Chap. 25: PP Flashcards
Which period saw a dramatic increase in the diversity of many animal phyla?
Cambrian Period (542 mybp)
T/F The Cambrian explosion occurred in the Cambrian Period
True
When did the oldest fossils of eukaryotic cells appear?
2100 mybp
In the ________ period, the oldest fossils of eukaryotic cells appeared
Proterozoic Period (Hadean, Archean, Proterozoic, Phanerozoic)
T/F 4600 mybp marks the Earth’s origin
True
Did the oldest fossils of cells (prokaryotes) appear before the concentration of atmospheric oxygen began to increase?
Yes, the oldest fossils of cells (prokaryotes) appeared in 3500 mybp and the concentration of atmospheric oxygen began to increase in 2700 mybp (Hadean Period)
List the 4 Eons in chronological order (earliest to current)
Hadean, Archaen, Proterozoic, Phanerozoic
When the ice ages occurred in the Cenozoic era, what consecutive event took place?
Humans appeared (1.8-.1 mybp)
The origin of many primate groups, the dominance of angiosperms, and the major radiation of mammals, birds, and pollinating insects occurred in which era?
Cenozoic Era
T/F Dinosaurs were abundant in the Mesozoic Era. What period were they abundant in?
True. Jurassic Period
What tragic event occurred at the end of the Cretacious period?
Many groups of organisms, including dinosaurs, become extinct
In what eon, period and era did cone-bearing plants dominate the landscape?
Phanerozoic Period, Mesozoic Era, Triassic Period
Name the three periods of the Mesozoic Era and their key events.
1) Triassic - cone-bearing plants (gymnosperms) dominate the landscape
2) Jurassic - dinosaurs are abundant and diverse
3) Cretaceous - Flowering plants appear and diversify; extinction of dinosaurs
The first complex organic monomers are said to develop in what?
a prebiotic soup
What are protobionts?
Simple protocells
List the key insight that Oparin and Haldane contributed to the origin-of-life debate.
At the time of the earth’s origin, the atmosphere had to have been reducing and not oxidizing.
Did Miller and Urey create organic material from in-organic material? What did they specifically create?
Yes. Amino acids.
T/F One problem with Miller and Urey’s experiment was that the molecules had to be removed from the system or they degraded
True
Miller and Urey created organic matter with the help of ammonia and methane. Were ammonia and methane part of the actual early atmosphere?
No. Geochemists agree that ammonia and methane were not part of the early atmosphere.
Does Miller and Urey’s experiment work without ammonia and methane?
No
“Complex molecules must form because life is here” is evolutionists’ _____ ________.
strongest argument
How could the first polymers have formed?
Reducing atmosphere would be required, clay surfaces could act as catalytic sites, iron pyrite could act as a catalyst.
Does oxygen in the atmosphere prevent polymer formation?
Yes.
Do polymers form very efficiently and not spontaneously degrade?
No (how can you get polymers if you can’t get monomers?)
T/F A high concentration of mostly nonpolar polypeptides, nucleic acids and polysaccharides can self-assemble when shaken.
True.
Can a protobiont with a protein semi-permeable membrane be formed in the laboratory in conditions that mimic that of the earth’s origins?
Yes
Could protobionts do anything without enzymes present?
No (protobionts are not shaped by natural selection, either)
What do biologists believe was the first genetic material?
Self-replicating RNA
T/F Spontaneous RNA molecules up to 40 nucleotides long have not been able to be produced in the lab.
False (spontaneous RNA molecules up to 40 nucleotides long have been produced in a laboratory setting).
What are ribozymes?
RNA that act as enzymes to copy small RNAs.
Self-replicating RNA or ribozymes must have a _____ ______ sequence.
very precise
What function would early RNA have? What would it not/be affected by?
No function. Natural selection.
T/F Enzymatic RNA is extremely simple.
False (enzymatic RNA is extremely complex).
If the “RNA hypothesis” worked, is there a clear path beyond to DNA and proteins?
No.
T/F there is no ascertained prebiotic synthesis for mononucleotides.
True.
Has the evolutionary hypothesis that cellular life derives from inanimate matter been proven yet? If not, what is it?
No, the hypothesis has not been proven. The evolutionary hypothesis that cellular life derives from inanimate matter is a working hypothesis.
No earth origin model has yet been produced that works fully within the context of currently understood ___ and _____ laws
chemical and physical laws
What does cpDNA IR loss help prove?
Common ancestry
What are pseudogenes?
A section of a chromosome that is an imperfect copy of a functional gene (typically has lost function)
T/F Pseudogenes do not appear to have important functions.
False. Some pseudogenes appear to have important functions.
Pseudogenes: what has to be true in order for shared pseudogenes between two species to indicate common ancestry?
The pseudogene must not be selectively advantageous.
Humans and ______ share pseudogenes.
Chimpanzees
The Process of Fossil Formation - Whole Organisms (Taphonomy)
Organism must be buried _______ after death.
______ needs to be excluded to prevent decay.
As fossils age, the ____ material is replaced by ____.
Fossils are found in _________ _________
Fossil size is inversely proportional to ______
Soft-bodied organisms are preserved ______ than hard-bodied organisms.
a. soon
b. oxygen
c. organic
d. minerals
e. sedimentary rock
f. fossilization
g. less
A fly trapped in amber is an example of what fossil type?
Whole Organism
A bee’s wing or pollen is an example of what fossil type?
Parts of organisms
What type of fossil is an impression?
Not sure. Google this.
What era are we in?
Cenozoic Era (65 mybp-)
What era came before Cenozoic?
a. ends with _______ of _________ and apperance of _______ _______.
Mesozoic
a. extinction
b. dinosaurs
c. flowering
d. plants
What era began with the Cambrian explosion?
Paleozoic (570-245)
What era ends with the diversity of invertebrates and first vertebrates?
Precambrian
At what rate do radioactive isotopes decay?
Constant rate
