BISC 162 Exam Questions and answers with complete solutions Latest Updated 2025 |
Verified
Ecology - How organisms interact with eachother and their environment
Biodiversity - Variability of organisms on earth
Species richness, genetic variation, community composition, and ecosystem diversity - Types of
biodiversity
Number of species both ancient and current - What is species richness?
Changes and connections in genetics over time. Ex) phylogeny-how we track biodiversity - What is
genetic variation?
Placement in ecosystem; different roles played by what is present - What is ecosystem diversity
4.6 billion years in relative time - How long has biodiversity been evolving for?
Eon - Billion years
Geological time scale - Illustrates changes in biodiversity
Genera - Plural of genus
Mass extinction - When 75% it more of a species dies out
Radiation - Diversification on a rapid scale
Environmental changes and loss of habitat - Reasons for extinction
,Sedimentary rocks - Rocks that form layers that represent different times in history
Stratigraphy - Layering of soil or rock deposits
Surface - Where are the youngest rocks and fossils located?
Fossils - Preserved remains of ancient organisms
Fossils - Inform us about historical biodiversity
False; soft organisms do not make good fossils but organisms with bones or exoskeletons do - T/F all
individuals become fossils?
Radioisotopes - Besides rock layer, how can fossils be dated?
They have a half life and a predictable decay - How do radioisotopes allow us to date rocks and fossils?
Plate tectonics, sea-level change, and atmospheric changes - In what ways has earth changed over time?
plate techtonics - Causes a shift in water which creates earthquakes and tsunamis
Living things - What created a major change in the earths atmosphere?
Biofilms - Colony of bacteria that secrete substances that hold them together
Dental plaque - Example of biofilms
, Cyanobacteria - Prokaryotes that reside on top of rock formations in the ocean that photosynthesize and
release Oxygen into the environment
Because of the carbon dioxide and nitrogen filling the atmosphere - Why were the first photosynthetic
bacteria able to arise?
Huge flying insects - Huge peak in Oxygen in the atmosphere created...
4 - How many eras are there?
Precambrian(4.6 BYA-542 MYA), Paleozoic(542 MYA-251 MYA), Mesozoic(251 MYA-65 MYA), and
Cenozoic(65 MYA-present); they are labeled in a backwards alphabet: Pr, Pa, M, C - What are the eras?
How can you remember them?
Periods - What are the smaller portions of time between eras that define either a diversification or
extinction
Cambrian explosion - Period that contained the most fossils
Plants - Flora
Animals - Fauna
4.6 bya to 542 mya - When was the Precambrian era?
Precambrian - Era that was dominated by small aquatic life
542 mya to 251 mya - When was the Paleozoic era?
Paleozoic - What era had huge changes in biodiversity?
Verified
Ecology - How organisms interact with eachother and their environment
Biodiversity - Variability of organisms on earth
Species richness, genetic variation, community composition, and ecosystem diversity - Types of
biodiversity
Number of species both ancient and current - What is species richness?
Changes and connections in genetics over time. Ex) phylogeny-how we track biodiversity - What is
genetic variation?
Placement in ecosystem; different roles played by what is present - What is ecosystem diversity
4.6 billion years in relative time - How long has biodiversity been evolving for?
Eon - Billion years
Geological time scale - Illustrates changes in biodiversity
Genera - Plural of genus
Mass extinction - When 75% it more of a species dies out
Radiation - Diversification on a rapid scale
Environmental changes and loss of habitat - Reasons for extinction
,Sedimentary rocks - Rocks that form layers that represent different times in history
Stratigraphy - Layering of soil or rock deposits
Surface - Where are the youngest rocks and fossils located?
Fossils - Preserved remains of ancient organisms
Fossils - Inform us about historical biodiversity
False; soft organisms do not make good fossils but organisms with bones or exoskeletons do - T/F all
individuals become fossils?
Radioisotopes - Besides rock layer, how can fossils be dated?
They have a half life and a predictable decay - How do radioisotopes allow us to date rocks and fossils?
Plate tectonics, sea-level change, and atmospheric changes - In what ways has earth changed over time?
plate techtonics - Causes a shift in water which creates earthquakes and tsunamis
Living things - What created a major change in the earths atmosphere?
Biofilms - Colony of bacteria that secrete substances that hold them together
Dental plaque - Example of biofilms
, Cyanobacteria - Prokaryotes that reside on top of rock formations in the ocean that photosynthesize and
release Oxygen into the environment
Because of the carbon dioxide and nitrogen filling the atmosphere - Why were the first photosynthetic
bacteria able to arise?
Huge flying insects - Huge peak in Oxygen in the atmosphere created...
4 - How many eras are there?
Precambrian(4.6 BYA-542 MYA), Paleozoic(542 MYA-251 MYA), Mesozoic(251 MYA-65 MYA), and
Cenozoic(65 MYA-present); they are labeled in a backwards alphabet: Pr, Pa, M, C - What are the eras?
How can you remember them?
Periods - What are the smaller portions of time between eras that define either a diversification or
extinction
Cambrian explosion - Period that contained the most fossils
Plants - Flora
Animals - Fauna
4.6 bya to 542 mya - When was the Precambrian era?
Precambrian - Era that was dominated by small aquatic life
542 mya to 251 mya - When was the Paleozoic era?
Paleozoic - What era had huge changes in biodiversity?
