Name: _________________________________ Cohort: ______________

Quiz: Practice Science Interim Assessment

Look at the Geological Time Scale below to answer the following questions:

1. How long ago did the CAMBRIAN period start?

a. 542 billion years ago
b. 5.42 billion years ago
c. 542 million years ago
d. 5.42 million years ago

2. Which of the following is the correct order of layers​ from OLDEST to NEWEST​?
a. Jurassic, Triassic, Pliocene, Holocene
b. Jurassic, Triassic, Holocene, Pliocene
c. Triassic, Jurassic, Pliocene, Holocene
d. Triassic, jurassic, Holocene, Pliocene

3. Looking at this diagram, when did the ​Permian-Triassic (P-T) extinction ​occur?
a. About 199 million years ago
b. About 252 million years ago
c. About 65 million years ago
d. About 542 million years ago

4. Using the Geological Time Line, which of the following is the ​OLDEST​ layer?
a. Devonian
Name: _________________________________ Cohort: ______________
b. Oligocene
c. Cretaceous
d. Permian

5. Using the Geological Time Line, which of the following is the ​NEWEST​ layer?
a. Devonian
b. Oligocene
c. Cretaceous
d. Permian

Questions #6-7​: Look at the following Horse Evolution Diagram

Figure 1: The proposed evolution of a horse.

6. Based on the fossil evidence, it is hypothesized that horses evolved from smaller animals. ​Which
fossil represents the earliest (oldest) representation​ of the ancestor of a horse?
a. Mercyhippus
b. Mesohippus
c. Eohippus
d. Equus

7. Based on the fossil evidence, it is hypothesized that horses evolved from smaller animals. ​Which
fossil represents the most recent representation​ of the ancestor of a horse?
a. Mercyhippus
b. Mesohippus
c. Eohippus
d. Equus
Name: _________________________________ Cohort: ______________

Figure 2: Horse leg evolution

8. Look at the​ Eohippus and Equus​ horse leg fossil bones. What does the Eohippus bone have that
the Equus bone does not?
a. The Eohippus leg bone has ​no ​segmented toe bones at the end
b. The Eohippus leg bone has​ one​ segmented toe bone
c. The Eohippus bone has ​several ​segmented toe bones at the end

9. Looking at the​ horse leg bone fossils, ​ which of the following features/traits indicate early stages
of its ability to run fast?
a. A tail
b. A skull
c. Smaller ear size
d. Longer legs

10. ​Which of the following ​best describes​ an ​adaptation

a. Allows organisms to eat
b. Allows organisms to fight
c. Allows organisms to survive and reproduce in their environment
d. Allows organisms to fight better

11. ​Horses​ once roamed wild over Europe, North America, South America, Asia and Africa. ​Wild
horses ​generally live in the bush and they stay in ​herds​ (groups). A young male horse, usually up to
three years of age, is called a colt and a female of the same age is known as a filly. ​Horses​ usually
live between 20 and 35 years, but some have survived past the age of 40. ​ ​They have strong hooves
to run and defend themselves away from predators.
Name: _________________________________ Cohort: ______________
Based on this information, which of the following is an ​adaptation that the horses​ developed?
a. Long tails
b. Long legs
c. Strong hooves
d. Strong backs

12.​ Look at the arm and wing structures. The ​bone in purple​ is called the
a. phalanges
b. metacarpals
c. ulna
d. humerus

13. Looking at the arm and wings diagram, which of the following
structures do the human, bird, and bat all have in common?
a. hip
b. Femur
c. tibia
d. radius

14. ​The ​forelimbs of a frog, a bird, a rabbit and a lizard l​ook very different because they have
evolved differently to account for the specific lifestyles of each animal. However, they share a
common ancestor and a common set of bones. These are examples of
a. Homologous structures
b. Analogous structures
c. Vestigial structures
d. Acquired structures

​15-16 Look at the diagram below to

answer the next questions:

15. During which Phase does the ​rabbit

embryo develop ears​?
a. Phase A
b. Phase B
c. Phase C
d. None of the above

Figure 4: The embryonic development of different

organisms. Notice that these embryos, including
humans, all had gill slits at some point. Fish,
salamander, tortoise, chick, rabbit and human
embryos all had gill slits during their embryo
development. In fish they developed into gills, but in
chicken embryos and humans they disappear before
birth. The fact that they are so similar to gill
structures in fish at this point in development
supports the idea that chickens and humans share a
common ancestor with fish.
Name: _________________________________ Cohort: ______________
16. Looking at the embryonic development figure of the fish, salamander, tortoise, chick, rabbit, and
human, which of the following do they ​ALL​ have in common?
a. Wings
b. Shells
c. Beaks
d. Gills

17. During which Phase do the human, chicken, tortoise embryos​ lose their gills​?
a. Phase A
b. Phase B
c. Phase C
d. None of the above

18.What is an​ embryo​?

a. an unborn human or animal in the earliest stages of growth when its basic structures are being 
formed
b. a trait that allows organisms to better survive and reproduce in their environment
c. preserved remains of plants or animals from many years ago
d. A trait that evolved due to environmental pressures

19. Which of the following ​DOES NOT ​support evidence for the idea that organisms come from a
common ancestor​?
a. Embryology
b. Homologous and analogous structures
c. Fossils and fossil record
d. Natural selection

20. Looking at this cladogram, what are ​crocodiles most closely related to​?
a. Sharks
b. Primates
c. Rodents and rabbits
d. Birds
Name: _________________________________ Cohort: ______________

21. ​CER RESPONSE

So far you have learned about ​fossils, homologous and analogous structures, and embryology.
These three are all factors that support the idea that different organisms are related and come from a
common ancestor. Pick 2 of these pieces of evidence. Explain and describe what they are,
how they support the idea that organisms like humans and whales or fish come from a
common ancestor, and why this is important.

● Claim: ​Pick 2 of these pieces of evidence that support the idea that organisms come from a
common ancestor.
● Evidence:
○ Describe and explain what each of them mean
○ Provide an examples of each
○ (Use the reading, pictures, diagrams provided here AND what you have learned in
Science class to help explain your evidence and reasoning).
● Reasoning:
○ What does it mean to have a common ancestor?
○ How they support the idea that organisms like humans and whales or fish come from a
common ancestor?
○ ​Why is this important?
○ What are other real life connections/examples?
○ ​(Use the reading, pictures, diagrams provided here AND what you have learned in
Science class to help explain your reasoning).

22. ​SORT ANSWER:

Based on the embryological development from today’s 
activities,​ who do you think we (humans) are more 
closely related to (chickens, rabbits, tortoises, 
salamanders, or fish? Explain how you know.