Leture Quiz 3

Question 1

mummification is the result of

Answer 1

drying out the body tissue

Question 2

the lowermost and dense layer of the atmosphere where weather takes place is

Answer 2

troposphere

Question 3

examples of exceptional preservation in fossils are valuable because

Answer 3

soft parts and tissues are commonly preserved, they reveal so much more than typical fossils

Question 4

geological phenomena like natural disasters (earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, meteorite impacts) seem to follow a similar frequency pattern

Answer 4

the smaller events are more frequent, and the larger ones less frequent

Question 5

even though they went extinct, dinosaurs are considered to be

Answer 5

one of the most successful groups of organisms

Question 6

the seasons in the northern and southern hemisphere are the result of

Answer 6

the tilt of the earth’s axis

Question 7

the factors which influence the temperature on earth

Answer 7

latitude, proximity to water, topography

Question 8

the feature that distinguishes the dinosaurs from the rest of the reptiles

Answer 8

stance

Question 9

geologists have been able to determine how fast dinosaurs could run by studying

Answer 9

dinosaur tracks

Question 10

an organism that dies is more likely to become a fossil if

Answer 10

it is buried rapidly, scavengers do not find the corpse, it has a shell of skeleton

Question 11

the moon originated from

Answer 11

a Mars size object impacting Earth

Question 12

the primary difference between the two major groups of dinosaurs

Answer 12

the arrangement of the bones in the hip

Question 13

the earth is layered internally (crust, mantle, core) because of

Answer 13

gravity, density differentiation, it was molten early in its history

Question 14

the energy in living communities ultimately comes from

Answer 14

the sun

Question 15

the composition of the atmosphere has charged over time (progressively more oxygen) because of

Answer 15

planets

Question 16

geologists can interpret past environments from rocks by looking at the

Answer 16

texture, fabric, composition

Question 17

teeth are the most common fossils of vertebrate animals because

Answer 17

teeth are already mineralized

Question 18

the source of the sun’s heat is

Answer 18

nuclear fusion, hydrogen atoms combining to form helium

Question 19

dinosaurs became extinct because of the aftermath of

Answer 19

a meteorite impact

Question 20

greenhouse gasses like carbon dioxide and methane contribute to global warming by

Answer 20

trapping IR heat in the lower atmosphere

Question 21

the planets all revolve around the sun in the same orbital plane, which is evidence for

Answer 21

a common origin for all the planets, the nebular disk hypothesis

Question 22

wood and bone are porous are commonly preserved by

Answer 22

permineralization/petrification

Question 23

the material that paleontologists can examine to determine the diet of a dinosaur or other ancient organism

Answer 23

coprolites

Question 24

the most convincing evidence for the “big bang” is

Answer 24

the universe is expanding which is illustrated by the “red shift”

Question 25

the type of fossil that is likely to record an organisms behavior (what it was doing) is

Answer 25

trace fossil

Question 26

the dinosaur include

Answer 26

the terrestrial reptiles

Question 27

the “red shift” tells us that the universe is expanding because of

Answer 27

the doppler effect

Question 28

our knowledge of dinosaurs has advanced dramtically in the last 15 years because

Answer 28

medical technology, computer technology

Question 29

water is an amazing compound and has a number of interesting properties because

Answer 29

of its molecular structure

Question 30

the inner planets in our solar system are rocky whereas the outer ones are gaseous because

Answer 30

when the fusion reaction began the gasses were blown out

Question 31

what is the major difference between the 4 layers of the atmosphere

Answer 31

troposhere- most dense, temp down, we come in contact with it. Stratosphere- ozone layer, heats up, UV. mesosphere- middle, temp down, thermosphere- upper atmosphere, heating up.

Question 32

why is the stratosphere such an important layer?

Answer 32

it protects us from the UV rays

Question 33

why does temperature go up in the stratosphere with increasing elevation?

Answer 33

the ozone layer there absorbs the UV rays from the sun

Question 34

describe the process of fossilization depicted in the above diagram

Answer 34

dies, decays, buried, sediment covers, rock, erosion

Question 35

what are the basic requirements for fossil prevervation?

Answer 35

hard parts, rapid burial

Question 36

why are there seasons in the Northern Hemisphere?

Answer 36

there is seasons because we are not by the equator

Question 37

what is the major difference between winter and summer?

Answer 37

winter earth is tilted away from sun. summer earth is tilted towards

Question 38

what is a dinosaur?

Answer 38

terrestrial reptial, live on land 2-4 feet walking on

Question 39

what distinguishes dinosaurs for the rest of the reptiles?

Answer 39

stance

Question 40

how do we know what the dinosaurs ate?

Answer 40

by the size of their teeth, and what was in their poop

Question 41

what is a fossil?

Answer 41

trace of past life

Question 42

why is it so rare for organisms to become fossils?

Answer 42

not everything gets buried

Question 43

what is the Big Bang, and what is the evidence for it?

Answer 43

began during a cataclysmic release of energy from a point source of infinite mass. Evidence: expanding universe- everything is getting bigger, the red shift

Question 44

what factors control temperature on earth?

Answer 44

latitude, proximity to water, topography

Question 45

why is water so important for weather and climate?

Answer 45

water is important because without water you have no weather or climate. there isn’t any evaporition happening