Geologic Time Scale

Select the word that best completes the statement below.

Geologic time is much _____ than human time and it is useful for studying fossils, geologic features, and other features from Earth's past.

• longer

• shorter

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

Using radiometric dating, the age of Earth has been established as about _____.

• 4000 years old

• 4 million years old

• 4.6 billion years old

• 13-15 billion years old

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

True or False: Geologic time is NOT divided up into equal amounts of time, instead it is divided up based on geologic or ecologic events in Earth’s history.

• True

• False

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

Which of the following is NOT a division of geologic time?

• generations

• periods

• epochs

• eons

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

Which of the following is used as evidence to construct the geologic time scale?

• fossils

• radiometric age data

• comparative studies of different rock sequences

• all of the above

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

Which era of geologic time is nicknamed "the age of reptiles."

• Paleozoic

• Mesozoic

• Cenozoic

Reorder the following from longest span of time to shortest.

• eon

• epoch

• period

• era

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

What does the geologic time scale explain?

• 
  differences in the Earth's layers

• 
  that fossils provide evidence of stable environmental conditions

• 
  changes in weather and climate

• 
  developments and extinctions of plant and animal life

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

Which geologic event led to an abundance of diversity of life on the planet.

• Cambrian Explosion

• Holocene Explosion

• Ordovician Explosion

• Permian Explosion

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

Which of the following factors can lead to changes in the geologic time scale? Select 2 answers.

• rock and fossil discoveries

• public opinion

• a geologist's hypothesis

• new technologies

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4