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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. The oldest record of life found so far consists of fossilized traces of microbes discovered where?
(a) Iceland.
(b) Finland.
(c) Poland.
(d) Greenland.

2. What is the highest elevation that humans are able to live and survive on Earth continuously without special accommodations?
(a) 18,000 feet.
(b) 14,000 feet.
(c) 22,000 feet.
(d) 27,000 feet.

3. How many chromosomes are there inside a human cell's nucleus?
(a) 32.
(b) 15.
(c) 46.
(d) 21.

4. Species appear to exist, on average, how long?
(a) 9 billion years.
(b) 780 thousand years.
(c) 12 thousand years.
(d) 4 million years.

5. What percentage of all existing water is fresh water?
(a) 3.
(b) 10.
(c) 17.
(d) 23.

6. What percentage of a person's genes are shared with all other humans?
(a) 80.5.
(b) 99.9.
(c) 72.8.
(d) 65.7.

7. Bacteria take nitrogen from the air and form it into what?
(a) Nitric oxide.
(b) Water.
(c) Fluoride.
(d) Amino acids.

8. The troposphere is the layer of atmosphere:
(a) Just above the highest clouds.
(b) Closest to the ground.
(c) That is coldest.
(d) Farthest away.

9. Scientists now believe that life began on Earth how long ago?
(a) 6.25 thousand years.
(b) 5.75 million years.
(c) 7.35 trillion years.
(d) 3.85 billion years.

10. The author seems to condemn the fact that, over the years, studying wildlife meant what?
(a) Destroying the environment.
(b) Mere recreation for the wealthy.
(c) Nothing to the average person.
(d) Capturing and killing it.

11. Scientists assumed stromatolites were extinct until they were discovered where in 1961?
(a) Algeria.
(b) Australia.
(c) Armenia.
(d) Argentina.

12. At this time, how many plant and animal species are becoming extinct per week?
(a) 50 to 80.
(b) 100 to 200.
(c) 600 to 1,000.
(d) 1 to 2.

13. Scientist Jean de Charpentier was a specialist on what?
(a) Glaciers.
(b) Tsunamis.
(c) Volcanoes.
(d) Evolution.

14. Anders Celsius, who designed the Celsius thermometer, was an:
(a) Artist.
(b) Astronomer.
(c) Engineer.
(d) Architect.

15. What percentage of the human body consists of water?
(a) 97.
(b) 32.
(c) 65.
(d) 14.

Short Answer Questions

1. How did humans become dispersed across the planet?

2. Ice ages are caused by:

3. The Burgess Shale Formation, containing tens of thousands of fossils of soft-bodied creatures preserved by a mudslide, was found where?

4. The dodo was a:

5. Humans share 98.4 percent of their DNA with:

(see the answer keys)

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