FALL 1995
GLY126
Historical Geology Final Exam (Part 1)
Matching: Match the organisms on the left with the Kingdom or Phylum (the most specific group available) on the right to which that organism belongs. Each item on the right may be used more than once, and not all items on the right will be used.
| 1. snails | A. Angiospermata | K. Cycadophyta |
| 2. sponges | B. Animalia | L. Echinodermata |
| 3. starfish | C. Annelida | M. Ginkophyta |
| 4. reptiles | D. Arthropoda | N. Mollusca |
| 5. pine trees | E. Brachiopoda | O. Monera |
| 6. mosses | F. Bryophyta | P. Plantae |
| 7. earthworms | G. Bryozoa | Q. Porifera |
| 8. diatoms (golden brown algae) | H. Chordata | R. Protoctista |
| 9. birds | I. Coelenterata | |
| 10. bacteria | J. Coniferophyta |
Short Answer:
10. Briefly describe the reasons that sharks have a more complete fossil
record than dinosaurs. (3 pts.)
11. Briefly describe how wood is petrified. (3 pts.)
12. Briefly describe how natural selection works. (5 pts.)
13. Why are bird & bat wings "homologous structures," but
bird & insect wings are "analogous structures?" (4 pts.)
14. How do bird, bat & insect wings illustrate convergent evolution
& why are they convergent? (4 pts.)
15. Comment on the following statement: "Horses still retain the genes
to grow 3 toes." (4 pts.)
16. Of what evolutionary pattern is mammalian evolution at the beginning
of the Cenozoic Era an example? What triggered this episode in mammalian
evolution? (5 pts.)
17. What 4 kinds of data did Alfred Wegener cite in support of the theory
of continental drift? (4 pts)
18. What is apparent polar wander? (3 pts.)
19. How old is the oldest ocean crust in the oceans & how does it's
age compare to that of the oldest continental crust? (4 pts.)
20. What is the relative plate motion at convergent plate boundaries, what
seafloor feature occur at convergent plate boundaries, how deep do earthquakes
at convergent plate boundaries occur, & what volcanism & plutonism
is associated with convergent plate boundaries. (5 pts.)
21. How are the islands of Hawaii and Iceland the same & how are they
different? (5 pts.)
22. When is the Universe thought to have formed and by what process? (2
pts.)
23. Comment on the statement "Humans are made of star dust." (2
pts.)
24. When is the Solar System thought to have formed?
5. Give the names of 2 refractory-rich planets. Give the names of 2 volatile-rich
planets. (2 pts.)
26. How did the diffence between refractory-rich & volatile-rich planets
develop? (3 pts.)
27. What are the 5 compositional layers of the Earth & of what are they
made? (5 pts.)
28. What is the upper-most part of the solid Earth that consists of the
crust & the upper ~90 km of mantle called?
29. How does the composition of the Earth's crust during the Hadean Eon
probably differ from the present continental crust?
30. How has the present continental crust been formed during the last 4
by? (2 pts.)
31. What are the granite-gneiss terranes occurring in Archean cratons considered
to be? What are the greenstone belts occurring in Archean cratons considered
to be?
32. What is the significance of the ultramafic volcanics occurring in Archean
greenstone belts? (3 pts.)
33. What is the significance of the general absence of shallow-marine quartzite
& carbonate rocks in Archean cratons? (3 pts.)
34. What sedimentary rocks are most abundant in Archean cratons and in what
environment of deposition were they deposited? (2 pts.)
35. What are the general characteristics of Archean tectonics (the nature
of plate tectonics in the Archean in terms of convection rates & thickness
of lithosphere)? (2 pts.)
36. What is the significance of Proterozoic quartzite-carbonate-shale assemblages
in terms of lithospheric thickness compared to the Archean?
37. When are tillites found in the rock record prior to 550 my ago (give
absolute ages or subdivisions of the Archean & Proterozoic Eons) &
what do the presence of tillites signify in terms of the Earth's climate?
(3 pts.)
38. When are BIF's most abundant in the rock record (give absolute ages
or subdivisions of the Archean & Proterozoic Eons)? What was the primary
cause for the formation of BIF's? (4 pts.)
39. When do redbeds first appear in the rock record (give absolute ages
or subdivisions of the Archean & Proterozoic Eons)? What do these rock
types signify with regard to the composition of the Earth's atmosphere?
(4 pts.)
40. What was the cause of the increasing tectonic scale from the Archean
to the Phanerozoic? (2 pts.)
41. What experiment did Stanley Miller & Harold Urey carry out in the
1950's? What was the significance of this experiment? (3 pts.)
42. What are the differences between heterotrophs & autotrophs? What
are the differences between anaerobes & aerobes? What are the differences
between prokaryotes & eukaryotes? (3 pts.)
43. What was the probable nature of the earliest organisms on Earth?
44. What was the probable nature of the earliest autotrophic organisms on
Earth?
45. Were the first photosynthetic autotrophic organisms probably aerobic
or anaerobic?
46. How are stromatolites formed? (3 pts.)
47. Summarize the general characteristics of the Archean fossil record.
Give the absolute age & location of an important rock unit containing
Archean fossils. (3 pts.)
48. What are the differences between the Early Proterozoic & the Archean
fossil record? Give the absolute age & location of an important rock
unit containing Early Proterozoic fossils. (3 pts.)
49. When did eukaryotes evolve, what is the evidence for this event, &
what was the probable requirement for the evolution of eukaryotes? (3 pts.)
50. How are eukaryotes thought to have evolved? (2 pts.)
51. What was the effect the evolution of eukaryotes on the rate of organic
evolution?
52. What are the characteristics of the Ediacarian Fauna? What is the name
of the period during which these animals lived? (2 pts.)
53. Briefly outline the changes that occurred in animal life that transformed
the Ediacaran Fauna into the classical Cambrian Fauna. (4 pts.)
True-False: Mark whether the following statements are True or False in the space provided to the left.
____11. Late Proterozoic-Paleozoic tectonics comprise half of a Wilson
Cycle.
____14. The evolution of the Appalachian Mountain System during the Late
Proterozoic-Paleozoic started with rifting about 800 my ago.