first appear on land? a. Late Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian) b. Late Permian c. Early Ordovician d. The Cretaceous 26. When did the first Reptiles appear on land? a. Early Carboniferous (Mississippian) b. Early Permian c. Early Ordovician d. Early Cretaceous 27. What type of swimming animal replaced the heavily armored Placoderms? a. More mobile types b. Bigger types c. Shelled types d. Ammonites 28. To what type of environment are spore plants typically confined? a. Cold environments b. Hot environments c. Dry environments d. Wet environments 29. What large plant group dominated terrestrial environments during the Permian? a. Gymnosperms b. Angiosperms c. Lycopods d. Mosses 30. What is the general impact of seeds and the amniote egg? a. They provide a food source for scavenging animals b. They increase the rate of genetic mutations c. They allowed for cross breeding d. They allow plants and animals to live and reproduce in drier habitats 4
31. What happened to Amphibians during the Permian as Reptiles expanded? a. They became extinct b. Amphibians were replaced by reptiles in various ecological roles c. They flourished under the competition because of inherent advantages d. They expanded as well as a result of Coevolution 32. When referring to animals, what do endothermic and ectothermic mean? a. Animals that prefer hot and cold climates, respectively b. Chemical reactions that require input of heat or those that give off heat, respectively c. Herbivore and Carnivore, respectively d. Warm-blooded and Cold-blooded, respectively 33. What major geologic features of the Earth are outlined by earthquakes? a. Hot spots b. The boundaries of mountain ranges c. The boundaries of subduction zones d. The boundaries of the crustal plates 34. Which are the differences between continental and oceanic crust? a. continental crust is thicker, denser and more felsic b. continental crust is thicker, less dense and more felsic c. continental crust is thinner, more dense and less felsic d. continental crust is thicker, denser and less felsic 35. What happens at convergent boundaries? a. Oceanic crust is formed b. Crust is subducted and/or mountains are created c. Reefs forms on Guyots d. Hot spots are created 36. What is a hot spot? a. Any warm place on the surface of the Earth b. Any volcano c. Any hydrothermal system d. A plume of magma rising from deep in the mantle 37. What does the deposition of Banded Iron Formations (BIFs) 2 billion years ago say about the composition of the atmosphere? a. That oxygen concentrations rose around that time b. That carbon dioxide concentrations rose around that time c. That carbon dioxide concentrations declined around that time d. That nitrogen concentrations rose around that time 38. What was unique about the major ice age of the Neoproterozoic? a. It lasted more 100 million years b. It only affected the Tropics c. It only affected the High Latitudes d. It was global 5
39. When did life first appear on the Earth? a. About 4.6 Billion years ago b. About 3.8 Billion years ago c. About 2.0 Billion years ago d. About 800 Million years ago e. About 545 Million years ago 40. When did metazoans first appear? a. About 4.6 Billion years ago b. About 3.8 Billion years ago c. About 2.0 Billion years ago d. About 800 Million years ago e. About 545 Million years ago 41. What are metazoans? a. Single celled organisms b. Prokaryotes c. Soft-bodied organisms d. Multicellular organisms 42. What is the difference between a Colonial Organism and a true Multicellular Organism? a. Colonials are much larger and more complex b. Colonial Organisms are prokaryotes, Multicellular Organisms are eukaryotes c. Colonial Organisms are heterotrophic, Multicellular Organisms are photosynthetic d. Colonial Organisms are individual cells living together; Multicellular Organisms are differentiated cells living cooperatively 43. What is the theory of endosymbiosis? a. That atmospheric oxygen rose because of photosynthesis b. That cells evolved homologous living systems c. That the eukaryotic cell s organelles were once free living prokaryotes d. That cells evolved into convergent life forms 44. What fundamental biologic process takes place in a chloroplast? a. Photosynthesis b. Respiration c. Biosynthesis d. Catabolism 45. What fundamental biologic process takes place in mitochondria? a. Photosynthesis b. Respiration c. Biosynthesis d. Catabolism 6
46. What are the three major domains of life? a. Animal, Vegetable and Mineral b. Animal, Plant and Fungi c. Bacteria, Archaea and Eukarya d. Photosynthesis, Chemosynthesis and Respiration 47. In what environments are Archaea typically found? a. Marine habitats b. In moist environments c. In extreme environments, e.g. hot springs, acidic or hypersaline water d. Everywhere 48. What does Photosynthesis do? a. It uses light energy to biochemically combine inorganic CO2 and H2O to form organic compounds b. It uses chemical energy to biochemically combine inorganic CO2 and H2O to form organic compounds c. It uses light energy to break down organic molecules d. It collects chemical energy from the biochemical breakdown of organic molecules 49. What does Respiration do? a. It uses light energy to biochemically combine inorganic CO2 and H2O to form organic compounds b. It uses chemical energy to biochemically combine inorganic CO2 and H2O to form organic compounds c. It uses light energy to break down organic molecules d. It collects chemical energy from the biochemical breakdown of organic molecules 50. What is a stromatolite? a. The largest of the Ediacaran fauna b. The first eukaryote c. Layered algal mats formed in tidal pools d. The first metazoan 51. What is meant by convergent evolution? a. Symbiotic organisms evolving together b. Organisms that evolved from a common ancestor c. The same animal filling a different ecological role in a different habitat d. Different types of animals performing the same ecological role, e.g. marine reptiles and sharks as ocean predators 52. What is meant by coevolution? a. Symbiotic organisms evolving together b. Organisms that evolved from a common ancestor c. The same animal filling a different ecological role in a different habitat d. Different types of animals performing the same ecological role, 7
53. What is continental shield? a. Precambrian crystalline basement rock that is exposed at the Earth s surface b. Margins of ancient continents that filled in with sands, limestones and shales c. Margins of ancient continents that repeatedly experienced crustal collision and separation d. Any crystalline basement rock 54. What are mobile belts? a. Precambrian crystalline basement rock that is exposed at the Earth s surface b. Margins of ancient continents that filled in with sands, limestones and shales c. Margins of ancient continents that repeatedly experienced crustal collision and separation d. Any crystalline basement rock 55. How old are the rocks of the Beartooth uplift? a. About 1.9 Billion years old b. About 545 Million years old c. About 65 Million years old d. About 12,000 years old 56. When was the Beartooth plateau lifted up? a. About 1.9 Billion years old b. About 545 Million years old c. About 65 Million years old d. About 12,000 years old 57. When were the Beartooth Mountains last shaped by glaciers? a. 1.9 Billion years old b. 545 Million years old c. About 65 Million years old d. About 12,000 years old 58. What is the closest hot spot to Billings? a. Hawaii b. Mt. St. Helens c. Glacial National Park d. Yellowstone 59. What are analogous structures in evolution? a. The same physical structures, e.g. bones, in different animals performing different tasks b. Different physical structures, e.g. bones, in different animals performing the same tasks c. Physical structures in animals that are evolutionary improvements d. Physical structures in animals that lead to the evolution of Homo sapiens 60. What are homologous structures in evolution? a. The same physical structures, e.g. bones, in different animals performing different tasks b. Different physical structures, e.g. bones, in different animals performing the same tasks c. Physical structures in animals that are evolutionary improvements d. Physical structures in animals that lead to the evolution of Homo sapiens 8