1/intro

Question 1

taxonomy

Answer 1

science of classification of organisms

Question 1

6 propositions of neo-Darwinian evolution

Answer 1

• reproduction
• excess
• variation
• environmental selection/natural selection
• divergence
• ancestry

Question 2

phylogeny

Answer 2

study of evolutionary relationships

Question 3

how old did the bible give the earth? Darwin? radioactive decay?

Answer 3

• 6000 years old
• 200 million
• 4.6 billion

Question 4

geological time scales: eras

Answer 4

• Hadean (started 4.57 bn yrs ago)
• archean (3.95 bn)
• proterozoic (2.5 bn)
• paleozoic (570 mil)
• mesozoic (245 mil)
• cenozoic (65 mil)

Question 5

eons

Answer 5

• most recent = phanerozoic, which started 570 mil yrs ago. includes paleozoic, mesozoic, cenozoic
• later = precambrian, 4.57 bn yrs ago. includes hadean, archean, proterozoic

Question 6

periods in paleozoic era (oldest to newest)

Answer 6

• cambrian
• ordovician
• silurian
• devonian
• carboniferous
• permian

Question 7

periods in mesozoic era (oldest to newest)

Answer 7

• triassic
• jurassic
• cretaceous

Question 8

periods in cenozoic era (oldest to newest)

Answer 8

• paleogene
• neogene
• quaternary

Question 9

what % of the time that life existed included multicellular life

Answer 9

12%

Question 10

why is the fossil record incomplete

Answer 10

• very few organisms actually end up fossilised
• many not preserved in fossil record

Question 11

what could stop preservation of a species in the fossil record

Answer 11

• low preservation potential
• small population
• inhabit small geographical area
• lived for a short period of time

Question 12

why is the fossil record biased

Answer 12

• certain environments more likely to be preserved than others (marine organisms and lowland terrestrial more likely to be preserved than higher terrestrial)
• aquatic environments preserve more
• more recalcitrant (harder) tissue more likely to preserve

Question 13

milankovitch cycles

Answer 13

3 cycles that interact with each other, changes in the angle the earth spins and therefore temp

Question 14

examples of long term environmental change

Answer 14

solar luminosity, distance between earth and moon - tides, continental drift and tectonic events, changing atmosphere and climate change, milanchovitch cycles, evolving biota

Question 15

examples of short-medium term and rare events through time

Answer 15

large igneous provinces (LIPS), short-medium term atmospheric/climate change, super eruptions, meteorite impacts, tsunamis, mass extinctions