Unit Test: Earth's History

Where do scientists collect ice cores from?

• the ocean
• polar ice caps
• mountainous areas
• frozen lakes

The light colored rings in a tree cross section represent growth during:

• the spring
• the summer
• the fall
• the winter

What does a tree ring represent?

• The growth of a tree during its last year of life.
• The growth of a tree during its first year of life.
• The weather during the past year.
• The growth of a tree during a growing season.

What is an index fossil?

• A fossil that helps scientists find other fossils.
• A fossil that is from the ocean.
• A fossil with an unknown time from when it was on earth.
• A fossil that helps scientists date unknown fossils.

Radioactive decay refers to:

• The formation of additional stable material.
• The destruction of unstable Carbon. 14
• The creation of new radioactive Carbon 14.
• The breakdown of radioactive Carbon 14.

What is a half life?

• The age of a radioactive sample, divided by two.
• The time it takes for half of a radioactive sample to decay to a stable product.
• The time it takes a radioactive sample to fully decay to a stable product.
• The age of a fossil divided by two.

What is the Law of Superposition?

• Rock layers form on top of each other so the oldest layer of rock is found furthest away from the surface.
• Rock layers form on top of each other so the oldest layer of rock is found closest to the surface.
• Magma seeps up from the Earth's interior, so it forms younger rock.
• Faults create fractures in the Earths' rock layers.

What is Relative Dating?

• A method to determine the comparative age of a fossil or rock layer, using its position among other rock layers.
• A method of determining the actual age of fossils.
• A method of determining the actual age of rocks.
• A method of determining what led to the extinction of the dinosaurs.

An igneous intrusion is:

• The same age as the rock it cuts through.
• Younger than the rock it cuts through.
• Made of sedimentary rock.
• Older than the rock it cuts through.

Fossils are found in which type of rock layer?

• Metamorphic Rock
• Sedimentary Rock
• Igneous Rock
• Conglomerate Rock