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geologic time

Total questions: 23

Worksheet time: 6hrs 45mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

Mammals are a dominant group in which era?

a)

Cenozoic

b)

Mesozoic

c)

Paleozoic

d)

Cambrianozoic

2.

What type of event usually marks the end of an Era

a)

A Mass Extinction

b)

A Quinceanera

c)

An earthquake

d)

A Volcanic Eruption

3.

What are the four eras in order from OLDEST to NEWEST?

a)

Pre-Cambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Cenozoic

b)

Pre-Cambrian, Mesozoic, Paleozoic, Cenozoic

c)

Cenozoic, Mesozoic, Paleozoic, Pre-Cambrian

d)

Mesozoic, Pre-Cambrian, Cenozoic, Paleozoic

4.

The dinosaurs and reptiles were dominant in which Era?

a)

Precambrian

b)

Mesozoic

c)

Paleozoic

d)

Cenozoic

5.
Why is the fossil record incomplete?
a)
fossils get eroded away over time
b)
most organisms never became fossils
c)
scavengers and decomposers eat them too quickly
d)
all of the above
6.

Which Era was mainly dominated by dinosaurs?

a)

Cenozoic

b)

Jurassic

c)

Mesozoic

d)

Paleozoic

7.

Which Era has the most complex organisms?

a)

Cenozoic

b)

Mesozoic

c)

Paleozoic

d)

Quaternary

8.

Which period is closest to present day?

a)

Cambrian

b)

Devonian

c)

Triassic

d)

Tertiary

9.

What type of environment do you think was present during the Devonian Period?

a)

mostly land

b)

land with some water

c)

mostly water

d)

water with some land

10.

Which organisms are the most recent (closest to present day)?

a)

primitive reptiles

b)

giant insects

c)

primitive horses

d)

brachiopods

11.
Which layer is the oldest?
a)
A
b)
B
c)
C
d)
D
12.
Which fossil makes the best index fossil?
a)
Fossil 1
b)
Fossil 2
c)
Fossil 3
d)
None follow all of the rules
13.
Does the picture represent relative or absolute dating?
a)
relative
b)
absolute
14.
In the history of the earth, when were humans introduced?
a)
at the beginning of the earth
b)
in about the middle of the earth
c)
relatively recently
15.

What information might scientists learn when

studying Earth's geological history? 

a)

Scientists study rock layers to learn how the earth and the life on it change over time.

b)

Scientists who study geologic history learn about our solar system.

16.

If you were to create a model of fossil layers,

what would you want to include

to make your model accurate? 

a)

The model would show the oldest layer on the top and the youngest layer on the bottom.

b)

The model would show many rock layers with different fossils in each layer.

17.

Earth has a 4.6 _ ________ year history. 

a)

Billion

b)

Bottom

c)

Relative

d)

Rock Strata

18.
What might you conclude if a fish fossil was found on top of a mountain in Kentucky?
a)

An Earthquake happened there.

b)

A Volcano erupted there.

c)

A forest covered that area for a while.

d)

A large body of water once covered the area.

19.

Which of the following questions can be answered by studying these fossil layers?

a)

What did the fish eat?

b)

Which organisms lived before/after/or at the same time?

c)

Why did dinosaurs become extinct?

d)

Are reptiles the ancestors to birds or fish?

20.
These fossils are distinguishable from other fossils because they were scattered over a large region, very common, and lived during a short span of geologic time
a)
trace
b)
index
c)
permineralized
d)
mold and cast
21.
Popular theory suggests this ended the age of dinosaurs.
a)
asteroid impact
b)
ice age
c)
human predation
d)
the rise of mammals
22.
An undisturbed sedimentary layer is _________ than the layer above and _________ than the layer below. 
a)
younger - older
b)
younger - younger
c)
older - younger
d)
older - older 
23.
Which rock layer in the diagram seems to be the oldest?
a)

F

b)

E

c)

B

d)

A