Life Has a History pre-test

Name: _________________________________________
Grade: ____________________

Directions: Please answer the following questions as best you can. You will be given the same questions after you complete the tour, so that you can see how much you have learned.

True or False:

1. _______ Extinction is common.

2. _______ Without variation, evolution cannot happen.

3. _______ Millions of years passed between the extinction of dinosaurs and the appearance of the first humans.

4. _______ A cladogram is a diagram that shows how a group of organisms might be related to each other.

5. _______ All of the plants and animals on Earth have been described by science.

Multiple Choice:

6. Of all the species that have ever lived on this planet, how many have gone extinct?

a. More than 90%
b. 60-80%
c. 30-60%
d. 10-30%

7. Fossils allow us to learn about:

a. Bacteria, protists, plants, and animals
b. How life has changed over time
c. How organisms are related
d. All of the above
e. None of the above

8. Cladograms are diagrams that show us:

a. How organisms are related to one another
b. Which group is missing a common ancestor
c. Which group evolved first

9. If there is a change in the environment, which of the following statements best explains how natural selection works:

a. Individual organisms adapt themselves to the new environment.
b. Those organisms that have features that are better adapted to the change in the environment will survive and reproduce.
c. Those organisms that are the biggest and strongest will survive and reproduce.

Short Answer:

10. Name three kinds of fossils other than bones and teeth.