Geologic History

What can we learn from fossils?

• How earthquakes formed.
• How erosion changed mountains
• How Earth's magnetic field was formed
• How Earth's environment has changed

What might you conclude if a fish fossil was found on top of a mountain in Kentucky?

• An Earthquake happened there.
• A Volcano erupted there.
• A forest covered that area for a while.
• A Sea once covered the area.

Scientists chose where units of geologic time began and ended based on major changes in life forms at certain times.

• true
• false

Relative dating of rock layers tells us that the deeper we dig, _______.

• the younger the rocks get
• the smellier the rocks get
• the harder the rocks get
• the older the rocks get

_{Which rock layer in the diagram seems to be the oldest?}

• F
• E
• B
• A

_{Which of the following questions can be answered by studying  these fossil layers?} 

• What did the fish eat?
• Which organisms lived before/after/or at the same time?
• Why did dinosaurs become extinct?
• Are reptiles the ancestors to birds or fish?

_{^{When scientists use logic to determine the age of one fossil compared to another, they use this type of dating.}}

• Relative
• Carbon
• Absolute

What was probably the first organism on Earth?

• Plants
• Alligators
• Bacteria
• Fish

The ______________ era covers almost 90% of earth's history.

• Paleozoic 
• Mesozoic 
• Cenozoic
• Precambrian 

Which is the most recent era of time- the one that we are currently in?

• Mesozoic 
• Paleozoic 
• Cenozoic 
• Precambrian