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WalesGeologyQuick questions
G3: Past Life and Past Climates
Quick questions on Evolution and the fossil record - WJEC 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 fossil evidence for evolution?Show answer
The fossil record is the direct historical record of life, and it supports organic evolution in several independent ways:
What is the broad history of life?Show answer
Life's history is read from the column: single-celled life early in the Precambrian, the rapid diversification of marine invertebrates in the Cambrian explosion, then fish, the move onto land by plants and amphibians, the rise of reptiles and the dinosaurs in the Mesozoic, and the radiation of mammals and the appearance of humans in the Cenozoic.
What are mass extinctions?Show answer
A mass extinction is a geologically rapid loss of a large fraction of species worldwide. Two dominate the syllabus:
What is q1?Show answer
Name a transitional fossil and the two groups it links. [2 marks]
What is q2?Show answer
State the likely cause of the end-Permian extinction and one of its effects. [2 marks]
What is q3?Show answer
State two pieces of evidence that the end-Cretaceous extinction involved a meteorite impact. [2 marks]
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