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Bio Gr.10 > 9. History of Life on Earth > Flashcards

9. History of Life on Earth Flashcards

1
Q

What is Palaeontology?

A

Study of fossils

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2
Q

What does Palaeontology involve?

A
  • Reconstruction
  • Determine age of fossils
  • Classify according to structure.
  • Info on relations between organisms.
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3
Q

What is Archaeology?

A

Study of origin and development of human history and prehistory.

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4
Q

What does Archaeology involve?

A
  • Excavation of sites
  • Analysis of physical remains
  • Study human artifacts
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5
Q

What is Anthropology?

A

Study of human cultures

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6
Q

What does Anthropology involve?

A
  • Origin, development and behaviour of humans.
  • Languages, archaeological remains and physical characteristics of people.
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7
Q

What is a Geological Timescale?

A

Calendar of events in the Earth’s history.

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8
Q

What is an Eon?

A

Longest time periods, hundreds of millions years

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9
Q

What are Eras?

A

Smaller time periods that eons are divided into.

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10
Q

What are Periods?

A

Eras made up of varying numbers of periods of dif lengths of time.

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11
Q

How long ago was the Earth formed?

A

4,5 billion years ago

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12
Q

How old is the oldest eukaryotic fossil?

A

2 billion years old

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13
Q

What is Cynobacteria?

A

Photosynthetic prokaryotes

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14
Q

What is the Cambrian explosion?

A

Short period of time marking origins of early forms of all animal groups.

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15
Q

How long did the Cambrian explosion last?

A

38 million years

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16
Q

What is the cause of the Cambrian explosion?

A

Oxygen levels rose because of photosynthesising bacteria and algae.

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17
Q

What is a Mass extinction?

A

A large number of species die out over a relatively small period of time.

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18
Q

List the 5 Mass extinctions.

A
  • Ordovician
  • Devonian
  • Permian
  • Triassic
  • Cretaceous
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19
Q

How long ago was the Ordovician extinction?

A

444m years ago

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20
Q

How long ago was the Devonian extinction?

A

383-359m yrs ago

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21
Q

How long ago was the Permian extinction?

A

252m yrs ago

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22
Q

How long ago was the Triassic extinction?

A

201m yrs ago

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23
Q

How long ago was the Cretaceous extinction?

A

66m yrs ago

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24
Q

What are the possible causes of the Sixth mass extinction?

A
  • Industrial activity
  • Deforestation and desertification
  • Increase in agricultural land and urban areas.
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25
Give examples of Industrial activity.
- Global warming - Pollution - Acid rain - Climate change
26
What are the 2 causes of Mass extinctions?
- Environmental disasters - Organisms fail to adapt to habitat or environmental changes.
27
What kind of Environmental disasters?
- Meteor/asteroid - Severe volcanism - Radiation from exploding stars - Killer diseases
28
What type of Habitat/Environmental changes?
- Changing temps of ice/warm ages - Global sea level changes - Continental drift
29
Explain how Asteroid impact can cause a mass extinction.
- Massive amounts of stone,dust,ash,smoke lifted into air. - Sunlight blocked out,preventing photosynthesis. - Food chains collapse - Earthquakes, tsunamis,wildfires may have followed.
30
List the 5 Mass extinctions from oldest to most recent.
1. Ordovician 2. Devonian 3. Permian 4. Triassic 5. Cretaceous
31
What is the evidence of Asteroid impact?
- Large crater near Mexico - Glass particles at impact site,from sand - Rocks contain Iridium
32
What is Continental Drift?
Movement of separate parts of the earth's crust over a period of time.
33
What can Tectonic plate movement cause?
- Continous rearrangement of continents - Thrusting up of mountains - Earthquakes - Volcanoes
34
What was the name of the one big super continent?
Pangea
35
When did Pangea break up?
225-200 mya
36
What was the North continent called?
Laurasia
37
What was the South continent called?
Gondwanaland
38
Provide the definition of a Fossil.
Remains, impressions or traces of ancient life forms that have been preserved in Earth's crust for thousands of years.
39
What is Fossilisation?
Slow processes of replacement of hand parts of animals and plants with minerals.
40
Give 3 conditions for the best preservation of fossils.
- Organism must be buried immediately after it dies. - Condition in sediment must be acidic with no oxygen - Organism must have a few hard parts.
41
Explain how fossils form?
- Organism dies and is buried. - Layers of sediment build up and press down on buried remains. - Dissolved minerals fill tiny spaces in bones. - Pressure, chemical reactions and time turn sediments into rock and bones into mineralised fossils- permineralisation - Uncovered through erosion or excavation.
42
Give 3 examples of fossils.
Bones, Shells, Petrified tree trunks
43
Give 3 examples of fossils in tar and ice.
- Wooly mammoth - Some insects - Pits of tar containing bones of sabre toothed cats
44
Name the 2 methods used to date fossils?
- Relative dating - Radiometric dating
45
What is an Index fossil?
Typical of a particular period, possible to tell age of rock found in.
46
Name 2 Index fossils?
Trilobites and Ammonites
47
What is Relative dating?
Older fossils occur in deeper sedimentary layers unlike younger fossils.
48
What is Radiometric dating?
Radioactive elements are used. The more the radioactive element has decayed, the older the fossil.
49
What is Half-life?
Amount of time it takes the parent isotope to decay into atoms of the daughter isotope.
50
Give 3 reasons to why there are gaps in the fossil record.
- Only a few ancient organisms are preserved as fossils. - Not found all fossils - Only organisms with solid and resistant skeleton are easily preserved.
51
Provide the definition of a transition fossil?
Organism found that is the intermediate between old groups and new groups.
52
Give 3 examples of transition fossils?
- Coelacanth - Archaeopteryx - Thrinaxodon
53
How is a Coelacanth a transition fossil?
Link between fish and amphibian
54
How is a Archaeopteryx a transition fossil?
Link between dinosaurs/reptiles and birds
55
How is a Thrinaxodon a transition fossil?
Link between reptiles and mammals
56
Explain the major phases of hominin evolution.
Hominins survived, flourished because of their ability to walk upright, ability to communicate, problem-solve and make tools.
57
From what genus does the development of hominins arise?
Ardipithecus
58
What is the only hominin species currently living?
Homo sapiens
59
How long ago did Ardipitheucs exist?
5-4 mya
60
Give 3 physical features of Ardipithecus.
- Foramen magnum is more forward=bipedalism - Large brow ridges - Very protruding jaw
61
How long ago did Australopithecus exist?
4-1.6 mya
62
Name the 3 types of Australopithecus.
- A.afarensis - A.africanus - A.sediba
63
What is A.afarensis known as?
Lucy
64
What is A.africanus known as?
Mrs Ples
65
What is A.sediba known as?
Karabo
66
Give the physical features of A.afarensis.
- foramen magnum more forward - Brow ridges large - Jaws very prognathous
67
Give the physical features of A.africanus.
- Foramen magnum more forward - Brow ridges smaller - Jaws prognathous
68
Give the physical features of A.sediba.
- Foramen magnum more forward - Brow ridges smaller - Jaws less prognathous
69
How long did ago Homo exist?
2.2 mya to present
70
Name the 3 types of Homo.
- H.habilis - H.erectus - H.sapiens
71
Give the physical features of H.habilis.
- Foramen magnum more forward - Brow ridges present but not pronounced - Jaw reduced prognathous
72
Give the physical features of H.erectus.
- Foramen magnum more forward - Brow ridges distinct - Jaw reduced prognathous
73
Give the physical features of H.sapiens.
- Foramen magnum more forward - No brow ridges - No jaw prognathous

Bio Gr.10 (11 decks)

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