25 Flashcards
half life
the time required for half the parent isotope to decay
endosymbiosis
proposes that mitochondria and plastids were formerly small prokaryotes living within larger host cells
cambrian explosion
The Cambrian explosion refers to the sudden appearance of fossils resembling modern phyla in the Cambrian period
continental drift
Earth’s continents move slowly over the underlying hot mantle
Adaptive radiation
the evolution of diversely adapted species from a common ancestor upon introduction to new environmental opportunities whose adaptations allow them to fill different ecological roles
usually occurs after mass extinctions
Heterochrony
is an evolutionary change in the rate or timing of developmental events
paedomorphosis
retention into adulthood of features that were solely juvenile in ancestors
Homeotic genes
determine such basic features as where wings and legs will develop on a bird or how a flower’s parts are arranged
The geologic record is divided into
the Archaean, the Proterozoic, and the Phanerozoic eon
why did oxygen begin to accumulate in the atmosphere (oxygen revolution)?
cyanobacteria were doing photosynthesis so they were adding oxygen to the atmosphere
what are the 4 steps that led to life on earth?
- the abiotic (nonliving) synthesis of small organic molecules, such as amino acids and nitrogeneous bases
- the joining of these small molecules into macromolecules, such as proteins and nucleic acids
- the packaging of these molecules into PROTOCELLS, droplets with membranes that maintained an internal chemistry different from that of their surroundings
- origin of self-replicating molecules that eventually made inheritance possible
stromatolites
layered rocks that form when certain prokaryotes bind thin films of sediment together
earliest evidence of life - 3.8 billion years ago
during Early Archean
relative dating
is the age of a rock layer (or the fossils it contains) compared to other layers. It can be determined by looking at the position of rock layers.
absolute dating
is the numeric age of a layer of rocks or fossils. Absolute age can be determined by using radiometric dating.
how old are oldest known fossils?
the cyanobacteria or “blue-green algae,” have left a fossil record that extends far back into the Precambrian - the oldest cyanobacteria-like fossils known are nearly 3.7 billion years old
in the Archaean eon
How old are the oldest eukaryotic fossils?
proterozoic eon
1.8 billion years ago
The oldest known fossils of multicellular eukaryotes are of small algae that lived about 1.2 billion years ago
How many mass extinction events have been documented in the fossil record over the past 500 million years?
five mass extinctions
give an example of adaptive radiation
– Mammals underwent an adaptive radiation after the extinction of terrestrial dinosaurs
– The disappearance of dinosaurs (except birds) allowed for the expansion of mammals in diversity and size
adaptative radiation on the hawaiian island
The geologic record is divided into 3 eons. What are these eons and what is the relative age of each eon?
Archean
Proterozoic
Phanerozoic
The Archean and Proterozoic eons lasted about 4 billion years.
The Phanerozoic eons was about 600,000 years
The Cambrian explosion marks the relatively “sudden” appearance of many animal phyla approximately 542 million years ago. Approximately what percentage of Earth’s history has occurred BEFORE the appearance of animals?
87%
Which of the following is a rich source for the earliest prokaryote fossils?
stromatolites
radiometric dating _____
allows us to indirectly date fossils up to billions of years old based on minerals in surrounding volcanic strata
You discover three fossil organisms and want to determine their dates. You measure the percentage of carbon-14 (half-life of 5,730 years) remaining in the fossils. Which of the following correctly places them in order from oldest to youngest?
A = 38.7 B = 77.0 C= 52.1
A, C, B
oldest to youngest
38.7, 52.1, 77.0
38.7% is oldest because it has the least amount of the half life remaining meaning it has gone through more half lives already
You discover a series of fossil organisms and want to determine their dates. You decide to use carbon-14 dating (half-life of 5,730 years). Based on the table below, about how old are fossils A and B?
2,865
5,730/2 = 2,865
When did the first prokaryotes arise, according to the fossil record?
3.5 billion
One species of finch colonizes an island and, over a relatively short period of time, speciates into several different finch species. This is an example of
adaptive radiation
The Cambrian explosion marks the relatively “sudden” appearance of many animal phyla approximately 542 million years ago. Approximately what percentage of Earth’s history has occurred since the appearance of animals?
13%
Which of the following is a reasonable prediction concerning plate tectonics and continental drift?
Continents should eventually re-aggregate into a supercontinent before breaking up again.
A basic tenet of evolution by natural selection is that species should continually become more fit for their environment. What, then, can account for extinction?
The environment changes more rapidly than species can adapt.
When was the largest mass extinction in the history of our planet?
252 millions years ago
perminian extinction
The hundreds of varied fruit fly species on the Hawaiian Islands arose through adaptive radiation. Which piece of evidence would best support this claim?
The Hawaiian fruit fly species are more closely related to each other genetically than they are to non-Hawaiian fruit flies.