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Large-scale, worldwide adaptive radiations have occurred in which of the following situations?


A) when there are no available ecological niches
B) after each of the big five mass extinctions
C) after colonization of an isolated island that contains suitable habitat and few competitor species
D) whenever an evolutionary innovation was needed for organisms to thrive

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Which of the following results, if found on ancient meteorites, would suggest that meteorites were NOT the source of amino acids that contributed to the origin of life on Earth?


A) the absence of amino acids
B) the presence of only D-isomers of amino acids
C) the presence of up to 80 different amino acids
D) the presence of other organic molecules (e.g., lipids, sugars, and nitrogenous bases) in addition to amino acids

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Which of the following statements most accurately applies to volcanic oceanic islands shortly after the land has cooled enough to support life?


A) There are mass extinctions, which lead to multiple bottleneck effects.
B) There are major evolutionary innovations, which lead to rafting to nearby continents.
C) There are a variety of empty ecological niches, which lead to adaptive radiation.
D) There are adaptive radiations, which lead to multiple founder effects.

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Which of the following statements provides evidence that the atmosphere of the early Earth was neither reducing nor oxidizing?


A) Lightning and UV radiation were abundant in the early Earth atmosphere.
B) Some evidence suggests that the early atmosphere was made up primarily of nitrogen and carbon dioxide.
C) Remnants of amino acids were discovered near volcanic eruption sites.
D) Modern experiments show that organic compounds were probably produced in deep-sea hydrothermal vents.

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Which of the following statements best describes the evolution of complex eyes?


A) Complex eyes evolved through a series of steps that improved the functioning of the eyes.
B) Eyes in mollucs and vertebrates are descended from the same common ancestor.
C) Complex eyes arose fully formed.
D) The evolution of mollusc eyes was dependent on the evolution of vertebrate eyes.

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Which of the following sets represents the most likely sequence of events in the origin of life?


A) formation of protocells; synthesis of organic monomers; synthesis of organic polymers; formation of DNA-based genetic systems
B) formation of protocells; synthesis of organic polymers; synthesis of organic monomers; formation of DNA-based genetic systems
C) synthesis of organic monomers; synthesis of organic polymers; formation of protocells; formation of DNA-based genetic systems
D) synthesis of organic monomers; synthesis of organic polymers; formation of DNA-based genetic systems; formation of protocells

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Which of the following statements best explains how gene duplication events, such as those seen in the Hox gene complex, may have allowed the evolution of new morphological forms?


A) There are more copies of genes, meaning speciation had occurred by polyploidy.
B) The original gene copy is the outgroup, and the new gene copies are the adaptive radiation.
C) Without duplicated genes, species would be vulnerable to extinction.
D) One copy of a gene can perform the original function, while other copies are available to take on new functions.

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A genetic change that caused a certain Hox gene to be expressed along the tip of a vertebrate limb bud instead of farther back helped make possible the evolution of the tetrapod limb. This type of change is illustrative of ________.


A) the influence of environment on development
B) paedomorphosis
C) a change in a developmental gene or in its regulation that altered the spatial organization of body parts
D) heterochrony

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Which of the following lists most likely represents the correct sequence, from earliest to most recent, in the origin of cell organelles and cellular organization?


A) photosynthetic prokaryotes, chloroplasts, multicellular eukaryotes, mitochondria
B) mitochondria, multicellular eukaryotes, chloroplasts, photosynthetic prokaryotes
C) photosynthetic prokaryotes, mitochondria, chloroplasts, multicellular eukaryotes
D) chloroplasts, mitochondria, photosynthetic prokaryotes, multicellular eukaryotes

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Which of the following molecules was most likely the first genetic material on Earth?


A) DNA produced by reverse transcriptase from abiotically produced RNA
B) DNA molecules whose information was transcribed to RNA and later translated in polypeptides
C) self-replicating RNA molecules with catalytic activity
D) oligopeptides located within protocells

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An early consequence of the release of oxygen gas by plant and bacterial photosynthesis was to?


A) change the atmosphere from oxidizing to reducing
B) make it easier to maintain reduced molecules
C) cause iron in ocean water and terrestrial rocks to rust (oxidize)
D) prevent the formation of an ozone layer

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Which of the following factors most likely prevented adaptive radiation by mammals before the dinosaurs went extinct?


A) nocturnal vision of the original mammals
B) predation of dinosaur eggs by the original mammals
C) variation in teeth of the original mammals
D) competition for food with the dinosaurs

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Four sediment cores were removed from the floor of an inland sea. The sea was in existence intermittently throughout the entire time that terrestrial life has existed. Researchers wish to locate and study the terrestrial organisms fossilized in these cores. In the diagram, the cores are illustrated as vertical columns, with the top of the column representing the most recent strata and the bottom representing the time when land was first colonized by life. Four sediment cores were removed from the floor of an inland sea. The sea was in existence intermittently throughout the entire time that terrestrial life has existed. Researchers wish to locate and study the terrestrial organisms fossilized in these cores. In the diagram, the cores are illustrated as vertical columns, with the top of the column representing the most recent strata and the bottom representing the time when land was first colonized by life.   Which of the following factors would best allow a researcher to assign absolute dates to the fossils in the sediments? A)  knowledge of the order in which the fossils were deposited B)  knowledge that the sediments had not been affected by underwater currents during their deposition C)  presence of volcanic ash layers between the sedimentary strata D)  equal spacing of fossils throughout the columns Which of the following factors would best allow a researcher to assign absolute dates to the fossils in the sediments?


A) knowledge of the order in which the fossils were deposited
B) knowledge that the sediments had not been affected by underwater currents during their deposition
C) presence of volcanic ash layers between the sedimentary strata
D) equal spacing of fossils throughout the columns

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The half-life of carbon-14 is about 5,730 years. A fossil that has 1/16 of the normal proportion of carbon-14 to carbon-12 should be about how many years old?


A) 2,800
B) 11,200
C) 16,800
D) 22,900

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The prokaryotic flagellum is a complex structure consisting of several dozen different proteins. Which of the following statements best describes the origin of flagella in prokaryotes?


A) Natural selection cannot account for the evolution of the prokaryotic flagellum.
B) Ancestral versions of this protein assemblage were either less functional or had different functions than modern prokaryotic flagella.
C) Flagella could not have arisen by evolution because the structure is too complex to have evolved gradually.
D) The need for more complex structure must have driven evolution.

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Several dozen different proteins comprise the prokaryotic flagellum and its attachment to the prokaryotic cell, producing a highly complex structure. Certain proteins of the complex motor that drives bacterial flagella are modified versions of proteins that had previously belonged to plasma membrane pumps. This evidence best supports which of the following claims?


A) Natural selection produces organs that will be needed in future environments.
B) The motors of bacterial flagella must have originated in other organisms.
C) Natural selection can favor new structures that have been coupled together from parts of other structures.
D) Bacteria that possess flagella must have lost the ability to pump certain chemicals across their plasma membranes.

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The oxygen revolution changed Earth's environment dramatically. Which of the following took advantage of the presence of free oxygen in the oceans and atmosphere?


A) the evolution of cellular respiration, which used oxygen to help harvest energy from organic molecules
B) the persistence of some animal groups in anaerobic habitats
C) the evolution of photosynthetic pigments that protected early algae from the corrosive effects of oxygen
D) the evolution of chloroplasts after early protists incorporated photosynthetic cyanobacteria

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A female fly, carrying fertilized eggs, is hypothetically swept by high winds to an island far out to sea. She is the first and only fly to arrive on this island. Thousands of years later, her numerous descendents occupy the island and have overlapping geographic ranges. They are separated into several different species with different foods, mouthparts, egg-laying sites, and egg shapes. None of the species can fly and their balancing organs (halteres) are now used in courtship displays. The male members of each species bear modified halteres that are unique in appearance to their species. Females bear vestigial halteres. Which of these fly organs, as they exist in the description, best illustrates an exaptation?


A) the wings in the ancestral species
B) the halteres
C) the mouthparts
D) the eggs

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