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Fossils & Geologic Time Scale Review

Total questions: 30

Worksheet time: 50mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

What information does a fossil record provide?

a)

How life has changed over time.

b)

How Earth's surface has changed over time.

c)

Earth's past climate and environments.

d)

All of the above.

2.

Which class of rock are most fossils preserved in?

a)

Igneous

b)

Sedimentary

c)

Metamorphic

3.

When a fossil is preserved, which parts of the organism are saved?

a)

Bones

b)

Skin

c)

Organs

d)

Shells

e)

Wings

4.

The hollow shape of an organism that is created once the softer parts of an organism decay is a ____________.

a)

Carbon copy

b)

Cast

c)

Mold

d)

Carbon film

5.

Dissolved minerals that take the shape of an organism's mold is known as a __________.

a)

Petrified fossil

b)

Cast

c)

Carbon film

d)

Index fossil

6.

The most common kind of fossil is ____________.

a)

Molds and casts

b)

Petrified

c)

Index

d)

Carbon film

7.

Footprints, trails, and burrows are all examples of _________ fossils.

a)

Petrified

b)

Preserved

c)

Trace

d)

Index

8.

The sabretooth tiger is an organism that no longer exists and never will again, also known as ____________.

a)

Extinct

b)

A memory

c)

Banished

d)

Petrified

9.

The Law of Superposition helps us determine the _________ age of rock layers.

a)

Absolute

b)

Exact

c)

Relative

10.

The Law of Superposition helps us determine the _________ age of rock layers.

a)

Absolute

b)

Exact

c)

Relative

11.

The Law of Superposition states that...

a)

The oldest layer is typically at the bottom.

b)

The youngest layer is typically at the top.

c)

A fault, intrusion, and extrusion are younger than the layers they cut through.

d)

All rocks are the same age.

12.

When a fault occurs, rock layers are still lined up.

a)

True

b)

False

13.

Unconformities are rock layers that are lost to ___________.

a)

Deposition

b)

Erosion

c)

Black magic

d)

Memphis

14.

Radioactive dating is a process that allows us to find the _____________ age of rocks.

a)

Relative

b)

Comparative

c)

Exact

d)

Absolute

15.

The amount of time it takes for half of an element's atoms to decay is known as ___________.

a)

Quarter-life

b)

Half-life

c)

50 cent

d)

Radioactive

16.

Earth is approximately how old?

a)

4.6 billion years

b)

3.6 billion years

c)

4.6 million years

d)

500 million years

17.

What did geologists use to create the ending points of different time periods?

a)

Relative age of rocks

b)

Radioactive dating

c)

Major changes in life forms

d)

All of the above

18.

Which era are we currently in?

a)

Paleozoic

b)

Cenozoic

c)

Mesozoic

d)

Time does not exist.

19.

The extinction of _________ gave mammals the opportunity to flourish.

a)

Reptiles

b)

Amphibians

c)

Dinosaurs

d)

Invertebrates

20.

Which layer is OLDER? Layer M or Intrusion P?

a)

Layer M

b)

Intrusion P

21.
Scientists use radioactive decay to measure...
a)
relative time
b)
absolute time
c)
half-lives
d)
time of day
22.

Which rock layer is the oldest?

a)

A

b)

D

c)

E

d)

F

23.

What is the oldest feature?

a)

A

b)

Fault

c)

L

d)

Q

e)

D

24.

CHALLENGE: Which feature is the oldest?

a)

S

b)

Fault

c)

P

d)

R

e)

H

25.

CHALLENGE: Which feature is the Youngest?

a)

D

b)

Fault

c)

Intrusion B

d)

S

e)

H

26.

Dinosaurs, small mammals, and birds are found in this time period.

a)

Precambrian

b)

Paleozoic

c)

Mesozoic

d)

Cenozoic

27.
Which layer is a result of an igneous intrusion?
a)
B
b)
C
c)
D
d)
E
28.
This is an example of a
a)
cast fossil
b)
mold fossil
c)
trace fossil
d)
carbon film
29.

How do scientist know when a mass extinction took place?

a)

They find more fossils of plants.

b)

They find no fossils of animals that died together.

c)

They find a sudden disappearance of many fossil species.

d)

They find evidence of changes in Earth’s atmosphere.

30.

What is the correct order from youngest to oldest?

a)

D,J,I,B,A,F,G,E,C,H

b)

H,F,C,E,B,G,A,I,J,D

c)

H,C,E,G,F,B,A,I,J,D

d)

D,J,I,A,G,B,E,C,F,H