Assume It Is Possible to Remove Continuous Cores of Rock

question 81

Multiple Choice

Assume it is possible to remove continuous cores of rock from Earth that are 3,000 feet long and contain fossils. What would the theory of evolution by natural selection predict about the fossils found in such cores as they are examined from top to bottom?

• A) The number of fossils decreases from top to bottom, but the number of species increases.
• B) Fossil species remain constant from top to bottom.
• C) Lower fossils are more similar to living species than to higher fossils.
• D) Higher fossils are more similar to living species than to lower fossils.
• E) Fossil forms are arranged in random patterns.

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Definitions:

Population Distribution

A term that describes how the values of a variable are distributed across an entire population.

Sampling Distribution

The probability distribution of a given statistic based on a random sample.

Normal Distribution

A bell-shaped curve distribution that is symmetrical around the mean, where the bulk of the values lie near the center and it tails off towards the extremes.

Central Limit Theorem

The Central Limit Theorem is a statistical theory that states that the sampling distribution of the sample mean approaches a normal distribution, regardless of the population's distribution, given a large enough sample size.