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Multiple Choice
Single-celled prokaryotes had Earth to themselves for approximately __________.
A
1.5 million years
B
3 billion years
C
150,000 years
D
3 million years
E
1.5 billion years
Verified step by step guidance
1
Understand the timeline of Earth's history and the evolution of life. Single-celled prokaryotes are among the earliest forms of life on Earth.
Recognize that prokaryotes, which include bacteria and archaea, are simple, single-celled organisms without a nucleus.
Consider the geological time scale: Earth is approximately 4.5 billion years old, and life is believed to have started around 3.5 to 4 billion years ago.
Acknowledge that for a significant portion of Earth's history, prokaryotes were the dominant form of life before the emergence of more complex eukaryotic cells.
Based on this understanding, deduce that single-celled prokaryotes had Earth to themselves for a period closer to 3 billion years, as they were the only life forms for a long time before eukaryotes appeared.