Chapter Questions
The number of species on an island depends on the size of the island and its distance from a mainland. This statement would most likely be made by ______.a. an explorerb. a biogeographerc. a geologistd. a philosopher
Evolution ______.a. is natural selectionb. is heritable change in a line of descentc. can occur by natural selectiond. b and c are correct
Which of the following is a fossil?a. An insect encased in 10 -million-year-old tree sapb. A woolly mammoth frozen in Arctic permafrost for the last 50,000 yearsc. Mineral-hardened remains of a whale-like animal found in an Egyptian desertd. An impression of a plant leaf in a rocke. All of the above could be considered fossils
Did Pangea or Gondwana form first?
The bones of a bird's wing are similar to the bones in a bat's wing. This observation is an example of ________.a. uniformityb. evolutionc. comparative morphologyd. a lineage
If the half-life of a radioisotope is 20,000 years, then a sample in which three-quarters of that radioisotope has decayed is ________years old.a. 15,000b. 26,667c. 30,000d. 40,000
Forces of geologic change include ________ (select all that are correct).a. erosionb. fossilizationc. volcanic activityd. evolutione. tectonic plate movementf. windg. asteroid impactsh. hot spots
The Cretaceous ended ______ million years ago.
Life originated in the ______.
Through ________, a body part of an ancestor is modified differently in different lines of descent.a. morphological divergenceb. adaptive divergencec. morphological convergenced. homologous evolution
Homologous structures among major groups of organisms may differ in ________.a. sizeb. shapec. functiond. all of the above
Match the terms with the most suitable description.________fitness________fossils________homeotic genes________half-life________homologous structures________uniformity________analogous structures________natural selectiona. evidence of life in distant pastb. geologic change occurs continuouslyc. human arm and bird wingd.big role in developmente. measured by reproductive successf. insect wing and bird wingg. survival of the fittesth.characteristic of radioisotope