Final exam prep questions Flashcards by Aisha Ahmad

Which of the following best describes dinosaur diversity in the polar regions during the Mesozoic?

Polar regions were warmer than they are today, but still underwent long periods of darkness. Dinosaurs were able to live there, but may have migrated during the winter.

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Put these dinosaurs in chronological order from the earliest to appear, to the last to appear:

Allosaurus
Coelophysis
Eoraptor
Tyrannosaurus rex

Eoraptor, Coelophysis, Allosaurus, Tyrannosaurus rex

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Put these geological periods in chronological order, from oldest to youngest:

Cambrian

Cretaceous

Permian

Triassic

Cambrian, Permian, Triassic, Cretaceous

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ankylosaurs and stegosaurs are in what group

Thyreophora

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Natural selection is the process by which

reproductive success of certain traits leads to changes in a population

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Which of the following represents the longest unit of geological time?

Mesozoic

Permian

Cretaceous

Phanerozoic

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Which of the following is associated with Pangaea?

Similar dinosaurs present worldwide

Aridity (dry climate) and rapid fluctuations in climate

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The first dinosaurs, like Eoraptor and Eodromaeus were:

Small, bipedal carnivores

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Currents in which of the Earth’s layers are responsible for driving plate tectonics?

The asthenosphere

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Is the presence of a dental battery in hadrosaurs and ceratopsians a synapomorphy linking these taxa?

No: hadrosaurs are ornithopods and ceratopsians are marginocephalians, and the common ancestor of these groups did not have a dental battery

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Bringing Dinosaurs Back to Life: Why do you think it would be hard to get Dinosaur DNA?

DNA molecules are delicate and break down over time

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Surviving the Impact: Which animals do you think would have been well-adapted to survive the Chicxulub impactor heat pulse?

Birds
Mammals
Crocodiles

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Tying An Impact Crater To An Extinction Event: There is one more piece of information that you need to confirm that this impact crater is related to the iridium layer. What is it? The impact crater has to be…

right age

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Proof of meteor

iridium, Shocked Quartz, Tektites

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Dinosaur Extinction Causes: What are some likely extinction causes? (3)

Climate change from volcanism
Climate change from plate tectonics
Meteorite Impact
Climate change from sea levels

Climate change from volcanism
Climate change from plate tectonics
Meteorite Impact

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Global Climate Change: Can you think of some possible causes for environmental changes on a global scale? (5)

Opening of new oceans
Closing of ocean current passage ways
Volcanism putting more CO2 into the atmosphere
Mountain building that changes air currents
Sea level changes

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How Long Does a Species Last: On average, how long does a species last before it goes extinct?

1 million to 10 million years

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Which of the following is theorized to have resulted from the Chicxulub meteorite impact?

huge firestorms

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Which of the following did not live during the Cretaceous? 
Coniferous plants
Flowering plants
Birds
Trilobites

Trilobites

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Two Extinctions: When were these extinction events?  (2)
Permian-triassic 
triassic-cretaceous
Triassic-jurassic 
permian-cambrian

Permian-triassic

Triassic-jurassic

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When pangae began to break apart?
End of jurassic period
End of triassic period
End of creataceous period
End of permian period

End of triassic period

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Do you remember the distinguishing features of archosauromorphs? (2)
A fenestra in the skull in the front of the orbit
A single fenestra in the bones of the upper jaw
A fenestra in the skull in the behind of the orbit
A single fenestra in the bones of the lower jaw

A fenestra in the skull in the front of the orbit

A single fenestra in the bones of the lower jaw

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When dinosaurs died out?
The end cretaceous extinction 
The end permian extinction 
The end Cretaceous extinction 
The end triassic extinction

The end Cretaceous extinction

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Greatest mass extinction of all time?
The end cambrian extinction
The end Permian extinction
The end jurassic extinction
The end cretaceous extinction

The end Permian extinction

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``` Late Permian Extinction: What do you think caused this mass extinction? Metero Greenhouse gases sea level rises volanic activity ```

Greenhouse gases

Were dinosaurs lepidosauromorphs or archosauromorphs?

Archosauromorphs

Dimetrodon to Mammals: What is the feature that makes an animal like Dimetrodon more similar to mammals than dinosaurs? Has a two fenestra behind the eye Has a single fenestra behind the eye Has no fenestra behind the eye

Has a single fenestra behind the eye

``` Which of the following was an adaptation possessed by the first dinosaurs? (3) Perforated acetabulum Antorbital fenestrae Quadrupedal stance Hinge-like ankles ```

Perforated acetabulum Antorbital fenestrae Hinge-like ankles

Which of the following types of carnivores lived during the Triassic? Allosaurus T-rex Pseudosuchians

Pseudosuchians

``` To which of the following groups do dinosaurs belong? (3) Lepidosauromorphs Archosauromorphs Diapsids Amniotes ```

Archosauromorphs Diapsids Amniotes

Laurasian Coelurosaurs: Which of the following coelurosaurs are known only from Laurasia? There are multiple correct answers. Oviraptorosaurs Therizinosaurus Ornithomimids Tyrannosaurus

Oviraptorosaurs Therizinosaurus Ornithomimids Tyrannosaurus

Gondwana and Laurasia Dinosaurs: At the end of the Cretaceous Period, which of these dinosaur groups could be found in both Gondwana and Laurasia? Stegosaurus Titanosaurs Oviraptorosaurs

Titanosaurs

A group that includes ornithischians with body armour? Hadrosaurs Ornithopods Thyreophorans

Thyreophorans

Impact on Biodiversity: How would higher, more stable temperatures and a higher sea level impact dinosaur biodiversity? Do you think that these things would increase or decrease the number of dinosaur species?

increase

Late Cretaceous Marine Fossils: Why do you think these fossils are preserved here?

Deposited in large seaways

Antarctica’s Climate: Why would the climate of Antarctica have been so much warmer during the distant past?

Altered ocean circulation

Laurasia

Present day asia, Europe, and North America

Gondwana

South america, australia, africa, antarctica, madagascar, and india

A Million Years of Movement: If we know that the statue of liberty and the empire state building moved 3 metres in 100 years, how far would they move in a million years?

30 kilometers

Which of the layers of earth are solid? (2) mantle lithosphere crust inner core

crust and inner core

Alfred Wegener: What was the prevailing theory at the time to explain these occurrences? ..were submerged...

Land bridges were submerged just below sea level

``` During the Cretaceous, which of the following was a major factor that contributed to higher global sea levels? Thermal expansion Mid-ocean volcanism Absent polar ice caps Widespread jungles ```

Thermal expansion Mid-ocean volcanism Absent polar ice caps

Which of the following continents were once parts of the supercontinent Gondwana? Australia and Africa North America and South America Africa and Europe

Australia and Africa

The lithosphere includes rocks from which two layers of the earth?

The crust and mantle

Which of the following scientists made the first strong case for the theory of continental drift?

Alfred Wegener

Which of the following is a piece of evidence that supports the theory of plate tectonics? (3) Similarities in the shapes of continental coastlines The existence of mid-ocean ridges Volcanic activity Fossils of the same animal on different continents

Similarities in the shapes of continental coastlines The existence of mid-ocean ridges Fossils of the same animal on different continents

``` Late Cretaceous Dinosaurs: Select the dinosaurs that would have been alive at the end of the Cretaceous Period. (3) Tyrannosaurus Stegosaurus Triceratops Pachycephalosaurus ```

Tyrannosaurus Triceratops Pachycephalosaurus

Which of these sets of dinosaurs do you think lived in the same place at the same time? Triceratops and pachycephalosaurus Stegosaurus and T-rex

Triceratops and pachycephalosaurus

What is the Era we live in today?

Cenozoic

Mammals and Dinosaurs: Did the first mammals appear before or after the non-avian dinosaurs went extinct at the end of the Mesozoic Era?

Before

Phanerozoic eon divided into which 3 eons

Paleozoic Mesozoic Cenozoic

Thinking About Time and Life: What span of time do you think is shorter?

The time from when the first multicellular life appeared to today

Do you think that sedimentary rocks can be used in radiometric dating?

The first mammals evolved:

At about the same time as the first dinosaurs were evolving

When did the earth form?

4.6 billion years ago

Which of the following happened during the Hadean Eon?

moon

From which of the following can a radiometric date typically be obtained?

volcanic ash

Dinosaurs first evolved during what era? Pick the best possible answer

Mesozoic

Do you think that feathers are a synapomorphy of birds?

What is a shared derived character, or synapomorphy, of pachycephalosaurs?

Thick, domed skull

Which of the following is an example of convergent evolution?

The similarities in the wings of bats, birds, and pterosaurs

On a phylogenetic tree, what does a node show?

The point at which species shared a common ancestor

What is synapomorphy?

Any derived character that is present in two or more species and their common ancestor

Which of the following is not shared between Archaeopteryx and some non-avian dinosaurs?

A toothless beak

What is the idea that “all other things being equal, the simplest answer is usually the right one” called?

Parsimony

Fins in fish and whales are?

Convergent

Five fingers in humans and bats is?

Shared common ancestor

Bipedalism in humans and birds is?

Convergent evolution

What is a shared derived character, or synapomorphy if pachycephalosaurus?

Thick, dome skull

Which of the following statements is true?

One or more populations make up a species

Taxonomy

Naming a species

Named dinosaurs: how many species of non-avian dinosaurs do you think have been named so far? 10,000 1,000 100 1 million

1,000

Number of species on Earth: How many species do you think there actually are on Earth? 10, 000, 000 1, 000 100, 000 1, 000, 000

10, 000, 000

How does the biological species concept define a species?

As a group of organisms that can interbreed

In order to name a new dinosaur species, which of the following do you need to do? (3) Describe the unique features of the new dinosaur Designate a holotype Find the entire fossil Publish a peer-reviewed journal

Describe the unique features of the new dinosaur Designate a holotype Publish a peer-reviewed journal