| Study Questions | Guide #8 (F04) |
| GEOL 125: Earth History | Dr. Hammond |
What parts of organisms may be preserved? Name one mechanism that may result in fossilization? Does the fossil record provide an accurate indication of the types of organisms that once lived on the earth? What biases might exist? How are fossils useful?
How are organisms classified? What differences exist between prokaryotes and eukaryotes? Which came first, and what is the evidence?
What are the principal elements of Darwin's theory for evolution? How did this theory compare with that of Lamarck? What observations led Darwin to propose his theory?
What observations can be used to determine a phylogenetic tree? What is the difference between gradual and punctuated evolution?
What is a gene? How is genetic information coded and used to transmit information to locations in the cell where protein synthesis is carried out? How is genetic information passed from parents to offspring? What is a mutation?
What is a mass extinction? When did the largest mass extinctions occur? Draw a graph illustrating the number of genera vs. geologic time, noting any distinct changes. How do we use fossils to determine some boundaries in the geologic time scale?
How do we define life? What is the sequence of events of events that might have led to the origin of life? What environmental characteristics of the early earth are important to consider in proposing a hypothesis for the origin of life? Indicate some major steps in the tree of life.
What mechanisms might cause mass extinctions? What happened at the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) Boundary? What is the evidence for this event?
Terms to know
| cast | mold | hard parts |
| soft parts | Charles Darwin | kingdom |
| William Smith | Georges Cuvier | Biologic succession |
| geologic range | trace fossil | catastrophism |
| chromosome | gene | Gregor Mendel |
| template | RNA | James Watson |
| Francis Crick | DNA | stromatolite |
| adaptive radiation | ecological niche | Ediacaran Fauna |
| prokaryote | eukaryote | metazoan |
| cyanobacteria | coelomate | trilobite |
| amniotic egg | Stanley Miller | ozone shield |
| photosynthesis | fermentation | iridium |
| bolide | archaea |