Geologic Time Test - McCauley

1. On the geologic time scale, where is the oldest division of time located on the time scale?

• top
• bottom
• middle

2. Index fossils are the remains of species that existed on Earth for relatively short periods of time

• True
• False

3. Geologic processes that occur today are similar to those that have occurred in the past is the principle of ___________

• absolute age
• uniformitarianism
• fossils
• relative age

4. When part of the rock record is destroyed due to erosion or weathering, the the gap in the rock record is a(n) _________.

• A) inclusion
• B) key bed
• C) unconformity
• D) superposition

5. What is one reason the presence of iridium leads scientists to hypothesize that a meteorite impact caused the mass extinction of dinosaurs?

• A) There are no fossils of dinosaurs in rocks below the iridium layer.
• B) Iridium is only common on Earth and is never found in meteorites.
• C) All dinosaur fossils contain iridium.
• D) There are no fossils of dinosaurs in rocks above the iridium layer

6. What type of Scientists study Earth and rocks?

• Pharmacist
• Biologist
• Physicist
• Geologist

7. Which of the following is not a principle of relative-age dating?

• extinction
• Inclusion
• Lateral continuity
• Superposition
• Cross-cutting

8. By ________ rocks, historians can determine events in Earth's history

• dating
• collecting
• breaking
• stacking

9. A geologist who needed to correlate two rock formations in different areas could match exposed rock layers.

• True
• False

10. Rock can inform geologist about

• past environments
• mass extinctions
• sea levels
• ice ages
• All of the above