9 Week Final Review Spring 2021

Complex organisms with gills and lungs were major life forms that existed in the_____________.

• Mesozoic Era

• Cenozoic Era

• Precambrian Era

• Paleozoic Era

90 % of marine organisms and 70% of land organisms died off due to environmental and/or climate changes during the Paleozoic Era.

• True

• False

Look at the fossils trapped in each strata. During its time, which fossil lived for the longest time?

• 
• 
• 
• 

Answer explanation

Which law of geology tells you that layer A is older than layer B?

• law of horizontality

• law of really old dirt

• ice wedging

• law of superposition

The circled fossil is only found over a short period of time in one geologic layer, so it could be used to date the layer it was found in. What do we call this type of fossil?

• bone fossil

• bad fossil

• crab fossil

• index fossil

When a paleontologist finds a fish fossil in a rocky mountain area, it tells them that...

• there was water there once long ago.

• fish can climb mountains.

• someone dropped a fish there.

• nothing

What type of rock is formed deep underground from Earth's heat and pressure?

• igneous rock

• sedimentary rock

• metamorphic rock

Which organism lived further back in time?

• Fern

• Trilobite

• Ammonite

• Gastropod

Two students are exploring a creek in their neighborhood. The students hope to find some fossils along the way. What kinds of rocks should the students look for on their hike, and why should they look for those kinds of rocks?

• The students should look for igneous rock. This is the rock that comes from volcanoes and is melting hot. Fossils can form in the hot magma without burning up.

• They should look for metamorphic rock. These are the hardest rocks that have been under the most pressure for the longest amounts of time. Clearly the fossils will not have been crushes or ruined but preserved.

• The students should look for sedimentary rocks like shale, limestone, and sandstone. Fossils form when they are quickly covered by sediments in a basin.

• Fossils will not form in any of these types of rock. Fossils form in Fragile Rock.

The relative age of a rock is

• its age based on how much carbon-14 it contains.

• its age compared with the ages of other rocks.

• less than the age of the fossils it contains.

• the number of years since it formed.