COFC GEOLOGY 105 FINAL QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
What characteristics do you share with Theridonts (Therapsids)? - Answers :- Incisors,
canine, and molars.
- Powerful jaw
What is a mammal? - Answers :- Warm-blooded
- Breathe air
- Specialized teeth
- Nursing young
What is special about the duck billed platypus? What can we learn about them? -
Answers :They're weird. They have the venom from reptiles, eggs like birds, and
lactation like mammals.
They have electro-reception for hunting.
By the end of the Cretaceous, were there many types of mammals? Explain - Answers
:Yes. Dinosaurs went extinct so mammals, with their diverse food options, reproduced
without fear of predators.
Summarize the evidence for a meteorite impact causing the mass extinction at the end
of the Mesozoic era. - Answers :High amount of Iridium in limestone clay in Italy. This is
super rare and doesn't exist on top layer of Earth, but common in asteroids.
Why are extinctions important? - Answers :
Describe the effects of the meteorite impact on Earth's systems and how these effects
would have led to the mass extinction. - Answers :- Nuclear/perpetual night
- Global refrigeration monthly
- Delayed greenhouse warming
- Acid rain
All of this made the Earth very dark, from all the debris in atmosphere, which stopped
photosynthesis. This led to a decrease in O2. Ocean and land ecosystems collapse.
What are shocked quartz and tektites and how are they formed? - Answers :Shocked
Quartz: microscopic quartz crystal grains.
Tektites: Glass balls condensed from hot vapor
When the meteorite hit, there was a sudden pulse of great pressure to the Earth. This
impact produced tektites which crystallized in the air. Vaporize-> Crystallize -> Liquefy=
found in deep ocean
, What caused this mass extinction? - Answers :Deccan Traps, India volcanic eruptions
and the meteorite.
What would the world be like if this mass extinction did not occur? - Answers :The last
65 million years would go from hothouse to ice-house.
Describe a typical Mesozoic mammal. - Answers :Mammals stayed small with dinosaurs
around.
- Scavengers
- Carnivores, omnivores, insectivores
- Flying
What were the possible function on the "sail/fin" on the backs of some pelycosaurs,
such as Dimetrodon? - Answers :Thermal regulation
Describe the earliest known mammal, Morganucodon. When did it live? What was the
size, morphology, and ecology? - Answers :1st true mammal.
- Long snout
- Diversity of food choices
- Powerful, tiny jaws for crunching
- Tiny!
- Mammary glands
- Large brain
- Good hearing
Is Dimetrodon a dinosaur? Why/why not? - Answers :No, because they went extinct 40
million years before the first appearance of dinosaurs.
Discuss the steps in the transition from Therapsid reptiles to mammals. What were the
major innovations during the transitions? Be sure to include changes to the jaw/ears
from reptiles to mammals. - Answers :Therapsid reptiles evolve
-"fangs" for their canines, molars, and incisors.
- warm-blooded
- limbs under body for better movement across Pangea
From what reptile group did mammals evolve? What are the differences between reptile
and mammals? - Answers :Evolved from Therapsids.
- Synapsid skull
The main difference is that a reptile has a diapsid skull whereas a mammal has a
synapsid skull.
How are monotremes, marisupals, and placentals different with respect to the birth of
their offspring? - Answers :Monotremes: egg laying mammals
What characteristics do you share with Theridonts (Therapsids)? - Answers :- Incisors,
canine, and molars.
- Powerful jaw
What is a mammal? - Answers :- Warm-blooded
- Breathe air
- Specialized teeth
- Nursing young
What is special about the duck billed platypus? What can we learn about them? -
Answers :They're weird. They have the venom from reptiles, eggs like birds, and
lactation like mammals.
They have electro-reception for hunting.
By the end of the Cretaceous, were there many types of mammals? Explain - Answers
:Yes. Dinosaurs went extinct so mammals, with their diverse food options, reproduced
without fear of predators.
Summarize the evidence for a meteorite impact causing the mass extinction at the end
of the Mesozoic era. - Answers :High amount of Iridium in limestone clay in Italy. This is
super rare and doesn't exist on top layer of Earth, but common in asteroids.
Why are extinctions important? - Answers :
Describe the effects of the meteorite impact on Earth's systems and how these effects
would have led to the mass extinction. - Answers :- Nuclear/perpetual night
- Global refrigeration monthly
- Delayed greenhouse warming
- Acid rain
All of this made the Earth very dark, from all the debris in atmosphere, which stopped
photosynthesis. This led to a decrease in O2. Ocean and land ecosystems collapse.
What are shocked quartz and tektites and how are they formed? - Answers :Shocked
Quartz: microscopic quartz crystal grains.
Tektites: Glass balls condensed from hot vapor
When the meteorite hit, there was a sudden pulse of great pressure to the Earth. This
impact produced tektites which crystallized in the air. Vaporize-> Crystallize -> Liquefy=
found in deep ocean
, What caused this mass extinction? - Answers :Deccan Traps, India volcanic eruptions
and the meteorite.
What would the world be like if this mass extinction did not occur? - Answers :The last
65 million years would go from hothouse to ice-house.
Describe a typical Mesozoic mammal. - Answers :Mammals stayed small with dinosaurs
around.
- Scavengers
- Carnivores, omnivores, insectivores
- Flying
What were the possible function on the "sail/fin" on the backs of some pelycosaurs,
such as Dimetrodon? - Answers :Thermal regulation
Describe the earliest known mammal, Morganucodon. When did it live? What was the
size, morphology, and ecology? - Answers :1st true mammal.
- Long snout
- Diversity of food choices
- Powerful, tiny jaws for crunching
- Tiny!
- Mammary glands
- Large brain
- Good hearing
Is Dimetrodon a dinosaur? Why/why not? - Answers :No, because they went extinct 40
million years before the first appearance of dinosaurs.
Discuss the steps in the transition from Therapsid reptiles to mammals. What were the
major innovations during the transitions? Be sure to include changes to the jaw/ears
from reptiles to mammals. - Answers :Therapsid reptiles evolve
-"fangs" for their canines, molars, and incisors.
- warm-blooded
- limbs under body for better movement across Pangea
From what reptile group did mammals evolve? What are the differences between reptile
and mammals? - Answers :Evolved from Therapsids.
- Synapsid skull
The main difference is that a reptile has a diapsid skull whereas a mammal has a
synapsid skull.
How are monotremes, marisupals, and placentals different with respect to the birth of
their offspring? - Answers :Monotremes: egg laying mammals
