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PALEO 201 > Final exam prep questions > Flashcards

Final exam prep questions Flashcards

1
Q

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

A

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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2
Q

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

Allosaurus
Coelophysis
Eoraptor
Tyrannosaurus rex

A

Eoraptor, Coelophysis, Allosaurus, Tyrannosaurus rex

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3
Q

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

Cambrian

Cretaceous

Permian

Triassic

A

Cambrian, Permian, Triassic, Cretaceous

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4
Q

ankylosaurs and stegosaurs are in what group

A

Thyreophora

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5
Q

Natural selection is the process by which

A

reproductive success of certain traits leads to changes in a population

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6
Q

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

Mesozoic

Permian

Cretaceous

Phanerozoic

A

Phanerozoic

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7
Q

Which of the following is associated with Pangaea?

A

Similar dinosaurs present worldwide

Aridity (dry climate) and rapid fluctuations in climate

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8
Q

The first dinosaurs, like Eoraptor and Eodromaeus were:

A

Small, bipedal carnivores

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9
Q

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

A

The asthenosphere

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10
Q

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

A

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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11
Q

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

A

DNA molecules are delicate and break down over time

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12
Q

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

A

Birds
Mammals
Crocodiles

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13
Q

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…

A

right age

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14
Q

Proof of meteor

A

iridium, Shocked Quartz, Tektites

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15
Q

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

A

Climate change from volcanism
Climate change from plate tectonics
Meteorite Impact

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16
Q

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

A

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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17
Q

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

A

1 million to 10 million years

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18
Q

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

A

huge firestorms

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19
Q 
Which of the following did not live during the Cretaceous? 
Coniferous plants
Flowering plants
Birds
Trilobites
A

Trilobites

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20
Q 
Two Extinctions: When were these extinction events?  (2)
Permian-triassic 
triassic-cretaceous
Triassic-jurassic 
permian-cambrian
A

Permian-triassic

Triassic-jurassic

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21
Q 
When pangae began to break apart?
End of jurassic period
End of triassic period
End of creataceous period
End of permian period
A

End of triassic period

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22
Q

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

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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23
Q 
When dinosaurs died out?
The end cretaceous extinction 
The end permian extinction 
The end Cretaceous extinction 
The end triassic extinction
A

The end Cretaceous extinction

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24
Q 
Greatest mass extinction of all time?
The end cambrian extinction
The end Permian extinction
The end jurassic extinction
The end cretaceous extinction
A

The end Permian extinction

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25
Q 
Late Permian Extinction: What do you think caused this mass extinction?  
Metero
Greenhouse gases 
sea level rises
volanic activity
A

Greenhouse gases

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26
Q

Were dinosaurs lepidosauromorphs or archosauromorphs?

A

Archosauromorphs

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27
Q

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

A

Has a single fenestra behind the eye

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28
Q 
Which of the following was an adaptation possessed by the first dinosaurs? (3)
Perforated acetabulum
Antorbital fenestrae
Quadrupedal stance
Hinge-like ankles
A

Perforated acetabulum
Antorbital fenestrae
Hinge-like ankles

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29
Q

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

A

Pseudosuchians

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30
Q 
To which of the following groups do dinosaurs belong? (3)
Lepidosauromorphs
Archosauromorphs
Diapsids
Amniotes
A

Archosauromorphs
Diapsids
Amniotes

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31
Q

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

Oviraptorosaurs
Therizinosaurus
Ornithomimids
Tyrannosaurus

A

Oviraptorosaurs
Therizinosaurus
Ornithomimids
Tyrannosaurus

32
Q

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

A

Titanosaurs

33
Q

A group that includes ornithischians with body armour?

Hadrosaurs
Ornithopods
Thyreophorans

A

Thyreophorans

34
Q

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?

A

increase

35
Q

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

A

Deposited in large seaways

36
Q

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

A

Altered ocean circulation

37
Q

Laurasia

A

Present day asia, Europe, and North America

38
Q

Gondwana

A

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

39
Q

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?

A

30 kilometers

40
Q

Which of the layers of earth are solid? (2)

mantle
lithosphere
crust
inner core

A

crust and inner core

41
Q

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

..were submerged…

A

Land bridges were submerged just below sea level

42
Q 
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
A

Thermal expansion
Mid-ocean volcanism
Absent polar ice caps

43
Q

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

A

Australia and Africa

44
Q

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

A

The crust and mantle

45
Q

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

A

Alfred Wegener

46
Q

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

A

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

47
Q 
Late Cretaceous Dinosaurs: Select the dinosaurs that would have been alive at the end of the Cretaceous Period. (3)
Tyrannosaurus 
Stegosaurus 
Triceratops 
Pachycephalosaurus
A

Tyrannosaurus
Triceratops
Pachycephalosaurus

48
Q

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

A

Triceratops and pachycephalosaurus

49
Q

What is the Era we live in today?

A

Cenozoic

50
Q

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

A

Before

51
Q

Phanerozoic eon divided into which 3 eons

A

Paleozoic
Mesozoic
Cenozoic

52
Q

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

A

The time from when the first multicellular life appeared to today

53
Q

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

A

no

54
Q

The first mammals evolved:

A

At about the same time as the first dinosaurs were evolving

55
Q

When did the earth form?

A

4.6 billion years ago

56
Q

Which of the following happened during the Hadean Eon?

A

moon

57
Q

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

A

volcanic ash

58
Q

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

A

Mesozoic

59
Q

Do you think that feathers are a synapomorphy of birds?

A

no

60
Q

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

A

Thick, domed skull

61
Q

Which of the following is an example of convergent evolution?

A

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

62
Q

On a phylogenetic tree, what does a node show?

A

The point at which species shared a common ancestor

63
Q

What is synapomorphy?

A

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

64
Q

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

A

A toothless beak

65
Q

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

A

Parsimony

66
Q

Fins in fish and whales are?

A

Convergent

67
Q

Five fingers in humans and bats is?

A

Shared common ancestor

68
Q

Bipedalism in humans and birds is?

A

Convergent evolution

69
Q

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

A

Thick, dome skull

70
Q

Which of the following statements is true?

A

One or more populations make up a species

71
Q

Taxonomy

A

Naming a species

72
Q

Named dinosaurs: how many species of non-avian dinosaurs do you think have been named so far?

10,000
1,000
100
1 million

A

1,000

73
Q

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

A

10, 000, 000

74
Q

How does the biological species concept define a species?

A

As a group of organisms that can interbreed

75
Q

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

A

Describe the unique features of the new dinosaur

Designate a holotype

Publish a peer-reviewed journal

PALEO 201 (8 decks)

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