Geologic Time Scale Quiz

In what geological time era are we currently living?

• Precambrian time

• Paleozoic Era

• Mesozoic Era

• Cenozoic

Dinosaurs ruled the Earth in what period?

• Precambrian Time

• Paleozoic Era

• Mesozoic Era

• Cenozoic

Which of these time periods lasted the longest?

• Precambrian Time

• Paleozoic Era

• Mesozoic Era

• Cenozoic

Saying you are older than a baby is an example of ____?

• Absolute age

• Relative age

• The Law of Superposition

• Principle of Original Horizontality

What evidence do scientists use to determine the age of the Earth?

• Index fossils

• Earth strata

• Radioactive Dating

• All of the above

How old is the Earth?

• 5 billion years old

• 4.9 billion years old

• 4.6 billion years old

• 4.5 million years old

When a whole species dies all at once it is called mass extinction.

• True

• False

If the same index fossils are found in different rock strata miles apart, what is probably true about the rock layers?

• The strata occurred at different periods.

• They are not both index fossils.

• The fossils are from different organisms.

• The strata are from the same relative time period.

Which is true about absolute dating?

• It uses the half-life of isotopes to get the exact age of a rock or mineral.

• The law of superposition is used to determine the absolute date of rocks.

• Index fossils are compared to like fossils in other strata to determine absolute age.

• It uses half-life to determine the length of time an organism lived in various time periods.

Explanation of why layers of the Earth might be altered include

• The Law of Superposition

• The Law of Gravity and the Law of Motion

• Principle of Cross-Cutting Relationships

• Radioactive isotopes