Where Would You Place the Actual Extinction Date of a Taxon

question 34

Multiple Choice

Where would you place the actual extinction date of a taxon if you knew that the Signor-Lipps effect was at work?

• A) exactly at the date of the last-known fossil
• B) after the date of the last-known fossil
• C) before the date of the last-known fossil
• D) It is not possible to determine when extinction occurred relative to the date of the last-known fossil.

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Definitions:

Standard Deviation

A measure of the amount of variation or dispersion of a set of values.

Correlational Coefficient

A statistical measure that indicates the extent to which two or more variables fluctuate together, showing the direction and strength of a relationship between variables.

Error

A mistake made in thinking or action that leads to incorrect or unintended results.

Negative Correlation

A relationship between two variables in which one variable increases as the other decreases, indicating an inverse association.