Topic 11

The diagram above is cross-section of Earth’s sedimentary rock. Based on the Law of Superposition, which statement best compares the relative age of two rock layers?

• Layer 7 is older than layer 5

• Layer 2 is older than layer 7

• Layer 5 is younger than layer 3

• Layers 3 and 4 are the same age

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NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

What would be the best way to compare the ages of layers of the same slice?

• by comparing the fossils in each layer, which will have the newest fossils on the bottom and the oldest fossils on the top

• by using the law of superposition, which says the oldest rock will be on the bottom, and the newest rock on the top

• by using radioactive dating, which measures the amount of carbon-14 in an object and compares to its decay rate

• by comparing the rate of sedimentation, which says the layer that formed the quickest will be the oldest

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NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

NGSS.MS-ESS2-3

In 1997 a team of scientists discovered three fossilized skulls and other artifacts at a dig site in Ethiopia, Africa. Since it is difficult to determine the age of once-living organisms, the scientists used radioactive dating on the igneous rocks that surrounded the remains to determine their age. Why would scientists use radioactive dating in order to determine the age of the fossil they discovered?

•  Radioactive dating is an easier and less expensive method than applying the law of superposition for approximating the age of igneous rocks. 

• . Radioactive dating is specific and gives the exact date that a rock was formed while the law of superposition gives an approximate estimate of ages. 

• Radioactive dating gives an approximate estimate of the age of the igneous rocks, while the law of superposition will only reveal which is younger or older.

•  Radioactive dating determines whether the igneous rocks are older or younger than deeper layers of rocks, while the using the law of superposition depends on tectonic events. 

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NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

The earth is ______________of years old

• Hundreds

• Millions

• Billions

• Trillions

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NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

Which of the following statements about the fossil record is true?

• all organisms become fossils

• organisms having soft body parts make up most of the fossils

• all organisms that have shells become fossils

• the fossil record is incomplete

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NGSS.MS-LS4-1

Which type of dating method can be used on rock layers by applying the Law of Superposition?

• relative dating

• absolute dating

• radioactive dating

• radiometric dating

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NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

What type of event usually marks the end of an Era

• A Mass Extinction

• A Quinceanera

• An earthquake

• A Volcanic Eruption

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NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

At one time, several kinds of camels lived in Florida. The evidence comes from fossils found in Florida. Which of these objects would be a fossil that shows that camels once lived in Florida?

• Sinkhole formed by a retreating glacier

• sedimentary rock that formed a long time ago

• crystal formation suspended from the ceiling of a cave

• remains of an organism preserved by geologic processes

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NGSS.MS-LS4-1

In which situation would a scientist prefer to use the Law of Superposition over radioactive dating?

• A. to determine which mountain peak on Earth’s surface is the nearest 

• to determine which layer of sedimentary rocks at the bottom of a lake is oldest

• to determine whether two dinosaurs whose fossils are found on different continents lived in the same time period

• to determine the exact age of a human skeleton found in an ancient tomb 

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NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

A geologist was exploring a deep cave in the desert, and discovered a fossilized school of fish. Which option below most likely explains why the geologist would find fish fossils in a desert cave? 

•  Local wildlife went into the cave and had brought the fish to eat and then left, the fish scraps left behind in the cave became fossilized. 

• A few hundred years ago the lake that was there was used to irrigate the local farm lands and the lake was drained leaving the fish in the lake to be fossilized in the rock. 

• During the recent rainy season fish were able to swim in the flood waters to the cave, once trapped, they died and were fossilized in the rock. 

•  Millions of years ago the desert was a lake that had fish, over time the Earth changed, the lake became a desert, and the fish in the lake were fossilized. 

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NGSS.MS-ESS2-2