Clues to Earth's Past Quiz

What is a fossil?

• A living organism

• A type of rock

• preserved remains of ancient living things

• A volcanic rock

Which principle states that Earth's history was shaped by a series of sudden, violent catastrophes, such as floods and volcanic eruptions

• Catastrophism

• Superposition

• Uniformitarianism

• Radioactive dating

Who is considered the father of modern geology for promoting uniformitarianism?

• Georges Cuvier

• Alfred Wegener

• James Hutton

• Charles Lyell

What type of fossil forms when minerals fill in a mold?

• Trace fossil

• Carbon film

• Mold fossil

• Cast fossil

Which of the following is a type of trace fossil?

• Petrified wood

• Footprint

• Shell

• Leaf imprint

What condition increases the chances of fossil formation?

• Slow burial and decay

• Lack of hard parts

• Rapid burial and hard body parts

• Dry environment

What is a petrified fossil?

• A soft tissue preserved in ice

• An organism's remains turned to stone

• A hollow impression in rock

• A fossil made of carbon

Which principle helps determine the relative age of rock layers?

• Radiometric dating

• Superposition

• Fossil succession

• Catastrophism

What does the principle of lateral continuity state?

• Older rocks are always found at the bottom

• Sediments extend in all directions until they thin or meet a barrier

• Layers are always tilted

• Fossils appear in a predictable order

What process is used to determine the absolute age of rocks?

• Superposition

• Inclusion

• Correlation

• Radiometric dating