1. Which event in Earth’s history was dependent on the
development of a certain type of life-form?
A) addition of free oxygen to Earth’s atmosphere
B) formation of clastic sedimentary rocks
C) movement of tectonic plates
D) filling of the oceans by precipitation
2. According to fossil evidence, which sequence shows
the order in which these four life-forms first appeared
on Earth?
A) reptiles ® amphibians ® insects ® fish
B) insects ® fish ® reptiles ® amphibians
C) amphibians ® reptiles ® fish ® insects
D) fish ® insects ® amphibians ® reptiles
3. Which group of organisms, some of which were
preserved as fossils in early Paleozoic rocks, are still
in existence today?
A) brachiopods
B) eurypterids
C) graptolites
D) trilobites
4. The primitive lobe-finned fish shown below is
thought to be an ancestor of early amphibians.
7. Earth's fossil record shows evidence that
A) very few life-forms have become extinct
B) life-forms existed on land before life-forms
existed in water
C) more complex life-forms probably have
evolved from less complex life-forms
D) older bedrock contains a great variety of
lifeforms, while younger bedrock contains less
variety of life-forms
8. Which gas is inferred to have been absent from
Earth's atmosphere during the Early Archean Era?
A) carbon dioxide
B) nitrogen
C) oxygen
D) water vapor
9. Theories of evolution suggest that variations between
members of the same species give the species greater
probability of
A) remaining unchanged
B) surviving environmental changes
C) becoming fossilized
D) becoming extinct
10. The diagram below is a portion of a geologic time
line. Letters A through between the labeled events,
as estimated by some scientists.
This evolutionary development from fish to
amphibian is believed to have occurred during the
A) Triassic Period
B) Devonian Period
C) Tertiary Period
D) Permian Period
5. The gases in Earth's early atmosphere are inferred to
have come primarily from
A) meteor showers
B) melting of glacial ice
C) volcanic eruptions
D) evaporation of seawater
6. Much of the evidence for the evolution of lifeforms
on Earth has been obtained by
A)
B)
C)
D)
studying the life spans of present-day animals
radioactive dating of metamorphic rock
correlating widespread igneous ash deposits
examining fossils preserved in the rock record
Fossil evidence indicates that the earliest birds
developed during which time interval?
A) A
B) B
C) C
D) D
11. Which graph best represents human existence on
Earth, compared with Earth's entire history?
A)
C)
16. The diagram below shows a process thought to have
produced Earth's early atmosphere.
B)
D)
12. According to the fossil record, which sequence
correctly represents the evolution of life on Earth?
A) fish
amphibians
mammals
soft-bodied organisms
B) fish
soft-bodied organisms
mammals
Which major component is shown as gas X?
amphibians
C) soft-bodied organisms
amphibians
fish
A) helium
B) ozone
mammals
C) carbon dioxide
D) hydrogen
D) soft-bodied organisms
fish
amphibians
17. Fossils of two trilobite species from different
mammals
geologic periods are illustrated below.
13. Examination of the fossil record shows a general
tendency of organisms to become increasingly more
complex through geologic time. This finding
supports the theory that living things have undergone
A) metamorphism
B) evolution
C) radioactive decay D) mass extinctions
14. Which life-form appeared first?
A) trilobite
B) human
C) coelophysis
D) stromatolite
15. Studies of the fossil record found in Utah indicate
that
A) variations within a species can be observed,
measured, and described
B) variations within a species have had little effect
upon the survival of the species
C) few of the species of plants and animals that
existed have become extinct
D) there is no evidence for evolutionary
development among the different fossil species
A comparison of these fossils provides evidence that
these species may have
A) undergone evolutionary development
B) undergone metamorphism
C) experienced identical lifespans
D) experienced weathering and erosion
18. Trilobite fossils from different time periods show
small changes in appearance. These observations
suggest that the changes may be the result of
A)
B)
C)
D)
evolutionary development
a variety of geologic processes
periods of destruction of the geologic record
the gradual disintegration of radioactive
substances
19. Base your answer to the following question on the reading passage and the drawing below and on
your knowledge of Earth science.
Fossil With Signs of Feathers Is Cited as Bird-Dinosaur Link
Paleontologists have discovered in China a fossil dinosaur with what are reported to
be clear traces of feathers from head to tail, the most persuasive evidence so far,
scientists say, that feathers predated the origin of birds and that modern birds are
descendants of dinosaurs.
Entombed in fine-grained rock, the unusually well-preserved skeleton resembles that
of a duck with a reptilian tail, altogether about three feet in length. Its head and tail are
edged with the imprint of downy fibers. The rest of the body, except for bare lower legs,
shows distinct traces of tufts and filaments that appear to have been primitive feathers.
On the backs of its short forelimbs are patterns of what look like modern bird feathers.
Other dinosaur remains with what appear to be featherlike traces have been
unearthed in recent years, but nothing as complete as this specimen, paleontologists
said. Etched in the rock like a filigree decoration surrounding the skeleton are imprints
of where the down and feathers appear to have been.
The 130-million-year-old fossils were found a year ago by farmers in Liaoning
Province in northeastern China. After an analysis by Chinese and American researchers,
the fossil animal was identified as a dromaeosaur, a small fast-running dinosaur related
to velociraptor. The dinosaurs belonged to a group of two-legged predators known as
advanced theropods . . .
excerpted from “Fossil With Signs of
Feathers Is Cited as Bird-Dinosaur Link”
John Noble Wilford
New York Times, April 26, 2001
The drawing below shows an artist’s view of the dinosaur, based on the fossilized
remains.
The reference to the bird-dinosaur link is most likely referring to the concept of
A) plate tectonics
C) dynamic equilibrium
B) evolution
D) recycling
20. Which fact provides the best evidence for the
scientific theory of the evolutionary development of
life on the Earth?
25. Base your answer to the following question on the
diagram, which shows the evolutionary development
of the horse, as supported by the fossil record.
A) Fossils are found almost exclusively in
sedimentary rocks.
B) Characteristics of simpler forms of life can
be found in more complex forms of life.
C) Only a small percentage of living things have
been preserved as fossils.
D) Most species of life on the Earth have become
extinct.
21. Earth scientists studied fossils of a certain type of
plant. They noted slight differences in the plant
throughout geologic time. What inference is best
made from this evidence?
A) When the environment changed, this type of
plant also changed, allowing it to survive.
B) When uplifting occurred, the fossils of this type
of plant were deformed.
C) The processes which form fossils today differ
from those of the past.
D) The fossils have changed as a result of
weathering and erosion.
22. The changes observed in the fossil record from the
Precambrian Era to the Cenozoic Era best provide
evidence of
A) sublimation
B) radioactive decay
C) evolution
D) planetary motion
23. The similarity of some fossil forms from different
time periods suggests a gradual transition that may
be the result of
A) unconformities
B) evolutionary development
C) folding and faulting
D) uplift and erosion
24. Which gas became part of Earth's atmosphere mainly
as a result of the evolution of life-forms?
A) oxygen
C) helium
B) nitrogen
D) hydrogen
Which statement best explains the changing
appearance of the horse, as supported by the fossil
record?
A) The horse evolved due to the influence of
humans.
B) The horse evolved from a complex life-form to
a simpler life-form.
C) The horse evolved into a life-form better able
to survive.
D) The horse evolved from larger ancestors
without forelimbs.