Adaptations Unit 1 Study Guide

What is data or information that either supports or counters a scientific theory or idea? (Vocabulary Lesson 1)

Scientific evidence

What is a well tested explanation of scientific observations and experiments that is supported by a large amount of evidence? (Vocabulary Lesson 1)

Scientific theory

What is the process of determining whether one rock, fossil or event is older or younger than another? (Vocabulary Lesson 1)

Relative dating

What is a description of a natural phenomenon that has been repeatedly tested and appears to be without exception? (Vocabulary Lesson 1)

Scientific law

What is the process of determining the approximate age of a rock, fossil or event? (Vocabulary Lesson 1)

Absolute dating

What is a model used to study the history of Earth that divides this history into blocks of time such as geological eras and geological periods? (Vocabulary Lesson 1)

Geological time scale

What is a representation of something in the real world which makes important aspects easier to observe? (Vocabulary Lesson 1)

Model

What is the preserved remains or traces of a once-living organism? (Vocabulary Lesson 2)

Fossil

What is the history of life on Earth as documents by the fossils collected so far? (Vocabulary Lesson 2)

Fossil record

What is the variety of species on Earth? (Vocabulary Lesson 2)

Biodiversity

What happens when all the members of a species dies and the species no longer exists? (Vocabulary Lesson 2)

Extinct

What is an event in the history of life on Earth in which a large number of species go extinct over a relatively short time period? (Vocabulary Lesson 2)

Mass extinction

What are the limitations on an engineering solution? (Vocabulary Lesson 2)

Constraints

What are the requirements that must be met for an engineering solution to be successful? (Vocabulary Lesson 2)

Criteria (Singular: criterion)

Scientists have evidence that the Earth is approximately... (Lesson 1 Game Question # 1)

4.6 billion years old.

Which is an example of a scientific theory? (Lesson 1 Game Question # 2)

The explanation of the formation of Earth and the solar system

What has existed on Earth for at least 3.7 billion years? (Lesson 1 Game Question # 5)

Life

Relative dating allows scientists to place rocks and fossils in order from _____ to _____. (Lesson 1 Game Question # 6)

Oldest; youngest

What does strata in the term rock strata refer to? (Lesson 1 Game Question # 7)

Layers

How do rock strata form? (Lesson 1 Game Question # 8)

Layers of sediment are deposited over time, solidifying into rock.

What does the "law of superposition" state? (Lesson 1 Game Question # 9)

Older layers of rock are found below younger layers of rock.

A key piece of evidence for the meteor collision that occurred around the time of the dinosaurs' extinction is... (Lesson 1 Game Question # 12)

A thin layer of iridium in rock strata.

Absolute dating relies on ______ to determine rocks and fossils' approximate ages. (Lesson 1 Game Question # 13)

Radioactive elements

It takes 700 years for half of the amount of Uranium-235 originally in rock to turn into lead. If a scientist measures a sample that is 6.25% Uranium-235 and 93.75% Lead, how old is the sample? (Lesson 1 Game Question # 14)

2,800 million years old

Which is an example of a body fossil? (Lesson 2 Game Question #2)

A bone

A fossil can form when... (Lesson 2 Game Question #2)

An organism leaves an imprint in the sediment which hardens to stone, groundwater minerals seep into preserved bone and shell materials, an organisms is trapped in sticky plant resin that hardens into amber (all of the above)

The fossil record describes _____ as documented by the fossils collected so far. (Lesson 2 Game Question #3)

The history of life on Earth

Why doesn't the fossil record include every species that has lived on Earth? (Lesson 2 Game Question #4)

Very few living things end up as fossils.

The earliest fossils show that Earth's earliest life forms were organisms with (Lesson 2 Game Question #5)

A single, simple cell.

Which of the following best describes what the first multicellular animals were like? (Lesson 2 Game Question #6)

Soft-bodied

What is adaptive radiation? (Lesson 2 Game Question #7)

A sudden rapid increase in biodiversity

Scientists conclude that a fossil species is extinct when... (Lesson 2 Game Question #9)

It vanishes from the rock strata.

How many mass extinctions do scientists see evidence from in Earth's history? (Lesson 2 Game Question #10)

5

Which of these is not a cause for a mass extinction on Earth? (Lesson 2 Game Question #13)

The evolution of a predatory species that killed countless organisms.

Archaeopteryx, which lived 150 million years ago, is an intermediate form between... (Lesson 2 Game Question # 14)

Certain dinosaurs and modern birds.

According to the law of superposition, the oldest rock layers are found _____ the younger rock layers. (Lesson 1 Key Science Concept)

Below

According to the law of superposition, the youngest fossils are found _____ the oldest fossils. (Lesson 1 Key Science Concept)

Above

If a fossil of one species is found in two different places, then both of those rock layers were formed... (Lesson 1 Key Science Concept)

At the same time and have the same age.

What happens when the number of different species increases in the fossil record? (Lesson 1 Key Science Concept)

Biodiversity increased.

How long are humans on the 12 hour clock model of Earth's history? (Lesson 1 Key Science Concept)

3 seconds

How did the complexity of organisms change from earliest to latest? (Lesson 2 Key Science Concept)

Simple celled, complex celled, multicellular