Geologic History Review

Time Scale and Fossil review

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Be prepared to share your answers as we go along

Geologic Time Scale

• Earth is 4.5 Billion years old

• Put the sections of time in order from largest to smallest

• What events mark the change between Eras?

• What is our current time called?

Multiple Choice

Which statement is true about present day Earth?

• It is in the Precambrian time span.

• It is in the Cambrian time span.

• It is in the Cenozoic Era.

• It is in the Mesozoic Era.

Multiple Choice

The end of each geologic era is marked by a significant event in geologic history. In general, what kind of event marks the end of the Paleozoic and Mesozoic Eras?

• mass extinction

• mass migration

• mountain formation

• volcanic eruption

Multiple Choice

Which unit of geologic time represents the longest amount of time?

• epoch

• era

• period

• year

Multiple Choice

Which condition best supports fossil formation?

• A dead organism is eaten by scavengers and shredded.

• A dead organism is slowly decomposed by bacteria and insects.

• A dead organism is washed away in a flood and buried under rocks.

• A dead organism is quickly buried under mud and sand.

Multiple Choice

Which two characteristics must an organism have to be used as an index fossil?

• geographically limited and existed for a geologically long period of time

• geographically limited and existed for geologically short period of time

• geographically widespread and existed for a geologically long period of time

• geographically widespread and existed for a geologically short period of time