Biology

Eric P. Widmaier; Linda E. Graham; Robert J. Brooker

Chapter 22

The Origin and History of Life on Earth - all with Video Answers

Educators

Chapter Questions

Problem 1

The prebiotic soup was
a. the assemblage of unicellular prokaryotes that existed in the oceans of early Earth.
b. the accumulation of organic molecules in the oceans of early Earth.
c. the mixture of organic molecules found in the cytoplasm of the earliest cells on Earth.
d. a pool of nucleic acids that contained the genetic information for the
earliest organisms.
e. none of the above.

Christina Sorrentino

Christina Sorrentino

Numerade Educator

Problem 2

Which of the following is not a characteristic of protobionts necessary for the evolution of living cells?
a. a membrane-like boundary separating the external environment from an internal environment
b. polymers capable of functioning in information storage
c. polymers capable of catalytic activity
d. self-replication
c. compartmentalization of metabolic activity

Christina Sorrentino

Christina Sorrentino

Numerade Educator

Problem 3

RNA is believed to be the first functional macromolecule in protobionts because it
a. is easier to synthesize than other macromolecules.
b. has the ability to store information, self-replicate, and perform catalytic activity.
c. is the simplest of the macromolecules commonly found in living cells.
d. All of the above are correct.
e. Only a and c are correct.

Christina Sorrentino

Christina Sorrentino

Numerade Educator

Problem 4

The movement of landmasses that have changed their positions, shapes, and association with other landmasses is called
a. glaciation.
b. Pangaea.
c. continental drift.
d. biogeography.
e. geological scale.

Lauren Levites

Numerade Educator

Problem 5

Paleontologists estimate the dates of fossils by
a. the layer of rock in which the fossils are found.
b. analysis of radioisotopes found in nearby igneous rock.
c. the complexity of the body plan of the organism.
d. all of the above.
e. a and b only.

Christina Sorrentino

Christina Sorrentino

Numerade Educator

Problem 6

The fossil record does not give us a complete picture of the history of life because
a. not all past organisms have become fossilized.
b. only organisms with hard skeletons can become fossilized.
c. fossils of very small organisms have not been found.
d. fossils of early organisms are located too deep in the crust of the Earth to be found.
e. All of the above are true.

Christina Sorrentino

Christina Sorrentino

Numerade Educator

Problem 7

The endosymbiosis hypothesis explaining the evolution of eukaryotic
cells is supported by
a. DNA-sequencing analysis comparing bacterial genomes, mitochondrial genomes, and eukaryotic nuclear genomes.
b. naturally occurring examples of endosymbiotic relationships between bacterial cells and eukaryotic cells.
c. the presence of DNA in mitochondria and chloroplasts.
d. all of the above.
e. a and b only.

Christina Sorrentino

Christina Sorrentino

Numerade Educator

Problem 8

Which of the following explanations of multicellularity in eukaryotes is seen in the development of complex, multicellular organisms today?
a. endosymbiosis
b. aggregation of cells to form a colony
c. division of cells with the resulting cells adhering together
d. multiple cell types aggregating to form a complex organism
None of the above phenomena are evident today.

Christina Sorrentino

Christina Sorrentino

Numerade Educator

Problem 9

The earliest fossils of vascular plants were formed during the __________ period.
a. Ordovician
b. Silurian
c. Devonian
d. Triassic
e. Jurassic

Christina Sorrentino

Christina Sorrentino

Numerade Educator

Problem 10

The appearance of the first hominoids dates to the ________ period.
a. Triassic
b. Jurassic
c. Cretaceous
d. Tertiary
e. Quaternary

Christina Sorrentino

Christina Sorrentino

Numerade Educator