WorksheetsAge of Earth
Total questions: 20
Worksheet time: 43mins
Name
Class
Date
1.
T/F: Geologist use radioactive dating to find the absolute age of rocks
a)
True
b)
False
2.
The time it takes for 50% of the nuclei in a radioactive sample to decay to its stable isotope is called ___________.
a)
the half life
b)
geologic time
c)
the daughter product
d)
the parents isotope
3.
The radiometric dating of an igneous rock provides ____________.
a)
the relative age of the rock
b)
the age of Earth
c)
a date for when the rock formed
d)
a date for when the rock was eroded
4.
According to the image, what fraction of the original parent isotope still exists after 4 half lives have passed?
a)
1/8
b)
7/8
c)
1/16
d)
1/32
5.
The oldest rocks on Earth are __________.
a)
3.5 billion years old
b)
3.96 to 3.8 billion years old
c)
1.6 to 1.8 million years old
d)
1 to 2 billion years old
6.
The buried and exposed parts of a continental shield together compose the _______________________ , the stable core of a continent
a)
photon
b)
core
c)
craton
d)
microcontinent
7.
What is the most popular hypothesis of the formation of the moon?
a)
The moon passed very close to the earth and was caught in its gravitational pull.
b)
The moon formed the same time as the earth.
c)
The moon formed when a small planet smashed into the newly formed earth sending debris into space which formed the moon.
8.
Scientist think the Earth is ___ years old.
a)
4,500
b)
45,000
c)
4.5 million
d)
4.5 billion
9.
The earth and moon were formed during which of the following eons?
a)
Proterozoic
b)
Hadean
c)
Archean
d)
Phanerozoic
10.
Some ELEMENTS can decay over time.
a)
True
b)
False
11.
Geologists use radioactive dating to determine THE ABSOLUTE AGE OF ROCKS.
a)
True
b)
False
12.
An element that has broken down and released particles and energy is said to be _______________.
a)
radioactive
b)
subatomic
13.
_______________is the method of determining the absolute ages of rocks.
a)
radioactive dating
b)
carbon-14 dating
14.
__________________is the time it takes for half of the radioactive atoms in an element to decay.
a)
dating range
b)
half life
15.
The moon formed from
a)
cheese
b)
a meteor that was captured by earths gravity
c)
the debris that was ejected when Theia collided with the early earth
d)
the earth's released atmosphere
16.
When the inner planets (and moons) were bombarded by asteroids, what did the asteroids leave behind?
a)
craters
b)
calderas
c)
mountains
d)
valleys
17.
Why is Mercury covered with craters, but Earth is not?
a)
Earth's atmosphere protects and weathers
b)
Earth's moon blocks asteroids
c)
asteroids just missed Earth
d)
most asteroids land in Earth's oceans
18.
Meteorites have clues about our planet's past.
a)
true
b)
false
19.
The half life of carbon-14 is 5730 years. Suppose a basket was found that contains one half as much carbon-14 as a new basket of the same material. What is the approximate age of the basket?
a)
5730 years
b)
2865 years
c)
1432 years
d)
716 years
20.
After the third half-life, how much of the sample is left?
a)
1/2
b)
1/3
c)
1/16
d)
1/8
100 %
