Geologic History

The cartoon below is a humorous look at geologic history.  If Early Pleistocene mermaids had existed, their fossil remains would be the same age as fossils of...

• armored fish
• trilobites
• mastodonts
• dinosaurs

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NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

The fossil shown below was found int he surface bedrock in New York State.  In which landscape region was this fossil most likely found?

• Adirondack Mountains
• Hudson Highlands
• Erie-Ontario Lowlands
• Newark Lowlands

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NGSS.MS-ESS2-3

Which geologic event occurred most recently?

• initial opening of the Atlantic Ocean
• formation of the Hudson Highlands
• formation of the Catskill delta
• collision of North America and Africa

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NGSS.MS-ESS2-3

The index fossils shown below are the remains of organisms that lived during which geologic era?

• Precambrian
• Cenozoic
• Paleozoic
• Mesozoic

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NGSS.MS-LS4-1

According to the Earth Science Reference Tables, when did the Jurassic Period end?

• 66 million years ago
• 163 million years ago
• 144 million years ago
• 190 million years ago

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NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

The table below shows the fossils found in three layers of sedimentary bedrock. According to the Earth Science Reference Tables, the relative age of the rock layers from oldest to youngest is...

• A, B, C
• B, A, C
• A, C, B
• C, A, B

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NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

According to the Earth Science Reference Tables, studies of the rock record suggest that...

• the period during which humans have existed is very brief compared to geologic time
• evidence of the existence of humans is present over much of the geologic past
• humans first appeared at the time of the intrusion of the Palisades sill
• the earliest humans lived at the same time as the dinosaurs

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NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

In order for an organism to be used as an index fossil, the organism must have been geographically widespread and must have

• lived on land
• lived in shallow water
• been preserved by volcanic ash
• existed for a geologically short time

In which way are index fossils and volcanic ash deposits similar?

• Both can usually be dated with radiocarbon
• Both normally occur in nonsedimentary rocks
• Both strongly resist chemical weathering
• Both often serve as geologic time markers

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NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

Geologists have subdivided geologic time into periods that are based on...

• carbon dating
• rock types
• fossil evidence
• landscape regions

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