BSC 2011 Exam 1 | UPDATED Questions with 100%
Verified Answers
Q1: How do the dates of the first chemical evidence for life and
the first fossil evidence for life compare.
A: The earliest chemical evidence for life dates to approximately 3.8 to 4.1 billion years ago,
whereas the oldest confirmed fossil evidence dates to about 3.5 billion years ago.
Q2: What was the first chemical evidence for life?
A: Fossilized gels/Biofilms from Bacteria or Archaea
Q3: What was the immediate result of the first large levels of
oxygen produced by oxygenic photosynthesis?
A: The immediate result of the first large levels of oxygen produced by oxygenic
photosynthesis was the oxidation of dissolved iron in the oceans, which precipitated out
to form banded iron formations.
Q4: What other forms of photosynthesis existed prior to Oxygenic
Photosynthesis?
A: Prior to oxygenic photosynthesis, organisms engaged in anoxygenic photosynthesis,
which used electron donors such as hydrogen sulfide, ferrous iron, or molecular
hydrogen instead of water and did not generate oxygen gas.
Q5: Eventually having higher levels of oxygen in the early oceans
led to the evolution of what metabolic process and the
ancestors of what organelle?
A: Higher oxygen levels in the early oceans eventually led to the evolution of aerobic
respiration and the bacterial ancestors of mitochondria.
Q6: Which Domain of Life was able to evolve because they
brought the ancestors of Mitochondria on into their cells, and
what special adaptations could they make because of the
extra energy it gave them?
A: The domain Eukarya (eukaryotes) evolved by engulfing the ancestors of mitochondria,
and the resulting surplus energy enabled them to develop complex adaptations such as
larger cell sizes, complex internal structures, active movement, and multicellularity.
Q7: What tragic ecological events look to have resulted from
large increases in oxygenic photosynthesis prior to the
Cambrian and after it and which organisms are suspected of
causing each of these events due to their increased
expansion?
, A: The tragic ecological events were global "Snowball Earth" glaciations; the
Paleoproterozoic Great Oxidation Event (Huronian Glaciation) was triggered by the
expansion of cyanobacteria, while the Cryogenian glaciations before the Cambrian were
driven by the expansion of early photosynthetic eukaryotes and land plants.
Q8: When do we see the first evidence of multicellular bodies?
When do we see the first algae?
A: The first evidence of multicellular organisms appears around 1.6 to 2.1 billion years ago,
while the first fossil evidence for algae dates back to roughly 1.0 to 1.6 billion years ago.
Q9: When do we see the first evidence for animal life?
A: Ediacaran Period
Q10: Which of the following periods saw the greatest Animal
diversification of Phyla, and was the beginning of most current
animal phyla (major groupings)?
A: Cambrian
Q11: What type of organisms are the first on land (in terms of
Eukaryotes? What are they called?
A: The first eukaryotic organisms to colonize land were fungi and early plant-like organisms
(embryophytes) forming lichen-like associations
Q12: Lizards of a particular species come in yellow and blue skin
color varieties in equal proportions on Island A, however,
when a hurricane blows some of these lizards onto Island B,
(on a tree branch), more of the blue variety are present
amongst the colonizing population of lizards which is then
established on Island B. After a short time, the blue variety is
almost all that is found on Island B. Given that there is no color
advantage at all, what would you call this evolutionary event?
A: This is an example of Founder Effect
Q13: Female deer prefer to mate with a male who can defeat their
male rivals. This is an example of...
A: Sexual Selection
Q14: Which of the following describes Genetic Drift?
A: The effect of random events on a population over time
Q15: Which of the following is a type of evolution?
A: Natural Selection
Sexual Selection
, Gene Flow
Mutation
Genetic Drift
Q16: What is the age of the Earth?
A: 4.6 Billion Years
Q17: What is the age of the 1st Chemical Evidence for life on Earth?
A: 3.8 Billion Years
Q18: What group of Animals diversifies greatly (increases the
number of genera/species) during the Devonian so much that
it is part of the name?
A: Bony Fish
Q19: During which period do we see the beginnings of Plant life on
land (please exclude Prototaxites as they aren't plants)?
A: Ordovician
Q20: Which organism provided the first major rise in Oxygen
content in the seas at the end of the Archean Eon?
A: Cyanobacteria
Q21: At the end of this period, the greatest mass extinction ever
occurred?
A: Permian
Q22: When do the first vascular plants appear? (so that they can
begin to grow upward from the ground). Hint: this is not when
the first forests appear
A: Silurian
Q23: When do the first forests appear, (large non-woody forests)?
Hint: Also characterized by the highest Oxygen levels ever.
A: Carboniferous
Q24: he endosymbiosis to produce what organelle directly allows
the energy needed for the evolution of Multicellular
Eukaryotic Organisms?
A: Mitochondria
Verified Answers
Q1: How do the dates of the first chemical evidence for life and
the first fossil evidence for life compare.
A: The earliest chemical evidence for life dates to approximately 3.8 to 4.1 billion years ago,
whereas the oldest confirmed fossil evidence dates to about 3.5 billion years ago.
Q2: What was the first chemical evidence for life?
A: Fossilized gels/Biofilms from Bacteria or Archaea
Q3: What was the immediate result of the first large levels of
oxygen produced by oxygenic photosynthesis?
A: The immediate result of the first large levels of oxygen produced by oxygenic
photosynthesis was the oxidation of dissolved iron in the oceans, which precipitated out
to form banded iron formations.
Q4: What other forms of photosynthesis existed prior to Oxygenic
Photosynthesis?
A: Prior to oxygenic photosynthesis, organisms engaged in anoxygenic photosynthesis,
which used electron donors such as hydrogen sulfide, ferrous iron, or molecular
hydrogen instead of water and did not generate oxygen gas.
Q5: Eventually having higher levels of oxygen in the early oceans
led to the evolution of what metabolic process and the
ancestors of what organelle?
A: Higher oxygen levels in the early oceans eventually led to the evolution of aerobic
respiration and the bacterial ancestors of mitochondria.
Q6: Which Domain of Life was able to evolve because they
brought the ancestors of Mitochondria on into their cells, and
what special adaptations could they make because of the
extra energy it gave them?
A: The domain Eukarya (eukaryotes) evolved by engulfing the ancestors of mitochondria,
and the resulting surplus energy enabled them to develop complex adaptations such as
larger cell sizes, complex internal structures, active movement, and multicellularity.
Q7: What tragic ecological events look to have resulted from
large increases in oxygenic photosynthesis prior to the
Cambrian and after it and which organisms are suspected of
causing each of these events due to their increased
expansion?
, A: The tragic ecological events were global "Snowball Earth" glaciations; the
Paleoproterozoic Great Oxidation Event (Huronian Glaciation) was triggered by the
expansion of cyanobacteria, while the Cryogenian glaciations before the Cambrian were
driven by the expansion of early photosynthetic eukaryotes and land plants.
Q8: When do we see the first evidence of multicellular bodies?
When do we see the first algae?
A: The first evidence of multicellular organisms appears around 1.6 to 2.1 billion years ago,
while the first fossil evidence for algae dates back to roughly 1.0 to 1.6 billion years ago.
Q9: When do we see the first evidence for animal life?
A: Ediacaran Period
Q10: Which of the following periods saw the greatest Animal
diversification of Phyla, and was the beginning of most current
animal phyla (major groupings)?
A: Cambrian
Q11: What type of organisms are the first on land (in terms of
Eukaryotes? What are they called?
A: The first eukaryotic organisms to colonize land were fungi and early plant-like organisms
(embryophytes) forming lichen-like associations
Q12: Lizards of a particular species come in yellow and blue skin
color varieties in equal proportions on Island A, however,
when a hurricane blows some of these lizards onto Island B,
(on a tree branch), more of the blue variety are present
amongst the colonizing population of lizards which is then
established on Island B. After a short time, the blue variety is
almost all that is found on Island B. Given that there is no color
advantage at all, what would you call this evolutionary event?
A: This is an example of Founder Effect
Q13: Female deer prefer to mate with a male who can defeat their
male rivals. This is an example of...
A: Sexual Selection
Q14: Which of the following describes Genetic Drift?
A: The effect of random events on a population over time
Q15: Which of the following is a type of evolution?
A: Natural Selection
Sexual Selection
, Gene Flow
Mutation
Genetic Drift
Q16: What is the age of the Earth?
A: 4.6 Billion Years
Q17: What is the age of the 1st Chemical Evidence for life on Earth?
A: 3.8 Billion Years
Q18: What group of Animals diversifies greatly (increases the
number of genera/species) during the Devonian so much that
it is part of the name?
A: Bony Fish
Q19: During which period do we see the beginnings of Plant life on
land (please exclude Prototaxites as they aren't plants)?
A: Ordovician
Q20: Which organism provided the first major rise in Oxygen
content in the seas at the end of the Archean Eon?
A: Cyanobacteria
Q21: At the end of this period, the greatest mass extinction ever
occurred?
A: Permian
Q22: When do the first vascular plants appear? (so that they can
begin to grow upward from the ground). Hint: this is not when
the first forests appear
A: Silurian
Q23: When do the first forests appear, (large non-woody forests)?
Hint: Also characterized by the highest Oxygen levels ever.
A: Carboniferous
Q24: he endosymbiosis to produce what organelle directly allows
the energy needed for the evolution of Multicellular
Eukaryotic Organisms?
A: Mitochondria
