Earth History Quiz

During the Paleozoic Era, the continents were together in a supercontinent known as ______________.

• Laurasia

• Gondwanaland

• Pangaea-Ultima

• Pangaea

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-3

Early in the Paleozoic Era, plants began to colonize the continents. Which change to Earth’s surface most likely happened as a result?

• sea level increased

• sea level decreased

• rates of erosion decreased

• rates of erosion increased

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

How does sedimentary rock usually form?

• in large crystals

• in vertical layers

• in swirling bands

• in horizontal layers

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

What is the approximate age of Earth?

• 4,600 years

• 46,000 years

• 4.6 million years

• 4.6 billion years

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

Which sentence best describes the process of relative dating?

• Younger fossils are on top of older fossils.

• Older fossils are on top of younger fossils.

• Radioactive elements help determine the age of the fossil.

• Fossils are dated by comparing them with living descendants.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

In what way are eras different from periods?

• They are longer spans of time

• They are subdivided into epochs.

• They have a longer duration than eons.

• They have boundaries marked by mass extinctions.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

How does the law of crosscutting relationships explain the age of a fault caused by an earthquake?

• The fault is older than the rocks below it.

• The fault is younger than the rocks above it.

• The fault is older than the rocks it cuts through.

• The fault is younger than the rocks it cuts through.

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS1-5

Which definition describes absolute dating?

• finding the age of an object compared with other objects

• measuring the age of an object in years using any method

• determining the amount of a fossils in an object

• determining the age of a rock layer by studying the fossils present

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS1-5

Early in Earth’s history, the composition of the atmosphere was quite different from what it is today. When did Earth’s atmosphere first change due to living organisms?

• Cenozoic Era

• Mesozoic Era

• Paleozoic Era

• Precambrian Era

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-6

The existence of humans on Earth represents a very short amount of time on the geologic time scale. In which era do we currently live?

• Cenozoic

• Mesozoic

• Paleozoic

• Precambrian

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4