| MDA 125: Earth History | Name ______________________ |
| Dr. Hammond | December 16, 1996 |
| Exam III | Total Points = 62 |
a) The interior of the earth is heated by _________________________.
b) Give an example of a divergent plate boundary
________________________ and a convergent plate boundary ________________________________
c) The Sierra Nevada are largely ________________
(give rock type). They crystallized ___________________ (choose slowly
or rapidly) about 100-200 million years ago when the western coast of North
America was a __________________________ (give type of plate boundary).
d) Protons and neutrons are held within the nucleus
by the ____________
e) One observation explained by the big bang model
is ___________________
f) The elements more massive than helium were
synthesized in _____________
g) Stochastic behavior in a deterministic system
is called ________________
h) Two landforms that indicate the presence of
glaciation in the past are ___________ and ________________________________.
i) Name one famous earth scientist not mentioned
anywhere in this exam __________ and a concept that he (or she) formulated
______________________________.
j) What topic was most interesting in this course? _____________________
What topic was least interesting? _______________________
What topic was most confusing? ___________________________
k) List 2 phenomena that are explained by the
theory of plate tectonics. ________________ and __________________________________________.
II. Matchmaking: Match each item in the left
column with the most appropriate description in the right column (choose
only one). Letters from the right may be used more than once if you wish.
(7 pts)
| _______ eukaryotes | a. genes |
| _______ prokaryotes | b. angiosperm |
| _______ primates | c. gymnosperm |
| _______ brachiopods | d. has nucleus |
| _______ grass | e. lacks nucleus |
| _______ DNA | f. metazoan |
| _______ foraminifera | g. saprophyte |
| h. protist i. shell symmetry j. opposable thumb |
III. Key Arguments (6 points)
a) Briefly compare the ideas of Lamarck
and Darwin regarding evolution
b) List two mechanisms suggested as causes of
climate change.
c) Does the fossil record provide an accurate
indication of the life forms that lived during any particular time? Briefly
explain.
IV. Geologic events. What is the geologic age
of the following? Choose the best answer from the list on the right. (times
may be used more than once). (8 pts):
| _____ Death of the dinosaurs | A. Proterozoic |
| _____ First mammals appear | B. End of Cretaceous |
| _____ Oldest known record of man in N. America | C. Start of Cambrian |
| _____ Plants emerge from the ocean | D. Latest Pleistocene |
| _____ The age of mammals | E. Late Paleozoic |
| _____ San Andreas fault first forms | F. Silurian |
| _____ Organisms with hard parts become abundant | G. Cenozoic |
| _____ eukaryotes appear | H. Miocene |
| I. Hadean |
V. Detective Work. It is thought that the following
events observed in the fossil record were facilitated by a major change
in the earth's environment. Identify the change and indicate what (if any)
independent evidence exists that this change occurred. (10 points)
a) Dinosaurs die
b) Land Plants first appear
c) Mammals become widespread
d) Man enters N. America
e) Anthropoids descend from trees
VI. Geoart (12 pts)
a) Draw a graph showing the 18 O/ 16 O ratio in
CaCO3 foram shells collected from deep sea sediments vs. time during the
past 200,000 years.
Briefly explain what this information indicates about the past climate
of the earth.
What factors seem to cause these variations?
b) On one graph of energy intensity vs. wavelength,
draw the spectrum of radiation reaching the earth from the sun and the
spectrum of radiation emitted from the earth. Be sure to label each curve.
Briefly explain why the earth does not get continuously hotter, even though
it is continuously receiving solar radiation.
HAVE A HAPPY HOLIDAY