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Unit 4: Earth's History Quest Review

Total questions: 17

Worksheet time: 9mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

The diagram below shows a cross section of different rock layers. According to the law of superposition, the rock layer above another rock layer is younger than the one below.


According to the law of superposition, which numbered layer is the youngest?

a)

Layer 1

b)

Layer 2

c)

Layer 3

d)

Layer 4

2.

What type of evidence did geologists use when they were making the boundaries of the geologic time scale?

a)

Evidence of changes in the fossil record

b)

Evidence of changes in the early solar system

c)

Evidence of changes in Sun’s behavior

d)

Evidence of changes in the Moon’s orbit

3.

Use this geologic map to answer the following question: Which Ohio city is in the region marked as “Very good to excellent” for oil and gas potential?

a)

Cleveland

b)

Youngstown

c)

Columbus

d)

Akron

4.

If a fault has broken a rock layer, the fault is younger than the rock layer.

a)

True

b)

False

5.

Which law states that a fault or body of rock, such as an intrusion, must be younger than any feature or layer of rock that the fault or rock body cuts through? -- Study the diagram on p. 250!

a)

The law of differentiation

b)

The law of uniformitarianism

c)

The law of crosscutting

d)

The law of Pangaea

6.

Which of the following is true about index fossils?

a)

They existed for a short period of time

b)

They similar to any other fossil

c)

They have a unique color

d)

There are only a small amount of them

7.

In the 1830s, an English scientist proposed the idea of uniformitarianism to describe the process of geologic change on Earth. Which of the following words is most closely associated with uniformitarianism?

a)

Rare

b)

Sudden

c)

Gradual

d)

Catastrophic

8.

What law can help scientists determine the relative age of sedimentary rock layers where younger rocks lie above older rocks?

a)

Unconformity

b)

Superposition

c)

Geologic columns

d)

Trace fossils

9.

What process do scientists use to determine that Earth is approximately 4.6 billion years old?

a)

Catastrophism

b)

Superpositioning of rocks

c)

Radiometric dating

d)

Crosscutting relationships

10.

After scientists study ice cores, why do they study the widths of the bands within the cores?

a)

To search for animal traces within the thickest layers

b)

To learn how much precipitation fell during a certain time

c)

So they can find thicker layers of gas

d)

So they are able to determine the temperature of that period of time

11.

What is the breakdown of radioactive isotopes into a stable isotope of the same element or another element called?

a)

Absolute dating

b)

Uranium-Lead dating

c)

Element decay

d)

Radioactive decay

12.

How are relative dating and absolute dating different?

a)

Absolute age is an average while relative dating is an estimate

b)

Both give the age of the rocks within a layer

c)

Absolute age gives the age of the rock in years while relative dating gives a comparative age

d)

Absolute age is determined by the law of superposition while relative dating is determined by radiometric dating.

13.

What do fossils of tropical plants found in Antarctica tell you about its location?

a)

Antarctica is in the same location as it was in the past

b)

Antarctica was likely closer to the equator at one point, but the continent has moved throughout Earth’s history

c)

Antarctica has shifted from the Northern part of the globe to the Eastern part of the globe

d)

Tropical fossils have yet to be found in Antarctica.

14.

A fossil contains 12.5% of its original amount of carbon-14. How long ago did this organism live?

a)

5,730 years ago (1 half life)

b)

11,460 years ago (2 half lives)

c)

17,190 years ago (3 half lives)

d)

20,000 years ago (4 half lives)

15.

Jacob has one older brother and one younger sister. He wants to explain relative dating to them using their ages as an example. Which of the following arrangements would show the concept of relative dating?

a)

Forming a line in the order of age

b)

Forming a line in the order of height

c)

Forming a line in the order of weight

d)

Forming a line in the order of birth month

16.

How are the animals in the fossil record related to the animals that exist today?

a)

The animals in the fossil record are very different from the animals that exist today

b)

The animals in the fossil record are more complex from the animals that exist today

c)

The animals in the fossil record are ancestors of animals that exist today

d)

The animals in the fossil record are the same as the animals that exist today

17.

Which law helps you understand that fault “J” is younger than the rocks it cuts through?

a)

The law of superposition

b)

The law of relative dating

c)

Uniformitarianism

d)

The law of crosscutting relationships