Quiz about Unit 6 Geohistory and Fossils

Question 1

Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question. The principle that Earth's history can be explained by current geologic processes is

Accepted Answer

uniformitarianism

Answer

unconformity

Answer

superposition

Answer

evolution

Question 2

Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question. Younger layers of undisturbed sedimentary rock are above older layers according to a.

Accepted Answer

the law of superposition

Answer

the principle of uniformitarianism

Answer

the principle of sedimentarianism

Answer

the angular unconformity

Question 3

Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question. The boundary between two sedimentary rock layers is called a(n)

Accepted Answer

bedding plane

Answer

crosscut plane

Answer

crosscut layer

Answer

bedding layer

Question 4

The age of an object in relation to the ages of other objects is a.

Accepted Answer

relative age

Answer

absolute age

Answer

comparative age

Answer

relational age

Question 5

Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question. A fault or body of rock is younger than any other body of rock it cuts through according to the law of

Accepted Answer

crosscutting relationships

Answer

superposition

Answer

uniformitarianism

Answer

averages

Question 6

The numeric age of an object is called a.

Accepted Answer

absolute age

Answer

relational age

Answer

comparative age

Answer

relative age

Question 7

Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question. Carbon-14 is an isotope

Accepted Answer

used to date objects less than 70,000 years old.

Answer

formed by radioactive decay.

Answer

used to date objects over 6,000 years old.

Answer

that cannot be used to date objects.

Question 8

How many years of deposition are represented by a single varve?

Accepted Answer

one

Answer

three

Answer

two

Answer

The number of years cannot be measured.

Question 9

Index fossils found in rock layers in different areas of the world indicate that the rock layers

Accepted Answer

formed during the same period of time.

Answer

formed during different periods of time.

Answer

are still forming.

Answer

never fully formed.

Question 10

Almost all fossils are discovered in

Accepted Answer

sedimentary rock

Answer

volcanic rock.

Answer

metamorphic rock.

Question 11

Organisms that formed index fossils

Accepted Answer

lived during short spans of geologic time.

Answer

lived during long spans of geologic time.

Answer

were destroyed by igneous rocks.

Answer

were destroyed by sedimentary rocks.

Question 12

The way fossils are formed in very dry places is called

Accepted Answer

mummification.

Answer

petrification.

Answer

decaying.

Answer

sedimentation.

Question 13

What is amber?

Accepted Answer

tree sap that fossilizes insects

Answer

frozen organic matter

Answer

dead bacteria that creates fossils

Answer

tar that fossilizes insects

Question 14

What is a coprolite?

Accepted Answer

fossilized dung or waste

Answer

fossilized fish

Answer

fossilized rocks

Answer

fossilized carbon films of animals

Question 15

If an igneous intrusion is observed through a layer of sedimentary rock, what geological law applies?

Accepted Answer

law of crosscutting relationships

Answer

law of superposition

Answer

law of uniformitarianism

Answer

law of thermodynamics

Question 16

Why is radioactive decay used to determine the absolute age of rocks?

Accepted Answer

Radioactive decay happens at a relatively constant rate.

Answer

Radioactive decay cannot be used to determine the age of a rock.

Answer

Radioactive decay happens very quickly.

Answer

Radioactive decay does not happen at a constant rate.

Question 17

How is radioactive decay used to determine the absolute age of rocks?

Accepted Answer

Parent isotopes are compared to daughter isotopes.

Answer

Isotopes of different compounds are compared.

Answer

Radioactive substances are compared to non-radioactive substances.

Answer

Daughter isotopes are compared to sister isotopes.

Question 18

What is a gastrolith?

Accepted Answer

b. a stone that was inside a dinosaur

Answer

a. a stone inside a fish

Answer

c. a gas that became a stone

Answer

d. fossilized waste

Question 19

Carbon films are

Accepted Answer

carbonized impressions of plants or fish.

Answer

carbonized trace fossils.

Answer

carbonized isotopes of organic material.

Answer

carbonized bones of animals or fish.

Question 20

The principle of uniformitarianism states that

Accepted Answer

current geologic processes can explain past processes.

Answer

geologic processes are uniform throughout the Earth.

Answer

past processes can explain the future of biological organisms.

Answer

geologic processes can explain the movement of Earth's orbit.

Question 21

Which of the following are all ways that organisms can be fossilized?

Accepted Answer

amber, petrification, mummification, freezing

Answer

freezing, petrification, decay, amber

Answer

decay, petrification, mummification, amber

Answer

mummification, decay, petrification, freezing

Question 22

How many half-lifes would be necessary for a sample of parent isotopes to decay to the point that only one-fourth of the sample is composed of parent isotopes?

Accepted Answer

2

Answer

1

Answer

3

Answer

4

Question 23

In radiometric dating, scientists compare the proportion of a radioactive parent isotope to a stable

Accepted Answer

daughter isotope

Answer

mother isotope

Answer

sister isotope

Answer

child isotope

Question 24

If the Cretaceous Period began about 146 Ma, this means it began

Accepted Answer

146 million years ago.

Answer

146 billion years ago.

Answer

146 thousand years ago.

Answer

in the year 146.

Question 25

Geologic time is divided into

Accepted Answer

four eons

Answer

two eons

Answer

three eons

Answer

five eons

Question 26

A geologic period is usually named for

Accepted Answer

the place where its characteristic fossils were first discovered.

Answer

specific types of fossils.

Answer

the person who found the first fossils from the period.

Answer

the time in which the period occurred.

Question 27

Which of the following accurately characterizes Precambrian rock?

Accepted Answer

It has been severely deformed.

Answer

It has many fossils.

Answer

It has clearly identifiable layers.

Answer

It contains much limestone.

Question 28

The Devonian Period is also known as the

Accepted Answer

Age of Fishes.

Answer

Age of Mammals.

Answer

Age of Reptiles.

Answer

Carboniferous Period.

Question 29

The mass extinction at the end of the Permian Period led to

Accepted Answer

abundant new life-forms in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic Eras.

Answer

fewer resources during the Mesozoic Era.

Answer

delayed evolution of new species in the Cenozoic Era.

Answer

little environmental change in the Mesozoic Era.

Question 30

The Cenozoic Era is known as the

Accepted Answer

Age of Mammals.

Answer

Age of Reptiles.

Answer

Age of Fishes.

Answer

Age of Evolution.

Question 31

The Pleistocene Epoch was characterized by

Accepted Answer

b. the repeated advance and retreat of ice sheets.

Answer

a. a mass extinction.

Answer

c. a warm, humid climate.

Answer

d. a rapidly warming climate.

Question 32

The Precambrian rock record is difficult to interpret because

Accepted Answer

tectonic activity has altered the original order of rock layers.

Answer

very few rocks exist from Precambrian time.

Answer

Precambrian rock contains many fossils.

Answer

Precambrian rock contains many minerals.

Question 33

The appearance of many new life-forms during the first period of the Paleozoic Era was probably aided by the development of

Accepted Answer

warm, shallow seas.

Answer

humid swamps.

Answer

glaciers.

Answer

deserts and savannas.

Question 34

The first period of the Mesozoic Era was called the

Accepted Answer

Triassic Period.

Answer

Cretaceous Period.

Answer

Quaternary Period.

Answer

Tertiary Period.

Question 35

The first amphibians appeared during the

Accepted Answer

Devonian Period.

Answer

Carboniferous Period.

Answer

Cretaceous Period.

Answer

Quaternary Period.

Question 36

The end of the Permian Period was marked by

Accepted Answer

mass extinction.

Answer

many new life-forms.

Answer

domination by dinosaurs.

Answer

the extinction of reptiles.

Question 37

What happened when temperatures decreased during the ice ages of the Cenozoic Era?

Accepted Answer

New mammal species developed.

Answer

Mass extinctions occurred.

Answer

Small reptiles died out.

Answer

New dinosaur species evolved.

Question 38

On a geologic column, the oldest rocks

Accepted Answer

are on the bottom.

Answer

are on the top.

Answer

are in the middle.

Answer

contain fossils of modern-day animals.

Question 39

Scientists have most accurately determined the absolute ages of rock layers by

Accepted Answer

using radiometric dating methods.

Answer

factoring rates of sediment deposition.

Answer

using geologic columns.

Answer

determining rates of erosion.

Question 40

Which of the following explains the concept of evolution brought about by geologic change?

Accepted Answer

When the seas retreated at the end of the Permian Period, trilobites became extinct.

Answer

Geologic changes have no effect on evolution.

Answer

The fossils found in the lower layers of the geologic column resemble modern-day animals.

Answer

Few fossils exist in Precambrian rocks.

Question 41

What can a scientist assume about a rock layer that matches a similar layer in a geologic column?

Accepted Answer

The layers formed at about the same time.

Answer

The layers are from the same area.

Answer

The layers contain the same kind of rock.

Answer

The layers were found at about the same time.

Question 42

Dinosaurs became extinct at the end of the

Accepted Answer

Cretaceous Period

Answer

Paleocene Epoch

Answer

Jurassic Period

Answer

Triassic Period

Question 43

The period during which land plants such as ferns and cone-bearing plants began to develop was called the

Accepted Answer

Devonian Period

Answer

Cambrian Period

Answer

Carboniferous Period

Answer

Permian Period

Question 44

The boundary between the layers labeled "A" represents a(n) __.

Accepted Answer

bedding plane

Answer

disconformity

Answer

base unconformity

Answer

nonconformity

Question 45

The boundary labeled "3" and "4" is what type of unconformity?

Accepted Answer

angular unconformity

Answer

bedding plane

Answer

disconformity

Answer

nonconformity

Question 46

Compared to the sizes of particles in layers 2 and 3, and assuming that no layers have been overturned, the size of particles in layer 1 should be the __.

Accepted Answer

smallest

Answer

largest

Answer

same as the other layers

Question 47

The principle that can be used to determine the relative age of layers 1 through 3 is the

Accepted Answer

law of superposition

Answer

law of crosscutting relationships

Answer

principle of uniformitarianism

Answer

principle of conformity

Question 48

In the following geologic cross section, units A, B, C, D, E, and F are sedimentary rocks. Unit G is a granite. Which of the following units is the youngest? A, B, C, D.

Accepted Answer

A

Answer

B

Answer

C

Answer

D

Question 49

In the following geologic cross section, units A, B, C, D, E, and F are sedimentary rocks. Unit G is a granite. Which of the following units is the oldest? A, B, C, D.

Accepted Answer

D

Answer

A

Answer

B

Answer

C

Question 50

In the following geologic cross section, units A, B, C, D, E, and F are sedimentary rocks. Unit G is a granite. Which of the following happened most recently?

Accepted Answer

deposition of unit B

Answer

deposition of unit C

Answer

deposition of unit F

Answer

tilting of C, D, E, and F.

Question 51

In the following geologic cross section, units A, B, C, D, E, and F are sedimentary rocks. Unit G is a granite. Which of the following statements is true?

Accepted Answer

B, unit B is younger than the granite

Answer

A, the granite is younger than unit B

Answer

C, unit B and the granite are the same age

Answer

D, the relative ages of the granite and unit B cannot be determined from the information given.

Question 52

Why don't we know what many ancient plants looked like?

Accepted Answer

They had too many soft parts.

Answer

They were all eaten by dinosaurs.

Answer

There weren't ancient plants.

Answer

They had too many hard parts.

Question 53

Max is studying fossils. His teacher wrote the following statements on the board and asked the students to put them in the correct order to describe how fossils are formed.

Minerals seep into the organism's body and replace it with stone.
The organism completely decomposes, leaving behind an imprint.
An organism dies, and its body is covered with a layer of sediment.
Time passes, and sediment layers continue to build up on the organism.

Which is the correct order of events for fossil formation?

Accepted Answer

3, 4, 1, 2

Answer

1, 3, 2, 4

Answer

2, 3, 4, 1

Answer

3, 2, 1, 4

Question 54

Which law appears to be broken by this image, because some of the layers are tilted or flat?

Accepted Answer

Law of original horizontality

Answer

Law of superposition

Answer

Law of uniformitarianism

Answer

Law of cross cutting

Question 55

What type of unconformity is shown here?

Accepted Answer

Disconformity

Answer

Non-conformity

Answer

Angular unconformity

Question 56

Which of the following is NOT something you could learn from a fossil?

Accepted Answer

The color of the animal

Answer

The size of the animal

Answer

What the animal ate

Answer

Where the animal lived

Question 57

The brachiopod would make a good index fossil.

Accepted Answer

True

Answer

False

Question 58

Which division on the geologic time scale is the shortest?

Accepted Answer

epoch

Answer

era

Answer

eon

Answer

period

Unit 6 Geohistory and Fossils

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