Geological Concepts Quiz

What does the Law of Superposition state about the arrangement of rock layers?

• The oldest layer is on the top and the youngest is on the bottom.

• The youngest layer is on the top and the oldest layer is on the bottom.

• All rock layers are of the same age.

• The arrangement of rock layers does not indicate any specific order.

What is an intrusion in geological terms?

• A gap in the sequence of rock layers.

• Rock formations from magma that cools and solidifies above the surface of the crust.

• Rock formations from magma that cools and solidifies within the crust of the planet.

• The process of a species becoming extinct.

What is an unconformity in geology?

• A type of fossil used to define geologic time periods.

• A break or fracture in the ground due to Earth's tectonic plates moving.

• A gap in the sequence of rock layers where new rock layers meet much older rock surface beneath them.

• A core sample of ice removed from an ice sheet.

What are index fossils?

• Fossils that are used to define and identify geologic time periods.

• A group of extinct marine arthropods.

• The concept that Earth's surface was shaped by gradual processes.

• The theory that Earth's crust changes due to sudden catastrophes.

What is a trilobite?

• A break or fracture in the ground due to Earth's tectonic plates moving.

• A group of extinct segmented hard-shelled marine arthropods that lived over 520 million years ago.

• A core sample of ice removed from an ice sheet.

• The concept that Earth's surface was shaped by gradual processes.

What is the concept of uniformitarianism?

• The theory that Earth's crust changes due to sudden catastrophes.

• The concept that the Earth's surface was shaped in the past by gradual processes, such as erosion, and by small sudden changes, such as earthquakes.

• A gap in the sequence of rock layers.

• A core sample of ice removed from an ice sheet.

What does the theory of catastrophism suggest about changes in the Earth's crust?

• They result from sudden catastrophes, such as the impact of a large meteor, rather than from gradual evolutionary processes.

• They are caused by the cooling and solidifying of magma within the crust.

• They are indicated by the presence of index fossils.

• They are determined by the sequence of rock layers.

What is the principle of original horizontality in geology?

• The concept that all rock layers are originally deposited horizontally under the action of gravity.

• The theory that Earth's crust changes due to sudden catastrophes.

• A type of fossil used to define geologic time periods.

• The process by which rock layers are compressed into mountains.

During which era, spanning roughly from 542 million years ago to 251 million years ago, did the Earth experience significant evolutionary developments, including the diversification of plant life and the advent of vertebrates on land, alongside major geological changes such as the breakup and formation of supercontinents?

• Paleozoic

• Cenozoic

• Mesozoic

• Precambrian

What does the term 'plate tectonics' refer to?

• The study of fossilized plants and animals.

• The process by which sedimentary rocks are formed.

• The theory explaining the movement of the Earth's lithospheric plates and the processes that occur at their boundaries.

• The cooling and solidifying of magma within the Earth's crust.