5 Written Questions

1. method of determining the age of a fossil by comparing its placement with that of fossils in other layers of rock
2. length of time required for half of the radioactive atoms in a sample to decay
3. process by which a single species or small group of species evolves into several different forms that live in different ways; rapid growth in the diversity of a group of organisms
4. information about past life, including the structure of organisms, what they ate, what ate them, in what environment they lived, and the order in which they lived
5. one of several subdivisions of the time between the Precambrian and the present

5 Matching Questions

1. extinct
2. taxonomy
3. molecular clock
4. binomial nomenclature
5. proteinoid microsphere

1. a model that uses DNA comparisons to estimate the length of time that two species have been evolving independently
2. b term used to refer to a species that has died out
3. c discipline of classifying organisms and assigning each organism a universally accepted name
4. d classification system in which each species is assigned a two-part scientific name
5. e tiny bubble, formed of large organic molecules, that has some characteristics of a cell

5 Multiple Choice Questions

1. pattern of evolution in which long stable periods are interrupted by brief periods of more rapid change
   1. convergent evolution
   2. paleontologist
   3. cladogram
   4. punctuated equilibrium
2. process by which two species evolve in response to changes in each other
   1. coevolution
   2. cladogram
   3. macroevolution
   4. period
3. group or level of organization into which organisms are classified
   1. taxon
   2. period
   3. taxonomy
   4. era
4. unit of time into which eras are divided
   1. taxon
   2. period
   3. era
   4. extinct
5. process by which unrelated organisms independently evolve similarities when adapting to similar environments
   1. adaptive radiation
   2. macroevolution
   3. convergent evolution
   4. coevolution

5 True/False Questions

1. derived character → characteristic that appears in recent parts of a lineage, but not in its older members

   True        False

2. cladogram → diagram that shows the evolutionary relationships among a group of organisms

   True        False

3. phylogeny → the study of evolutionary relationships among organisms

   True        False

4. geologic time scale → scale used by paleontologists to represent evolutionary time

   True        False

5. index fossil → distinctive fossil used to compare the relative ages of fossils

   True        False