GLY 262 Practice Exam 2

The Ediacara fauna is significant because ...
1. it represents the first fossil evidence of multicellular animal life
2. it represents the first fossil evidence of eukaryotes
3. it represents the first fossil evidence of prokaryotes
4. its fossils are of exceptionally large size
5. none of the above
The formation of the Earth is beleived to have followed a...
1. period of accretion, period of large impacts, period of sedimentation
2. period of accretion, period of explosion, period of quiescence
3. period of bombardment period of large differentiation, period of sedimentation
4. period of accretion, period of large impacts, period of differentiation
5. none of the above
The Utica Shale is ...
1. a deep-water mudstone deposited in the Ordovician foreland basin
2. a shallow-water siltstone and sandstone formation deposited along the Devonian shoreline
3. is part of the Middle Devonian Hamilton Group exposed around the Cortland area
4. was deposited as part of the shallow-water carbonates of upstate New York during Silurian and Early Devonian time
5. none of the above
By about 1 billion years ago, all major continental masses have assembled together into a super continent called ...
1. Baltica
2. Gondwana
3. Pangaea
4. Rodinia
5. Laurentia
Greenstone belts are ...
1. Proterozoic banded iron formations
2. the preserved remains of Hadean/Archean subduction complexes
3. Archean ribbon-like stromatolites
4. Archean shield volcanoes
5. none of the above
Banded Iron formations indicate
1. the presence of atmosphereic oxygen
2. warm tropical climates
3. ancient glaciations
4. an abundance of ozone in marine waters
5. none of the above
The most widely accepted theory for the origin of the moon involves...
1. formation resulting from a collision between Earth and a large object (planetesimal)
2. sn independant origin from Earth
3. capture from an independant orbit
4. breaking off from Earth during Earth's accretion
5. none of the above
Late Proterozoic mountain building events in New York State are generally referred to the ...
1. Caledonian orogeny
2. Alleghenian orogeny
3. Acadian Orogeny
4. Taconic orogeny
5. none of the above
The oldest period of the Paleozoic Era is
1. Permian
2. Silurian
3. Triassic
4. Cambrian
5. Carboniferous
The presence of dropstones and tillites on Laurentia during the Proterozoic implies ...
1. that a warm moist climate produced large-scale fluvial deposition
2. hat hot and arid conditions persisted suggesting that Laurentia was situated near the equator
3. very little is known about the paleoclimate of Laurentia
4. that a large continent was situated at high latitudes and probably experienced extensive glaciations
5. none of the above
Most of the evidence for the origin of eukaryotic cells from prokaryotic cells comes from ...
1. chemicals preserved in Archean rocks
2. fossils in tillite
3. studies of present day organisims
4. tracks and trails of trilobites
5. Early Proterozoic carbonate rocks
Which of the following is neccessary for the origin of life?
1. a catalysis for biochemical reactions
2. a mechanism to concentrate biochemical molecules
3. protection from the environment
4. all of the above
5. none of the above
The oldest known fossils are ...
1. 3.5 billion year old animals
2. 3.5 billion year old eukaryotes
3. 3.5 billion year old algae
4. 3.5 billion year old filimentous bacteria
5. none of the above
The origin of the solar system was likely from ...
1. the big bang
2. a solar nebula
3. a black hole
4. a pulsating quasar
5. none of the above
One indication of free oxygen in the Proterozoic atmosphere 1.5 billion years ago is ...
1. animals much like those of the present
2. extinction of stromatolites
3. continental red beds
4. depostion of carbonate rocks
5. none of the above
Early Archean crust is generally believed to have been _________ than today's crust
1. colder and less dense
2. thinner, hotter, and more mobile
3. more rigid
4. all of the above
5. none of the above
Earth's earliest atmosphere largely consisted of
1. nitrogen gas
2. oxygen
3. carbon monoxide
4. methane and ammonia
5. none of the above
Earth's early continental crust is beleived have been formed ...
1. from subducted oceanic crust by differentation
2. from rifted continental margins
3. as the preserved remains of greenstone belts
4. from abducted oceanic crust
5. none of the above
The Tommotian fauna ...
1. is positioned slighly above the base Cambrian Period, and marks the first appearance predators in the fossil record
2. is positioned slighly above the base Cambrian Period, and marks the first appearance of multicellular life
3. is positioned at the base Cambrian Period, and marks the first appearance of shelly fossils
4. is positioned slighly below the base Cambrian Period, and marks the first appearance of shelly fossils
5. none of the above
The first evidence for modern tectonics is known ...
1. from the Wopmay Orogeny of the Early Proterozoic
2. from the Grenville Orogeny of the Late Archean
3. from the Ediacara hills of western Australia
4. Archean banded iron formations
5. none of the above
Which two phyla are known from the Ediacara Fauna:
1. Arthropoda and Brachiopoda
2. Brachiopoda and Mollusca
3. Bryozoa and Mollusca
4. Chordata and Porifera
5. Echinodermata and Cnidaria
Eukaryotes are ...
1. organisms with no well defined nucleus in their cell
2. are all multicellular organisms
3. are the simplest forms of life
4. organisms with a nucleus and organelles in their cells
5. none of the above
Archaeocyathids were...
1. a group of early Cambrian trilobites
2. a common taxon in the tommortian fauna
3. a group of soft bodied animals from the Vendian
4. closely related to inarticulate brachiopods
5. sponge-like animals that built the first reefs
The second phase of Appalachian mountain building began ...
1. in the Proterozoic and is called the Grenville Orogeny
2. in the Carboniferous and is called the Alleghenian Orogeny
3. in the Devonian and is called the Acadian Orogeny
4. in the Permian and is called the Antler Orogeny
5. in the Carboniferous and is called the Alleghenian Orogeny
Earth's atmosphere and oceans were largely formed by ...
1. capture from space by Earth's gavitational field
2. crystallization from magma
3. outgassing from volcanos and condensation
4. biologic processes of organisms
5. none of the above
The Archean Eon ended ...
1. 450 million years ago
2. 250 million years ago
3. 1 billion years ago
4. 3.6 billion years ago
5. 2.5 billion years ago
the Burgess Shale Fauna ...
1. is known from the Cambrian and contains the first predators
2. is known from the early Proterozoic and contains the first eukaryotes
3. is known from the Vendian and contains the multicellular organisms
4. is known from the Cambrian and contains the first skeletonized fossils
5. none of the above
Which of the following is not a Kingdom:
1. Chordata
2. Animalia
3. Eubacteria
4. Plantae
5. none of the above
The first episode of Appalachian mountain building ....
1. occurred during the Cambrian and is called the Wopmay Orogeny
2. occurred during the Proterozoic and is called the Grenville Orogeny
3. occurred during the Devonian and is called the Acadian Orogeny
4. occurred during the Ordovician and is called the Taconic Orogeny
5. none of the above
The Earth is beleived to be ______ old.
1. 3.5 billion years
2. 4600 million years old
3. 540 million years old
4. 46 billion years old
5. 3.8 billion years old
The end-Ordovician mass extinction is thought to have been caused by …
1. an asteroid impact
2. a fall in sea-level associated with glaciation
3. atmospheric heating and increased CO2 production
4. evolution of predatory animals
5. none of the above
The Alleghanian Orogeny was a result of the collision between which two continental masses
1. Laurentia and Baltica
2. Sibirica and Baltica
3. Rodinia and Pangaea
4. Gondwana and the "Old Red Continent"
5. Gondwana and Pangaea
The Phanerozoic Eon is subdivided into which three Eras?
1. Proterzoic, Paleozoic, Mesozoic
2. Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian
3. Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Cretaceous
4. Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous
5. Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Cenozoic
Terrestrial tetrapods
1. evolved from ray-fin fish in the Carboniferous
2. evolved from placoderms in the Devonian
3. evolved from lobe-fin fish in the Devonian
4. evolved from sharks in the Silurian
5. none of the above
The first fossil vascular plant ....
1. were called Cooksonia and are known from the Silurian
2. were called Cooksonia and are known from the Ordovician
3. is known from Glossopteria leaves from the Carboniferous
4. were lycopods from the Silurian
5. were sphenopsids from the Devonian
Evaporite rocks from the Syracuse area are from what geologic period
1. Cambrian
2. Ordovician
3. Silurian
4. Devonian
5. Carboniferous
Mammal-like reptiles and pelycosaurs had what kind of skull?
1. anapsid
2. diapsid
3. synapsid
4. euryapsid
5. coapsid
Snow-ball earth is beleived to have occurred during the _____ and possibly a result of _______________
1. Early Proterozoic, the albedo effect of ice
2. Late Archean, the albedo effect of water
3. Early Cambrian, the albedo effect of land
4. end-Ordovician, the albedo effect of watere
5. Late Proterozoic, the albedo effect of ice
A common predator of Paleozoic pelagic environments were
1. brachiopods
2. graptolites
3. nautiloid cephalopods

GLY 262 Practice Exam 2

Select the one best answer.