HW_4_2010.pdf

Homework #4 Geology 1020 Spring 2010 Name:__________________ Due Thursday February 11, 2010. (For full credit, you must hand this in before class on Thursday & WRITE CLEARLY) 1. Which combination of the following factors influences the process of the origin of species by natural selection? (Circle A, B, C, or D) 1. Enhanced disease resistance 2. High fertility rates 3. Ability to avoid predators 4. ?Generalist? lifestyle; the ability to live in a wide range of environments 5. Rapid rates of mutation A. 1,2,5 B. 1,2,3,4 C. 2,4 D. 1,2,3,5 2. A major problem that Darwin encountered in trying to gain support from other naturalists for his theory of Natural Selection was: (circle one) A. Everything he observed to back up his arguments was based only on land plants and animals. He ignored sea life. B. The paleontological record did not exist at his time. C. Everything he talked about was specific to the Galapagos Islands. D. Most naturalists accepted that Mendel?s Theories were right. E. The means to pass information from ancestor to descendent via genes had not yet been discovered. 3. Although animals and plants have been abundant throughout much of the latter part of Earth?s history (the Phanerozoic), briefly state at least three reasons that fossils of many (if not most) species that have ever existed have yet to be found. A. B. C. There are five questions to this homework, please see the back of this sheet for problem #5. 4. When low burial rates of isotopically light organic material occur in the oceans, the Earth?s levels of atmospheric O 2 (circle one) A. Decrease B. Increase C. Are tied up more readily in the production of CaCO 3 D. All of the above E. Do not change 5. ?When in balance, the photosynthesis-respiration cycle of plants (photosynthesizers) and decomposers (respiring organisms) has little effect on the isotopic ratio of CO 2 in the Earth?s atmosphere.? Explain WHY this may be the case (use the space below; diagrams are useful!) Steve Mojzsis Microsoft Word - HW_4_2010.doc