Deck 9: Geology and Primate Origins

Question 1

A fossil can be studied to learn __________.

A)its age
B)the kind of organism it represents
C)the environment is which the original creature lived
D)all of these

Answer 1

all of these

Question 2

Which of the following states that strata are laid down parallel to the Earth's gravitational field?

A)uniformitarianism
B)the principle of original horizontality
C)the principle of superposition
D)the principle of faunal succession

Answer 2

the principle of original horizontality

Question 3

Mammals arose during the __________ era.

A)Hadean
B)Cenozoic
C)Phanerozoic
D)Mesozoic

Answer 3

Mesozoic

Question 4

Primates are present for most of the Geologic Time Scale.

Question 5

Which of the following is an epoch of the Quaternary?

A)the Pleistocene
B)the Oligocene
C)the Jurassic
D)the Cenozoic

Question 6

We are presently in the __________ period.

A)Paleozoic
B)Mesozoic
C)Jurassic
D)none of these

Question 7

The study of the distribution of layers of rock is called __________.

A)geology
B)biostratigraphy
C)taphonomy
D)stratigraphy

Question 8

Who proposed the principle of cross-cutting relationships?

A)Steno
B)Lyell
C)Smith
D)Hutton

Question 9

A scientist studying the biological and geological processes of fossilization is engaging in the science of __________.

A)taphonomy
B)geology
C)paleontology
D)none of these

Question 10

__________ is a field devoted to the gleaning of all the information that can be extracted from fossils.

A)Taphonomy
B)Paleontology
C)Geology
D)Stratigraphy

Question 11

The concept of index fossils is associated with which principle?

A)the principle of cross-cutting relationships
B)the principle of original horizontality
C)the principle of superposition
D)the principle of faunal succession

Question 12

The Tertiary period spans from __________.

A)4.5 million to 60,000 years ago
B)65 billion to 54.8 million years ago
C)5.43 billion to 45 million years ago
D)248 million to 6.5 million years ago

Question 13

Who is associated with the principle of superposition?

A)Steno
B)Cuvier
C)Smith
D)Hutton

Question 14

Which is most likely to be preserved by fossilization?

A)brains
B)skin an internal organs
C)bones and teeth
D)hair

Question 15

Which of the following states that older strata are laid down below younger strata?

A)the principle of cross-cutting relationships
B)the principle of original horizontality
C)the principle of superposition
D)the principle of faunal succession

Question 16

Who is associated with the principle of faunal succession?

A)Steno
B)Lyell
C)Smith
D)Hutton

Question 17

Which is the least inclusive division of the Geologic Time Scale

A)eras
B)epochs
C)periods
D)eons

Question 18

The GTS is divided into the __________ eons.

A)Precambrian and Cenozoic
B)Archaean and Phanerozoic
C)Mesozoic and Cenozoic
D)Precambrian and Phanerozoic

Question 19

Most living creatures end up as fossils.

Question 20

Strata are __________.

A)layers of rock
B)trace fossils
C)petrified remains of organisms
D)none of these

Question 21

Fission-track dating relies on the decay of __________..

A)Uranium
B)Potassium
C)Fluoride
D)Carbon

Question 22

Crystalline materials that have been buried in sediments may be chronometrically dated using the __________method.

A)electron spin resonance
B)stratigraphic
C)optically stimulated luminescence
D)none of these

Question 23

Paleontologists use the form of teeth and _________ to decide to which group a fossil belongs.

A)hair
B)bones
C)fatty tissue
D)none of these

Question 24

Fossils can be used to reconstruct ancient animal communities and therefore make inferences about ancient environments and habitats.

Question 25

The story of climate change during the Cenozoic is generally one of __________.

A)warming and drying
B)warming and increased moisture
C)cooling and drying
D)cooling and increased moisture

Question 26

Information about stable carbon isotope ratios help build vegetation maps.

Question 27

Half-life is half the time it takes for the entire original amount of an unstable isotope to decay into more stable forms.

Question 28

Relative dating techniques establish the age of a fossil only in comparison to other material found with it.

Question 29

__________ years ago,the earth was divided into two continents,Gondwanaland and Laurasia.

A)50 million
B)200 million
C)2 billion
D)3.5 million years ago

Question 30

What is a parent-isotope?

A)a radiometric dating technique
B)a calibrated chemical stratum
C)the original radioactive isotope in a sample
D)the isotope that is produced as the result of radioactive decay

Question 31

Studying ancient vegetation includes investigating __________.

A)plant macrofossils
B)ancient pollen
C)phytoliths
D)all of these

Question 32

We live in the __________ epoch.

A)Holocene
B)Cenozoic
C)Quaternary
D)Phanerozoic

Question 33

__________ is a dating technique using comparisons of fossils.

A)Lithostratigraphy
B)Biostratigraphy
C)Tephrostratigraphy
D)Provenience

Question 34

A high ? 18oxygen/16oxygen ratio in the shells of marine animals indicates __________.

A)colder temperatures and lower sea levels
B)higher temperatures and lower sea levels
C)colder temperatures and higher sea levels
D)warmer temperatures and higher sea levels

Question 35

Radiocarbon dating is the primary technique for dating __________.

A)volcanic deposits
B)organic material
C)obsidian
D)uranium decay

Question 36

Chronometric dating techniques provide __________.

A)the age of an object relative items found with it
B)an age estimate in years before the present
C)the relative age of an object
D)information about the magnetic polarity of strata

Question 37

We live in the __________ period.

A)Holocene
B)Cenozoic
C)Quaternary
D)Phanerozoic

Question 38

__________ is a common radiometric method for dating volcanic deposits.

A)Stratigraphic dating
B)Electron spin resonance
C)Potassium-argon dating
D)Radiocarbon dating

Question 39

The lengths of epochs,periods,and eras are standardized and inflexible.

Question 40

__________ is the study of geologic deposits and their formation.

A)lithostratigraphy
B)biostratigraphy
C)tephrostratigraphy
D)provenience

Question 41

Omomyoids focused on __________ for food.

A)leaves
B)small animals and fruit
C)fruit and insects
D)grasses and termites

Question 42

Omomyoids were more common in North America.

Question 43

Based on molecular evidence,strepsirhines and haplorhines separated about __________.

A)58 million years ago
B)80 million years ago
C)67 million years ago
D)45 million years ago

Question 44

According to DNA comparisons,Old World monkeys and apes shared an ancestor until about __________.

A)45 million years ago
B)30 million years ago
C)25 million years ago
D)20 million years ago

Question 45

Compared to its contemporary mammals,Purgatorius had __________.

A)less specialized teeth
B)much larger brains
C)smaller hands
D)more culture

Question 46

New World and Old World primates diverged around __________.

A)35 million years ago
B)50 million years ago
C)40 million years ago
D)25 million years ago

Question 47

All living Old World primates have a __________ dental pattern.

A)2:1:3:3
B)2:1:2:3
C)3:1:3:3
D)2:3:1:3

Question 48

Since the Miocene,the number of ape species has increased,while the number of monkey species has decreased.

Question 49

Between 54 million and 34 million years ago Europe and America

A)were separated by only a narrow sea
B)had very different climates
C)supported different sets of primates
D)were connected by land

Question 50

Adapoids ate __________.

A)fruit and leaves
B)rodents
C)insects
D)berries

Question 51

The end of the late Eocene saw the global climate became__________.

A)cooler and dryer
B)cooler and wetter
C)warmer and dryer
D)warmer and wetter

Question 52

A gap between anterior teeth is called a __________.

A)postorbital gap
B)prognathic opening
C)diastema
D)foramen magnum

Question 53

The first monkeys appeared between __________ million years ago.

A)78 and 60
B)58 and 40
C)65 and 55
D)45 and 40

Question 54

Early primate characteristics probably evolved because these creatures were __________.

A)frugivorous
B)visual predators
C)arboreal
D)none of these

Question 55

Compared to plesiadapiforms,adapoids and omomyoids had better stereoscopic vision.

Question 56

Adapids resemble modern __________.

A)apes
B)monkeys
C)tarsiers
D)none of these

Question 57

Aegyptopithecus belongs to the __________ family of primates.

A)Parapithecidae
B)Oligopithecidae
C)Propliopithecidae
D)none of these

Question 58

__________ is a good candidate for the ancestor of all higher primates.

A)Aegyptopithecus
B)Apidium
C)Branisella
D)Catopithecus

Question 59

Which of the following is not true of omomyoids?

A)they are likely to be ancestral to all haplorhines
B)they were likely nocturnal creatures
C)they were terrestrial animals,not arboreal
D)they were small-bodied

Question 60

The fossil record of the __________ reveals the first true primates.

A)Paleocene
B)Miocene
C)Eocene
D)Jurassic

Question 61

What are the various types of relative dating? In what instances might relative dating techniques offer a chronological date?

Question 62

A characteristic that differentiates apes from Old World monkeys is __________.

A)the lack of a third premolar
B)more massive jaws
C)a suspensory shoulder
D)downward-facing nostrils

Question 63

The adaptations of a fused mandible and orbital closure in early monkeys were probably unrelated.

Question 64

Gigantopithecus was the largest primate that ever lived.

Question 65

Explain the principles associated with Lyell,Smith,Hutton,and Steno.

Question 66

How can the principles associated with Lyell,Smith,Hutton,and Steno inform us about fossils? Be specific.

Question 67

The mid-Miocene monkeys became more common than apes because __________.

A)monkeys are r-selected while apes are k-selected
B)monkeys can more easily shift to efficient terrestrial locomotion
C)both a and b
D)neither a nor b

Question 68

Where have Miocene apes NOT been found?

A)Europe
B)Australia
C)Africa
D)Asia

Question 69

Which of the following is NOT true of the dental apes?

A)they were small bodied compared to modern apes
B)they had less fully developed stereoscopic vision
C)they lacked a suspensory shoulder
D)they walked in a plantigrade fashion

Question 70

The fossil evidence and molecular evidence for the primate phylogeny does not match closely.

Question 71

The probable ancestor of the gorilla,chimpanzee and bonobo lineages is __________.

A)Ouranopithecus
B)Dryopithecus
C)Oreopithecus
D)none of these

Question 72

Using Potassium-argon dating as an example,explain how radiometric dating works.

Question 73

Citing specific examples,explain how scientists use proxies to reconstruct ancient environments.

Question 74

A molecular clock can only work if the molecule used to make the tree is changing at a similar rate in each lineage in a phylogeny.

Question 75

What are the different types of fossils and how do they form?

Question 76

Citing specific examples,explain how electron trap techniques work and the types of objects that may be dated with these methods.

Question 77

In Old World monkeys,the cercopithecine and colobine split took place between __________ million years ago.

A)14 and 16
B)20 and 23
C)16 and 18
D)18 and 20

Question 78

Climatic changes during the middle-Miocene caused __________.

A)Asia to become more heavily forested
B)the development of drier,more open areas in parts of Africa
C)a land bridge between Africa and Eurasia to form
D)expanded tropical areas in Europe to develop

Question 79

Which of the following is NOT true of Sivapithecus?

A)it is the sole ancestor of orangutans
B)it was an arboreal quadruped
C)it lived in Asia
D)its teeth were thickly enameled

Question 80

Explain the climatic shifts that typify the Paleocene and Miocene.