GEOL Midterm 3 + last lec. before Mid. 2

What is the life zone?
a) a sweet spot for a planet in a solar system to feature water in liquid, vapor, and solid states at the surface
b) a region of earth with vibrant ecosystems
c) the region from 10km underground to 10km above the surface where all live organisms are found
d) organelles in the cell that are key to reproduction

c) the region from 10km underground to 10km above the surface where all live organisms are found

What is the ecosphere?
a) a region of earth with vibrant ecosystems
b) the region from 10km underground to 10km above the surface where all live organisms are found
c) organelles in the cell that are key to reproduction
d) a sweet spot for a planet in a solar system to feature water in liquid, vapor, and solid states at the surface

d) a sweet spot for a planet in a solar system to feature water in liquid, vapor, and solid states at the surface

What are the key characteristics of live organisms?
a) mobility, open system, carbon-based chemistry
b) carbon-based chemistry, subject to change, part of a food web
c) mobility, interaction with outside environment
d) metabolism, growth, reproduction, and evolution

d) metabolism, growth, reproduction, and evolution

Select organic compounds from the list...
a) silicates
b) nucleic acid (i.e. DNA, RNA)
c) carbohydrates
d) graphite
e) lipids
f) carbon
g) proteins
h) phosphates
i) oils
J) diamond

b) nucleic acid (i.e. DNA, RNA)
c) carbohydrates
e) lipids
g) proteins
i) oils

What are autotroph organisms?
a) live organisms that feed on themselves
b) a live being that recieves a lot of trophies
c) live organims that derive their own food from inorganic sources, like minerals
d) live organims that eat other similar organisms

c) live organims that derive their own food from inorganic sources, like minerals

What are heterotrophs?
a) an organism that eats organisms from the opposite sex
b) a living organism that only eats organisms from a different species
c) a live organism that feeds form other living organisms or their byproducts
d) a member of a species characterized by sexual reproduction

c) a live organism that feeds form other living organisms or their byproducts

What is the dominant autotrophic process in Earth's biosphere?
a) chemosynthesis
b) photosynthesis
c) respiration
d) fermentation

b) photosynthesis

What chemical reaction is enabled by photosynthesis?
a) the precipitation of calcium carbonate in water
b) the formation of chitiin for shells of insects and crustaceans
c) the formation of fats and oils
d) carbon dioxide combines with water produces sugars and releases oxygen

d) carbon dioxide combines with water produces sugars and releases oxygen

What are the two mechanisms of chemical growth?
a) crystallization and polymerization
b) chemosynthesis and crystal formation
c) division and radioactivity
d) photosynthesis and respiration

a) crystallization and polymerization

What is the energy budget of molecular growth?
a) polymerization releases energy and crystallization consumes energy
b) crystallization releases energy and polymerization consumes energy
c) crystallization and polymerization release energy
d) crystallization and polymerizarion consume energy

b) crystallization releases energy and polymerization consumes energy

What is the difference between DNA and RNA?
a) DNA is found in animals and RNA in plants
b) RNA is found in prokaryotic cells; DNA is found in eukaryotic cells
c) DNA is the reproductive material in cells and RNA is man-made
d) DNA stores the genetic material; RNA copies it and catalyzes protein synthesis

d) DNA stores the genetic material; RNA copies it and catalyzes protein synthesis

What are the defining characteristics of RNA (ribonucleic acid) bio-molecules?
a) RNA only encodes the genetic plan of an organism
b) RNA is inorganic
c) RNA has the capacity to encode genetic material and catylize chemical reactions
d) RNA is made of amino acids Adenine, Guanine, Thymine, and Cytosine

c) RNA has the capacity to encode genetic material and catylize chemical reactions

what promotes genetic variation during reproduction?
a) genetic recombination in sexual reproduction
b) random mutations (copies with errors)
c) DNA damage
d) all of the above

d) all of the above

What property of cellular reproduction or molecular replication enables evolution?
a) natural selection
b) chirality
c) polarity
d) mutations

d) mutations

what are the characteristics of prokaryotes and eukaryotes?
a) eukaryotes are more sophisticated cells and prokaryotes have more rudimentary functions
b) prokayotes reproduce asexually and eukaryotes reproduce sexually
c) all eukaryotes are aerobic cells, using oxygen respiration for metabolism
d) all of the above

d) all of the above

what is the average lifespan of a mammal species?
a) 1000 years
b) 10,000 years
c) 1,000,000 years
d) species live forever

c) 1,000,000 years

What causes speciation?
a) barriers to reproduction between different groups of a population
b) genetic variability and natural selection
c) genetic drift by geographic isolation
d) all of the above

d) all of the above

What are the driving factors of natural selection?
a) competition with other species
b) competition with other individuals
c) environmental changes
d) all of the above

d) all of the above

What is an important pre-requisite in a pre-biotic world for the emergence of life?
a) the presecene of uni-cellular organisms
b) avaliability of pre-biotic molecules, such as amino acids and carbohydrates
c) natural selection and evolution of organisms
d) all of above

b) avaliability of pre-biotic molecules, such as amino acids and carbohydrates

What are the possible physical environments where life emerged on Earth?
a) hydrothermal systems near the seafloor called black smokers
b) volcanic zones where, heat, minerals, CO2 and water combine
c) near the ocean surface where atmospheric CO2 and ocean water combine
d) all of the above

d) all of the above

What is molecular evolution?
a) the capacity of molecules to gauge the environment and make informed decisions
b) the combined result of variability and selection that allowed bio-molecules to perform function
c) the creation of new organic molecules in plants and animals
d) all of the above

b) the combined result of variability and selection that allowed bio-molecules to perform function

When the solar system formed, where could we find the building blocks of life?
a) only on earth
b) on earth, mars, and venus
c) on earth, mars, venus, and moons of jupiter
d) virtually anywhere in the universe

d) virtually anywhere in the universe

What is molecular chirality?
a) molecules of the same compoisition that come in mirror-image of each other
b) the property of molecules to have different functions based on their geometry
c) the presence of compounds wiht left-handed and right-handed version
d) all of the above

d) all of the above

In the context of the origins of life, what does the citric acid cycle represent?
a) molecular self-replicatoin
b) a reaction series that allows growth
c) molecules of the citric acid cycle can be used to create bio-building blocks
d) all of the above

d) all of the above

What property of lipids facilitated the emergence of a membrane surrounding the cell?
a) organic chemistry
b) lipid self-assembly
c) metabolism
d) self-duplication

b) lipid self-assembly

what mechanisms enable template-directed synthesis to concentrate and select bio-molecules?
a) the formation of bio-molecules by combination of water (H2O) and carbon dioxoide (CO2)
b) lipid self-assembly into spherical shells
c) the polarity of water molecules
d) the non-uniform distribution of electrical charges in bio-molecules and mineral surfaces

d) the non-uniform distribution of electrical charges in bio-molecules and mineral surfaces

What presumably explains the chirality of current life processes (left-handed amino acids and right-handed sugars)?
a) right-handed amino acids are unstable and break down in aqueous solution
b) left-handed sugars siddolve in aqueous solution and right-handed sugars do not
c) the reproduction of the first cell propagated the handedness of amino acids and sugars
d) all the of above

c) the reproduction of the first cell propagated the handedness of amino acids and sugars

What key property of RNA (ribo-buleic acid) makes it a good candidate for being the first live molecule?
a) RNA is made of organic matter nad forms a bio-polymer
b) An RNA precursor may self-duplicate and encode genetic information
c) RNA uses 4 nuclotides to store genetic information
d) RNA can be enclosed in a cell membrane

b) An RNA precursor may self-duplicate and encode genetic information

What metabolic process of cells enriched our tertiary atmosphere in oxygen?
a) chemosynthesis
b) respiration
c) photosynthesis
d) fermentation

c) photosynthesis

what change in the the ecosystem occured during the Cenozoic?
a) from gymnospherm to angiospearms
b) from colc and dry and hot and wet environment
c) from glacial to -inter glacial
d) from tropical forest to grassland

d) from tropical forest to grassland

What caused the Eocene Thermal Maximum event?
a) a giant asteroid impact
B) volcanism at deccan trap
c) volcanism at the North Atlantic Igneous province
d) volcanism at the siberian trap

c) volcanism at the North Atlantic Igneous province

What are the different types of extant mammals?
a) carnivores and herbivores
b) monotremes, marsupials, and placentals
c) primates, apes, and great apes
d) extinct and extant mammals

b) monotremes, marsupials, and placentals

What are the causes of the cooling climamte trend of the Cenozoic?
a) the circumpolar current around the anatartic continent
b) the closure of the tethys sea and the associated mountain building
c) the formation of sea ice in the artic
d) all of the above

d) all of the above

What tectonic event occured in the Cenozoic?
a) the indian eurasian colllision
b) the break up of pangea
c) the formation of Rodinia
d) all of the above

a) the indian eurasian colllision

What tectonic event took place in the Cenozoic?
a) the closure of the meditterean basin
b) the land bridge btw north and south america at panama
c) the collision between australia and Southeast Asia
d) all of the above

d) all of the above

When did the cycle of glacial and inter-glacial periods start in the Cenozoic?
a) eocene
b) paleocene
c) pleistocene
d) holocene

c) pleistocene

Why is mountain building forcing global climate cooling?
a) by changing ecosystems and biomass
b) by erosion and chemical weathering that transports carbon dioxide to the seafloor
c) by storing fresh water in high-altitude glaciers
d) all of the above

b) by erosion and chemical weathering that transports carbon dioxide to the seafloor

What is Gondwanaland?
a) a product of the breakup of Pangea encompassing South America, Africa, Australia, and Antartica
b) the last supercontinent containing all landmasses
c) a large landmass of the northern hemisphere containing Laurentia and Asia
d) a part of the african continent

a) a product of the breakup of Pangea encompassing South America, Africa, Australia, and Antartica

What is the Alpine-Himilayan Belt?
a) a small mountain range in the Himalayas mountains
b) the youngest section of the himalayas
c) a large orogeny stretching from the French Alps to the Zagros Mountains, to the Himalayas
d) a mountain range that existed on Pangea during the Cenozoic

c) a large orogeny stretching from the French Alps to the Zagros Mountains, to the Himalayas

What's the order of the evolutionary line of Humans from the oldest (#1) to the most recent (#6)?

1) australopithecus
2) homo habilis
3) hominids (great apes)
4) primates
5) monkeys
6) homo sapiens

when did homo sapiens evolve?
a) 3.5 million years ago
b) 55 million years ago
c) between 800,000 and 300,000 years ago
d) about 12,000 years ago

c) between 800,000 and 300,000 years ago

When did homo sapiens migrate out of Africa?
a) about 10,000 years ago
b) from 100,000 to 50,000 years ago
c) between 1.8 and 1.3 million years ago
d) about 3.5 million years ago

b) from 100,000 to 50,000 years ago

During which epoch did Homo Sapiens evolve?
a) paleocene
b) pleistocene
c) holocene
d) eocene

b) pleistocene

What is the current population of Homo Sapiens?
a) 1 billion people
b) 2 billion individuals
c) 7.8 billion individuals
d) 500 million people

c) 7.8 billion individuals

Thorium-234 (234Th) decay to protactinium-234 (234Pa) is an example of what type of radioactive decay?

a) alpha decay

b) beta decay

c) electron caputure

d) none of the above

b) beta decay

Carbon dating of organic material relies on the radioactive decay of carbon-14 (14C) to nitrogen-14 (14N). What is the source of

a) radioactive decay of stable carbon-12 (12C) to carbon-14(14C)

b) radioactive decay of oxyen-16 (16O) to carbon-14(14C)

c) interaction of nitrogen-14(14N) with cosmic particles in the atmosphere

d) all of the above

c) interaction of nitrogen-14(14N) with cosmic particles in the atmosphere

order the eons of the geologica time scale... (old to young)
a) phanerozoic - proterozoic - archean- hadean
b) hadean - archean - proterozoic - phanerozoic
c) archean - phanerozoic - hadean - proterozoic
d) hadean - proterozoic - archean - phanerozoic

b) hadean - archean - proterozoic - phanerozoic

what marks the onset of the phanerozoic eon?

a) the collision with Theia, forming Earth's moon

b) the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs

c) the radiation of complex lifeforms

d) the last glaciation

c) the radiation of complex lifeforms (means physical life)

order the eras of the phanerozoic (old to new)...

a) paleozoic - mesozoic - cenozoic

b) mesozoic -cenozoic - paleozoic

a) paleozoic - mesozoic - cenozoic

what happened at the cretaceous-paleogene boundary, or equivalently, at the end of the mesozoic?

a) the impact with Theia, forming Earth's moon

b) the end of the cycle of glacial and inter-glacial periods

c) the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs

d) the rise of humans

c) the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs

what is the current geologic epoch?

a) pleistocene

b) oligocene

c) miocene

d) holocene

d) holocene

what is the geological period of alternating glaciations and inter-glacial periods?

a) holocene

b) pleistocene

c) miocene

d) eocene

b) pleistocene

when did the holocene geological period stat?

a) 200 yrs ago

b) 12000 yrs ago

c) 2.5 million yrs ago

d) 65.5 million yrs ago

b) 12000 yrs ago