ch. 25, 28, 31, (TEST 1) Flashcards
Which of the following factors weaken(s) the hypothesis of abiotic synthesis of organic monomers in early Earth’s atmosphere?
1. the relatively short time between intense meteor bombardment and the appearance of the first life-forms
2. the lack of experimental evidence that organic monomers can form by abiotic synthesis
3. uncertainty about which gases comprised early Earth’s atmosphere
A) 1 only
B) 2 only
C) 1 and 2
D) 1 and 3
E) 2 and 3
D) 1 and 3
How were conditions on the early Earth of more than 3 billion years ago different from those on today’s Earth?
A) Only early Earth was intensely bombarded by large space debris.
B) Only early Earth had an oxidizing atmosphere.
C) Less ultraviolet radiation penetrated early Earth’s atmosphere.
D) Early Earth’s atmosphere had significant quantities of ozone.
A) Only early Earth was intensely bombarded by large space debris.
3) What is true of the amino acids that might have been delivered to Earth within carbonaceous chondrites?
A) They had the same proportion of L and D isomers as Earth does today.
B) Their abundance would have been dramatically reduced upon passage through early Earth’s oxidizing atmosphere.
C) There were more kinds of amino acids on the chondrites than are found in living organisms today.
D) They were delivered in the form of polypeptides.
C) There were more kinds of amino acids on the chondrites than are found in living organisms today.
4) Which of the following is the correct sequence of events in the origin of life? I. formation of protobionts II. synthesis of organic monomers III. synthesis of organic polymers IV. formation of DNA-based genetic systems A) I, II, III, IV B) I, III, II, IV C) II, III, I, IV D) II, III, IV, I
C) II, III, I, IV
5) Which of the following is a defining characteristic that all protobionts had in common?
A) the ability to synthesize enzymes
B) a surrounding membrane or membrane-like structure
C) RNA genes
D) the ability to replicate RNA
B) a surrounding membrane or membrane-like structure
6) The first genes on Earth were probably
A) DNA produced by reverse transcriptase from abiotically produced RNA.
B) DNA molecules whose information was transcribed to RNA and later translated in polypeptides.
C) auto-catalytic RNA molecules.
D) oligopeptides located within protobionts.
C) auto-catalytic RNA molecules.
7) The synthesis of new DNA requires the prior existence of oligonucleotides to serve as primers. On Earth, these primers are small RNA molecules. This latter observation is evidence in support of the hypothesized existence of
A) a snowball Earth.
B) earlier genetic systems than those based on DNA.
C) the abiotic synthesis of organic monomers.
D) the delivery of organic matter to Earth by meteors and comets.
E) the endosymbiotic origin of mitochondria and chloroplasts.
B) earlier genetic systems than those based on DNA.
8) Several scientific laboratories across the globe are involved in research concerning the origin of life on Earth. Which of these questions is currently the most problematic and would have the greatest impact on our understanding if we were able to answer it?
A) How can amino acids, simple sugars, and nucleotides be synthesized abiotically?
B) How can RNA molecules catalyze reactions?
C) How did RNA sequences come to carry the code for amino acid sequences?
D) How could polymers involving lipids and/or proteins form membranes in aqueous environments?
E) How can RNA molecules act as templates for the synthesis of complementary RNA molecules?
C) How did RNA sequences come to carry the code for amino acid sequences?
9) If natural selection in a particular environment favored genetic systems that permitted the production of daughter “cells” that were genetically dissimilar from the mother “cells,” then one should expect selection for which of the following?
I. polynucleotide polymerase with low mismatch error rates
II. polynucleotide polymerases without proofreading capability
III. batteries of efficient polynucleotide repair enzymes
IV. polynucleotide polymerases with proofreading capability
V. polynucleotide polymerases with high mismatch error rates
A) I only
B) I and IV
C) I, III, and IV
D) II and V
E) II, III and V
D) II and V
If the half-life of carbon-14 is about 5,730 years, then a fossil that has one-sixteenth the normal proportion of carbon-14 to carbon-12 should be about how many years old? A) 1,400 B) 2,800 C) 11,200 D) 16,800 E) 22,900
E) 22,900
Which measurement would help determine absolute dates by radiometric means?
A) the accumulation of the daughter isotope
B) the loss of parent isotopes
C) the loss of daughter isotopes
D) all three of these
E) only A and B
E) only A and B
Approximately how far back in time does the fossil record extend? A) 3.5 million years B) 5.0 million years C) 3.5 billion years D) 5.0 billion years
C) 3.5 billion years
What is true of the fossil record of mammalian origins?
A) It is a good example of punctuated equilibrium.
B) It shows that mammals and birds evolved from the same kind of dinosaur.
C) It includes transitional forms with progressively specialized teeth.
D) It indicates that mammals and dinosaurs did not overlap in geologic time.
E) It includes a series that shows the gradual change of scales into fur.
C) It includes transitional forms with progressively specialized teeth.
If a fossil is encased in a stratum of sedimentary rock without any strata of igneous rock (for example, lava, volcanic ash) nearby, then it should be
A) easy to determine the absolute age of the fossil, because the radioisotopes in the sediments will not have been “reset” by the heat of the igneous rocks.
B) easy to determine the absolute age of the fossil, because the igneous rocks will not have physically obstructed the deposition of sediment of a single age next to the fossil.
C) easy to determine, as long as there is enough metamorphic rock nearby.
D) difficult to determine the absolute age of the fossil, because the “marker fossils” common to igneous rock will be absent.
E) difficult to determine the absolute age of the fossil, because radiometric dating of sedimentary rock is less accurate than that of igneous rock.
E) difficult to determine the absolute age of the fossil, because radiometric dating of sedimentary rock is less accurate than that of igneous rock.
An early consequence of the release of oxygen gas by plant and bacterial photosynthesis was to
A) generate intense lightning storms.
B) change the atmosphere from oxidizing to reducing.
C) make it easier to maintain reduced molecules.
D) cause iron in ocean water and terrestrial rocks to rust (oxidize).
E) prevent the formation of an ozone layer.
D) cause iron in ocean water and terrestrial rocks to rust (oxidize).
Which of the following statements provides the strongest evidence that prokaryotes evolved before eukaryotes?
A) Prokaryotic cells lack nuclei.
B) The meteorites that have struck Earth contain fossils only of prokaryotes.
C) Laboratory experiments have produced liposomes abiotically.
D) Liposomes closely resemble prokaryotic cells.
E) The oldest fossilized cells resemble prokaryotes.
E) The oldest fossilized cells resemble prokaryotes.
What is true of the Cambrian explosion?
A) There are no fossils in geological strata that are older than the Cambrian explosion.
B) Only the fossils of microorganisms are found in geological strata older than the Cambrian explosion.
C) The Cambrian explosion is evidence for the instantaneous creation of life on Earth.
D) The Cambrian explosion marks the appearance of filter-feeding animals in the fossil record.
E) Recent evidence supports the contention that the Cambrian explosion may not have been as “explosive” as was once thought.
E) Recent evidence supports the contention that the Cambrian explosion may not have been as “explosive” as was once thought.
What is thought to be the correct sequence of these events, from earliest to most recent, in the evolution of life on Earth? 1. origin of mitochondria 2. origin of multicellular eukaryotes 3. origin of chloroplasts 4. origin of cyanobacteria 5. origin of fungal-plant symbioses A) 4, 3, 2, 1, 5 B) 4, 1, 2, 3, 5 C) 4, 1, 3, 2, 5 D) 4, 3, 1, 5, 2 E) 4, 3, 1, 2, 5
C) 4, 1, 3, 2, 5
If it were possible to conduct sophisticated microscopic and chemical analyses of microfossils found in 3.2-billion-year-old stromatolites, then one should be surprised to observe evidence of which of the following within such microfossils? I. double-stranded DNA II. a nuclear envelope III. a nucleoid IV. a nucleolus V. ribosomes A) II only B) III only C) II and IV D) II, III, and IV E) all five of these
C) II and IV
Recent evidence indicates that the first major diversification of multicellular eukaryotes may have coincided in time with the
A) origin of prokaryotes.
B) switch to an oxidizing atmosphere.
C) melting that ended the “snowball Earth” period.
D) origin of multicellular organisms.
E) massive eruptions of deep-sea vents.
C) melting that ended the “snowball Earth” period.
Which of these observations gives the most support to the endosymbiotic theory for the origin of eukaryotic cells?
A) the existence of structural and molecular differences between the plasma membranes of prokaryotes and the internal membranes of mitochondria and chloroplasts
B) the similarity in size between the cytosolic ribosomes of prokaryotes and the ribosomes within mitochondria and chloroplasts
C) the size disparity between most prokaryotic cells and most eukaryotic cells
D) the observation that some eukaryotic cells lack mitochondria
B) the similarity in size between the cytosolic ribosomes of prokaryotes and the ribosomes within mitochondria and chloroplasts
Which event is nearest in time to the end of the period known as snowball Earth?
A) oxygenation of Earth’s seas and atmosphere
B) evolution of mitochondria
C) Cambrian explosion
D) evolution of true multicellularity
E) Permian extinction
C) Cambrian explosion
The snowball Earth hypothesis provides a possible explanation for the
A) diversification of animals during the late Proterozoic era.
B) oxygenation of Earth’s seas and atmosphere.
C) colonization of land by plants and fungi.
D) origin of oxygen-releasing photosynthesis.
E) existence of prokaryotes around hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor.
A) diversification of animals during the late Proterozoic era.
Which of the following characteristics should have been possessed by the first animals to colonize land?
1. were probably herbivores (ate photosynthesizers)
2. had four appendages
3. had the ability to resist dehydration
4. had lobe-finned fishes as ancestors
5. were invertebrates
A) 3 only
B) 3 and 5
C) 1, 3, and 5
D) 2, 3, and 4
E) 1, 2, 3, and 4
C) 1, 3, and 5