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Earth's History (Short Review)

Total questions: 10

Worksheet time: 6mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

The spontaneous breakdown of radioactive nuclei into a stable form releases energy. This is known as _____.

a)

isotopes

b)

radioactive decay

c)

half-life

d)

absolute dating

2.

Which of the following is NOT a characteristics of index fossils?

a)

spread over a wide geographical area

b)

lived for a short period of time

c)

distinctive and easily identifiable

d)

exist in small numbers

3.
What are the relative ages of the features in order from oldest to youngest?
a)
Limestone, Basalt, Fault, Siltstone
b)
Siltstone, Fault, Basalt, Limestone
c)
Limestone, Fault, Basalt, Siltstone
d)
Limestone, Siltstone, Fault, Basalt
4.

​ (a)   is determining the actual ​ (b)   of an event or object in years. While ​ (c)   is the ​ (d)   of determining if one rock or ​ (e)   is older or younger than another, without knowing their specific ages like how many years ago the object was formed.

Choose from the below words
Absolute dating
age
relative dating
process
geologic event
5.

After reading a scientific paper in 1911, that listed identical plant and animal fossils on opposite

sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Alfred Wegener, a meteorologist and explorer, hypothesized that

the continents were once a large landmass. He then set out to search for other cases of

identical fossils on opposite sides of oceans. Wegener published his findings in 1915 (as seen

in Figure 1). How does Figure 1 provide evidence to explain how the Earth has evolved over geologic time?

a)

All fossils contain the same DNA, showing a common ancestor among them.

b)

All fossils change the area they lived in, showing their rapid changes over time.

c)

Fossils of the same type of organism can be found on continents that are not connected,

showing that all continents were once together.

d)

Fossils of the same type of organism can be found only on the same continent, showing

that the continents have always been separated.

6.

A fossil sample is analyzed using carbon dating methods.  Of the original 300g sample, only 75g remain. If the half-life of carbon-14 is 5730, how old is the fossil?

 

a)

5730 years

b)

2,865 years

c)

429,750 years

d)

11,460 years

7.

What is an unconformity?

a)

a correlation of rock layers in different regions using fossils

b)

an erosional surface in the rock that represents a gap in time.

c)

the lowest layer in a rock outcrop that contains an intrusion

d)

the measurement of the ratio of parent and daughter isotopes in a rock sample

8.

Which of the following best describes the principle of Original Horizontality?

a)

Layers of sediment are deposited horizontally.

b)

A fault or intrusion of magma is younger than the layers it crosses.

c)

The oldest rocks are on the bottom in undisturbed layers.

d)

Processes that occur today also occurred in the past.

9.

A fossil sample is analyzed using carbon dating methods.  Of the original 300g of carbon-14, only 75g remain. How much of the sample is stable nitrogen-14?

a)

75g

b)

375g

c)

150g

d)

125g

10.

Four rock outcrops, labeled 1, 2, 3, and 4, found within the same plateau, are represented below. Index fossils found in some of the rock layers are shown. The rock layers have not been overturned. Which rock layer is the youngest?

a)

Layer W in Outcrop 1

b)

Layer X in Outcrop 2

c)

Layer Y in Outcrop 3

d)

Layer Z in Outcrop 4