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Discovering the Age and History of Earth

Total questions: 11

Worksheet time: 9mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

Which is the most accurate method used in determining the true age of a fossil?

a)

relative dating

b)

fossil record

c)

radioactive dating

d)

law of superposition

2.

Which best describes the relationship between rock layers and index fossils?

a)

Different rock layers contain only specific species.

b)

Different rock layers are compared to find the exact age.

c)

All layers w/ the same fossils are the same age.

d)

Layers have same relative age if they have same index fossils

3.

Which best describes a fossil that helps determine the relative age of a rock layer?

a)

trace fossil

b)

Mold fossil

c)

index fossil

d)

intrusive fossil

4.

Which type of radioactive dating would be most useful in determining the age of fossil 40,000 years old or younger?

a)

C-14 method

b)

U-238 method

c)

K-Ar method

d)

None

5.

Which layer is considered the youngest?

a)

A

b)

C

c)

E

d)

D

6.

Which method can best be used by the students to determine the relative age of these layers?

a)

Law of superposition

b)

Uniformitarianism

c)

Carbon-14 dating

d)

Radioactive dating

7.

Which is the best predictor of the relative age of a layer of rock?

a)

thickness of layer

b)

length of layer

c)

position of layer

d)

size of layer

8.

Index fossil are found in layers of rock in Africa & South America. What are the fossil ages?

a)

The African rock is older.

b)

The South American rock is older.

c)

The rocks are younger than the fossils.

d)

The rocks are approximately the same age.

9.

Which inference can be made about the relative age of a fossil found in a sedimentary rock bed?

a)

The fossil formed around the time of rocks in the same layer

b)

The fossil & the rock were formed in different environments

c)

The fossil was formed before the rock layer that contains it

d)

The fossil is younger than the rock layer above it

10.

Why are index fossils used as guides to determine the age of rocks?

a)

Each index fossil lived in a specific geologic time period

b)

All index fossils lived at all the periods of geologic time

c)

Index fossils are rare and are not commonly found in rocks.

11.

If a metamorphic rock contains an intrusion of igneous rock, which rock is the oldest?

a)

The igneous rock is older

b)

The rocks are the same age.

c)

The metamorphic rock is older