Practice Quiz for the Nature of Fossils
No. of Questions= 12
INSTRUCTIONS: To answer a question, click the button in front of your choice. A response will appear in the window below the question to let you know if you are correct. Be sure to read the feedback. It is designed to help you learn the material. You can also learn by reading the feedback for incorrect answers.


1.  Which of the following could be a fossil?
a) a woman who lived 15,000 years ago found frozen in a glacier
b) a penguin that lived 100,000 years ago found in a dry valley in Antarctica
c) a wasp inside a 30 million year old block of amber
d) all of the above
e) none of the above
 
2.  Approximately how many species of plants, animals, and other living things have been given scientific names and described?
a) 150,000
b) 250,000
c) 1.8 million
d) 54 million
3.  Of all of the species of plants and animals that have lived on earth, about what percentage are still alive?
a) 99%
b) 74%
c) 23%
d) 1%
4.  Which of the following statements is true about fossilization?
a) It is a common occurrence.
b) It is more common for animals from mountains and forests than for those from deserts and oceans.
c) Small animals with light weight, thin bones are more likely to become fossils than are large animals with heavy, dense bones.
d) none of the above
5.  The body of an animal is more likely to become fossilized if it:
a) is buried deeply in the ground
b) is left on the surface of the ground
c) does not contain bones or other hard body parts
d) all of the above are about equally likely to result in fossilization
6.  The early 20th century description of the La Chapelle-aux-Saints Neandertal skeleton by Marcellin Boule:
a) was an accurate portrayal of a typical Neandertal man
b) demonstrates the problem with describing a fossil species based on a single specimen
c) was an intentional fraud
d) included a claim that the Neandertals were fully modern people with a high level of intelligence
7.  Which of the following statements is true?
a) The bones of living animals normally contain both organic molecules and inorganic minerals.
b) The fossil record for all continents is now equally well understood.
c) Ground water percolating down through the soil is usually a hindrance to the mineralization of buried bone.
d) none of the above
8.  When researchers examine two fossil skeletons and conclude that they must come from different species because they look slightly different from each other, they most likely are taking a _________________ approach.
a) typological
b) paleontological
c) populational
d) pathological
9.  Which of the following can be learned about a species from studying their fossilized skeletons?
a) growth patterns
b) life expectancy
c) medical pathologies
d) all of the above
10.  A paleospecies is most often defined from the fossil record based on:
a) the reproduction of fertile offspring
b) DNA comparisons
c) morphology
d) all of the above
11.  The study of early forms of humans and their primate ancestors is:
a) paleontology
b) permafrost
c) paleoanthropology
d) taphonomy
12.  Which of the following statements is true of the fossil record?
a) Our interpretation of the fossil record has been biased.
b) The data for paleoanthropology come mainly from human genetics.
c) Amber is a form of mineralized bone.
d) The skeleton form La Chapelle-aux-Saints was from a typical young, healthy Neandertal man.
e) all of the above

 


 

 
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