Quiz about S3S2 Fossil Record

Question 1

How do most fossils form?

Accepted Answer

A dead organism becomes buried in sediment.

Answer

An insect becomes trapped in amber.

Answer

An entire organism becomes frozen in ice.

Answer

A dead organism becomes buried in tar.

Question 2

What evidence is most important when using relative dating?

Accepted Answer

the position of fossils in sedimentary rock layers

Answer

the half-life of a radioactive element

Answer

the position of sediment in petrified rock

Answer

the types of minerals in a petrified fossil

Question 3

How do scientists determine the actual age of fossils?

Accepted Answer

radioactive dating

Answer

relative dating

Answer

sedimentary dating

Answer

mold and cast dating

Question 4

Index fossils must meet two criteria, they must have existed for a short period of time and ...

Accepted Answer

be widely distributed

Answer

be few in numbers

Answer

lived for a long time

Answer

be really old in age

Question 5

What can scientists learn from studying the relationships between fossils?

Accepted Answer

how life changed over time

Answer

how old all rock layers are

Answer

how many relatives fossils had

Question 6

Which rock layer most likely contains fossils of the oldest organisms?

Accepted Answer

4

Answer

1

Answer

2

Answer

3

Question 7

If scientists found this fossil, what could they infer?

Accepted Answer

that water once covered the area where this fossil was found

Answer

what fish are like today

Answer

that this fish lacked oxygen

Question 8

According to the law of superposition, the oldest fossils are found

Accepted Answer

Near the bottom of the rock layers

Answer

At the top of the rock layers

Answer

Somewhat near the surface

Question 9

In what kind of rock can fossils be found?

Accepted Answer

Sedimentary Rocks

Answer

Igneous Rocks

Answer

Metamorphic Rocks

Answer

Granite

Question 10

Finding the fossils of trees in an area that is currently a desert without much life might tell us that the area, millions of years ago -

Accepted Answer

received enough rain to support a forest

Answer

was heavily eroded by strong winds

Answer

suffered very powerful earthquakes

Answer

was destroyed by the impact of meteorites

Question 11

What event marks the end of each geologic area?

Accepted Answer

mass extinction

Answer

1 million years

Answer

burst of new life forms

Answer

ice age

Question 12

Which of the following could form a fossil?

Accepted Answer

All of the above

Answer

Bone

Answer

Shell

Answer

Seeds

Question 13

Most fossils form when organisms that die become buried in sediments

Accepted Answer

True

Answer

False

Question 14

The formation of any fossil is a common event

Accepted Answer

False

Answer

True

Question 15

By determining the age of fossils, scientists can reconstruct the history of life on Earth

Accepted Answer

True

Answer

False

Question 16

In what way can scientists determine the ages of fossils?

Accepted Answer

All of the above

Answer

relative dating

Answer

radioactive dating

Answer

law of superposition

Question 17

In layers of sedimentary rock, the _________ layer is usually at the bottom. Each higher layer is _________ than the layers below it.

Accepted Answer

oldest, younger

Answer

youngest, older

Answer

youngest, younger

Answer

oldest, older

Question 18

Relative dating can only help scientists determine whether one fossil is older than another.

Accepted Answer

True

Answer

False

Question 19

Scientists use unstable elements that decay, called _________ elements, to determine the actual age of a fossil.

Accepted Answer

radioactive

Answer

cation

Answer

anion

Answer

petrified

Question 20

What is the half-life of a radioactive element?

Accepted Answer

The time it takes for half of the atoms to decay

Answer

How old it is when it is middle aged

Answer

The time it takes for half of the atom to form

Answer

How old it is when the Earth is middle aged

Question 21

The millions of fossils that scientists have collected are called

Accepted Answer

The Fossil Record

Answer

The Geologic Time Scale

Answer

The Origin of Species

Answer

A really neat fossil collection

Question 22

What is the largest span of time in the Geologic Time Scale?

Accepted Answer

Precambrian Time

Answer

Cenozoic

Answer

Mesozoic

Answer

Paleozoic

Question 23

What is a mass extinction?

Accepted Answer

the extinction of many types of organisms at the same time

Answer

the extinction of all of Earth's species at ones time

Answer

the end of days

Answer

the creation of many species at one time

Question 24

Which of the following can be learned by using the fossil record?

Accepted Answer

All the answers

Answer

When organisms changed or evolved

Answer

when organisms appeared on Earth

Answer

when organisms became extinct

Question 25

Which layer formed first?

Accepted Answer

Rock Layer Z

Answer

Rock Layer W

Answer

Rock Layer X

Answer

Rock Layer Y

Question 26

According to the law of superposition, which layer is the youngest?

Accepted Answer

A

Answer

B

Answer

C

Question 27

What is the study of past life as rocks or fossils?

Accepted Answer

Paleontology

Answer

Archeology

Answer

Fossilology

Question 28

What is it called when a fossilized mark is found in soft sediment that was formed by the movement of an animal?

Accepted Answer

Trace fossil

Answer

Index fossil

Answer

Geologic Time

Question 29

What forms when sediment fills in a cavity left by a dead organism?

Accepted Answer

Cast

Answer

Index

Answer

Trace

Answer

Geology

Question 30

What is found only in one layer of rock that indicates a geologic age?

Accepted Answer

Index fossil

Answer

Cast fossil

Answer

Mold Fossil

Answer

Geologic Rock

Question 31

What type of dating indicates a specific age of a rock by using methods such as carbon dating or radioactive decay?

Accepted Answer

Absolute Dating

Answer

Relative Dating

Question 32

Which parts of an organism are more likely to fossilize?

Accepted Answer

the hard parts - bones, shells, stems

Answer

the soft parts - skin, muscle

Answer

all parts can become fossilized easily because the organism becomes buried by sediments

Question 33

Why is the fossil record incomplete?

Accepted Answer

all of the above

Answer

fossils get eroded away over time

Answer

most organisms never became fossils

Answer

scavengers and decomposers eat them too quickly

Question 34

What fossil type connects an organism's life to it's environment?

Accepted Answer

footprints and shells

Answer

teeth

Answer

bones

Answer

Coprolites, or preserved feces

Question 35

Are plants and animal carcasses always fossilized?

Accepted Answer

No

Answer

Yes

Question 36

How old do Paleontologists believe the Earth is?

Accepted Answer

4.6 billion years old

Answer

2019 years old

Answer

3.6 billion years old

Answer

4.6 million years old

Question 37

The geologic time scale is a record of....

Accepted Answer

the history of rock layers and fossils

Answer

the history of fossils only

Answer

the history of rocks

Answer

geologist notes

Question 38

Which rock formed first?

Accepted Answer

Rock A

Answer

Rock B

Question 39

Which of the following organisms would be LEAST likely to be preserved as a fossil?

Accepted Answer

Jellyfish

Answer

Bony fish

Answer

Ancient ferns

Answer

Nuts and seeds

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