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Earth's history

Total questions: 20

Worksheet time: 17mins

Name
Class
Date
1.
Fossil remains of a trilobite are most likely to be found in which type of rock?
a)
igneous
b)
volcanic
c)
sedimentary
d)
metamorphic
2.
What role do faults play in the Law of Superposition?
a)
Faults create new types of rock.
b)
Faults are younger than the layers they cut through.
c)
Faults are the same age as the layers they cut through.
3.
Many fossils of large amphibians were found in an area that is currently barren desert. Which is most likely true?
a)
The climate of the area was once much wetter than it is now.
b)
Amphibians were once better at surviving in dry environments.
c)
The amphibians migrated there after a catastrophic event destroyed their habitats.
d)
The amphibians are not native to the area and their bones were brought there by other animals.
4.
According to the law of superposition, the oldest fossils are found 
a)
At the top of the rock layers
b)
Near the bottom of the rock layers
c)
In the middle of the rock layers
d)
Somewhat near the surface
5.
Which type of dating method can be used on rock layers by applying the Law of Superposition?
a)
relative dating
b)
absolute dating
c)
radioactive dating
d)
radiometric dating
6.
The idea states the same processes that occurred in the past operate in the same way as they do in the present.
a)
Absolute Dating
b)
Relative Dating
c)
Catastrophism
d)
Uniformitarianism
7.
Fossils can tell us all of the following information about an organism except:
a)
How the animals might have traveled
b)
What kinds of food the organism eats
c)
What type of environment the organism may have lived in
d)
The organism's life expectancy (or how long the organism will live) 
8.
Several different fossils were found in rock layers in a geologic column.  Above these rock layers, the fossils were almost nonexistent.  Which most likely explains these observations?
a)
A nonconformity occurred
b)
All the organisms migrated.
c)
A period of mass extinction occurred.
9.
Which generalization can be made about the relative age of a fossil found in a sedimentary rock bed?
a)
The fossil is younger than the rock layer above it.
b)
The fossil was formed before the rock layer that contains it.
c)
The fossil and the rock were formed in different environments.
d)
The fossil was formed around the same time as the rock that contains it.
10.
__________________is the time it takes for half of the radioactive atoms in an element to decay.
a)
dating range
b)
half life
11.

What is radio active decay?

a)

The preserved remains of an organism.

b)

Atoms in an unstable element break down to form another element.

c)

When things die and their remains are buried.

d)

The time it takes for 1/2 of the radioactive atoms to decay in an element.

12.
What element is usually used to date fossils?
a)
uranium-235
b)
carbon-14
c)
mercury-203
d)
thorium-234
13.
The age of a rock compared to the ages of other rocks is the rock's
a)
absolute age
b)
geologic age
c)
sedimentary age
d)
relative age
14.

If the same species of reptile was found in Africa and south america, what could this evidence support?

a)

the used to be a land bridge between Africa and South America

b)

That reptiles swam accross the ocean

c)

Africa and South America used to be joined together

d)

humans moved the reptiles from one continent to the other.

15.

What is the best evdience this fossil could give you?

a)

the environment the animal lived in

b)

the size of the population

c)

the mating habits of the species

d)

the diet of the animal

16.

To become fossilized an organism needs to be (2 answers)

a)

a large body size

b)

buried slowly

c)

with hard parts

d)

buried quickly

17.

What was the major change between the Precambian eon and Phanerozoic eon?

a)

life became more diverse

b)

there was no life in the precambrian eon

c)

There was an increase in volcanic eruptions

d)

human fossils were found

18.

What is absolute age?

a)

comparing a rock layer to other rocks

b)

a measure of the radioactive decay of isotopes

c)

measuring the dimensions of a rock

d)

comparing the rocks to the fossils in the area

19.
Identify the Era:
First forms of life appeared in this era.
a)
Precambrian
b)
Paleozoic
c)
Mesozoic
d)
Cenozoic
20.

How is the geologic time scale divided?

a)

major extinctions

b)

major change in species

c)

major change in geology

d)

all of the above