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Earth's Timeline

Total questions: 35

Worksheet time: 23mins

Name
Class
Date
1.
An era of geological history lasting from 65 million years ago to the present time in which there has been a rapid evolution of mammals and birds and of flowering plants.
a)
Cenozoic Era
b)
carbon fossil
c)
body fossil
d)
trace fossil
2.
A framework of chronological dating, which associates geological strata with time.
a)
geologic time scale
b)
fossils
c)
fossil record
d)
Cenozoic Era
3.

Which of the these is the longest amount of time?

a)

Era

b)

Epoch

c)

Period

4.
What era is considered the middle era?
a)
Paleozoic 
b)
Cenozoic 
c)
Pre Cambrian 
d)
Mesozoic 
5.
How old is the Earth? 
a)
65 million years old 
b)
4.6 billion years old 
c)
6.4 billion years old
d)
5 million years old 
6.

What era do we (humans) live in?

a)

Cenozoic

b)

Paleozoic

c)

Mesozoic

d)

Pre Cambrian

7.

What era is referred to as the Age of the Mammals?

a)

Paleozoic Era

b)

Mesozoic Era

c)

Triassic Era

d)

Cenozoic Era

8.

What Era is also referred to as the Age of the Fish?

a)

Paleozoic Era

b)

Permian Era

c)

Cenozoic Era

d)

Pre Cambrian Time

9.
When did the dinosaurs go extinct?  
a)
In the Pre Cambrian Time
b)
End of the Mesozoic Era
c)
Start of the Mesozoic Era
d)
100 MYA
10.
What is the main purpose of the geologic time scale?
a)
To organize the major eras of Earth's history
b)
To compare very short and very long periods of time
c)
To compete with other, non-geologic time scales
d)
To help understand that the planet is really old
11.

True or False: Fossils did not help scientists construct Earth's Geological Timescale.

a)

True

b)

False

12.

Which is the oldest era?

a)

Precambrian

b)

Paleozoic

c)

Mesozoic

d)

Cenozoic

13.
Which of the Eras lasted for the longest period of time? 
a)
Paleozoic
b)
Precambrian
c)
Mesozoic
d)
Cenozoic
14.
What type of animal lived only during the Mesozoic Era?
a)
Mammals
b)
Birds and Mammals
c)
Dinosaurs
d)
All of them
15.
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
16.
What rock type is best for finding fossils?
a)
Sedimentary
b)
Igneous
c)
Metamorphic
17.
A __________ shows the order in which events have occurred.
a)
timeline
b)
chronos
c)
title
d)
Anno Domini
18.

What two continents look like they fit together the most?

a)

Africa and North America

b)

South America and Europe

c)

South America and Africa

d)

Antartica and Africa

19.

On Earth's Geological Timeline, MYA stands for...

a)

Most Years Available

b)

Millions of Years Ago

20.
The history of life as documented by fossils, the remains or imprints of organisms from earlier geological periods preserved in sedimentary rock.
a)
fossil record
b)
Cenozoic Era
c)
carbon fossil
d)
body fossil
21.
Law that states that within a sequence of layers of sedimentary rock, the oldest layer is at the base and the layers are progressively younger with ascending order in sequence.
a)
Law of Superposition
b)
isotope
c)
index fossil
d)
half-life
22.
An era of geological history ending about 280 million years ago which came before the Mesozoic and in which vertebrates and land plants first appeared.
a)
Paleozoic Era
b)
paleontology
c)
molecular fossil
d)
Mesozoic Era
23.
A dating of fossils that provides a chronology of fossil ages by what layer of rock they are found within.
a)
relative dating
b)
radiometric dating
c)
Paleozoic Era
d)
paleontology
24.
Fossils that include anything that is left behind by an organism. Trails, footprints, burrows, nests, and feces are preserved as fossils, not the actual organism.
a)
trace fossil
b)
relative dating
c)
radiometric dating
d)
Paleozoic Era
25.

Most life occured...

a)

Toward the beginning of Earth's timeline

b)

Toward the end of Earth's timeline

c)

In the middle of Earth's timeline

26.
Earth's ______________ provides protection from solar radiation. 
a)
atmosphere
b)
magnetic field 
c)
gravitational field 
d)
chemical composition 
27.
If Earth were much smaller, it would not support life because it would not have enough mass to
a)
collect needed radiant energy from the Sun.
b)
maintain a gravitational pull on the Moon.
c)
have sufficient gravity to hold an atmosphere.
d)
rotate on its axis once per day.
28.

Which fossil is the youngest?

a)

fossil A

b)

fossil B

c)

fossil C

d)

fossils A and B are the same age

29.

What is the importance of studying fossils?

a)

to provide information about how current life forms would exist in previous environmental conditions

b)

to provide information about how life and environmental conditions may have changed

c)

to provide information about how previous life forms would exist in current environmental conditions

30.

Claire would like to show that fossils provide evidence of how old Earth is. She knows that the fossil record can be used to deduce geologic time scales and present a record of Earth’s history. Which fossils match the Precambrian time period?

a)

flowers and dinosaurs

b)

bacteria and primitive marine plants

c)

coral reefs and amphibians

31.

Which type of fossil preservation is shown above?

a)

carbon film

b)

trace fossil

c)

original remains

d)

perminerailzed remains

32.

Scientists have found large groups of fossils of marine organisms on mountaintops. What does this tell scientists about the past?

a)

That these rocks must have been moved there by some one else.

b)

That these rocks were always above the surface of an ocean

c)

That these organisms left the ocean and climbed to the top of an inland mountain to die

d)

That these rocks were once below the surface of an ocean

33.

According to the diagram, which of the following statements is true?

a)

Fossil C and D are the same age.

b)

Fossil C is younger than Fossil D

c)

Fossil B is youngest

d)

Fossil A is oldest.

34.

In what era did the first land plants appear?

a)

Silurian

b)

Mesozoic

c)

Paleozoic

35.

As the body plan of the fish progressed, the first sharks appeared during the Silurian Period. The skeletons of these ancient fish are hard to find in fossil form because their skeletons are composed of _____________.

a)

calcium

b)

bone

c)

cartilage

d)

muscle

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