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Time, past life and past climates
Quick questions on Evolution and the fossil record: gradualism, punctuated equilibrium and mass extinctions - Eduqas A-Level Geology
6short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is the fossil evidence for evolution?Show answer
The fossil record preserves a succession of different life forms through the strata, with simpler forms generally in older rocks and more complex and diverse forms higher up. The evidence for evolution includes:
What are mass extinctions?Show answer
A mass extinction is a relatively sudden loss of a large fraction of species worldwide. Five major mass extinctions punctuate the record; the two most examined are:
What is the broad history of life?Show answer
Through the time scale: simple prokaryotic life in the Precambrian, the Cambrian explosion of diverse marine animals at the start of the Palaeozoic, the colonisation of the land by plants and then animals, the age of reptiles (dinosaurs) in the Mesozoic, and the rise of mammals and flowering plants in the Cenozoic, with humans appearing very recently. The boundaries of the eras are marked by major extinctions.
What is q1?Show answer
State the difference between gradualism and punctuated equilibrium in one sentence each. [2 marks]
What is q2?Show answer
Name the two best-known mass extinctions and give one proposed cause of each. [2 marks]
What is q3?Show answer
Explain why an abrupt appearance of a new species in a section does not by itself prove punctuated equilibrium. [2 marks]
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