WorksheetsFoss Earth's History Investigation
Total questions: 24
Worksheet time: 12mins
Name
Class
Date
1.
If a geologist is looking for early human fossils, rocks from what era would be most interesting to them?
a)
Cenozoic
b)
Mesozoic
c)
Paleozoic
d)
Precambrian
2.
Why do geologists use eras and periods (instead of days, months, years) to divide geological time into huge chunks?
a)
Geological time is very long.
b)
Months aren't long enough.
c)
Geological time is very long, so days, months, and years isn't practical.
3.
Eras or periods are not considered lengths because the length of an era or period is________________.
a)
Based on whoever discovered it
b)
Based on significant evolutionary events in Earth's history
c)
Related to the thickness of each rock layer
d)
Related to the depth of each rock layer
4.
Geological time extends from _______________________.
a)
500 million years ago to the beginning of human history
b)
The beginning of human history to the present day
c)
Earth's origin to the beginning of human history
d)
Earth's origin to the present day
5.
Bottom of picture
a)
You can correlate the sties by lining up the Reservoir Limestone and the Gifford Shale because of the two matching kinds of fossils, and then you can see that Gifford would be below Reservoir.
b)
You can correlate the sties by lining up the Reservoir Limestone and the Berkeley Limestone because of the sponge fossil (index fossil), and then you can see that Gifford would be below Reservoir.
c)
It is found below De Long Shale
d)
It is found above De Long Shale
6.
Describe the sedimentary environment that eventually led to the formation of Gifford Shale
a)
Slow moving/still water, muddy environment (fine particles settle), fossil evidence.
b)
Slow moving/still water, muddy environment (fine particles settle)
c)
Bottom of river
d)
Desert where sediment is blown and cements together
7.
What are two reasons that an organism that lived in ancient times may not have been discovered as a fossil?
a)
Fossil may not have been found yet; fossil was eaten or otherwise destroyed
b)
Fossil was eaten
c)
Fossil hasn't been found yet
8.
What is the most important use of index fossils to geologists?
a)
They show what kind of life existed long ago
b)
They provide evidence for the principle of original horizontality
c)
They can be used as indicators for the age of the sediments that formed the rock
d)
They provide the ingredients for sedimentary rocks
9.
Evidence of past life, including remains, traces, and imprints, preserved in earth material, such as rock
a)
Unconformity
b)
Fossil
c)
Paleontology
d)
Mesozoic
10.
The study of fossils
a)
Unconformity
b)
Cross Section
c)
Formation
d)
Paleontology
11.
All the organisms that have existed in Earth’s history that are preserved in rock
a)
Fossil
b)
Index Fossil
c)
Fossil Record
d)
Unconformity
12.
What does paleo- mean?
a)
Old
b)
Young
c)
Prehistoric
d)
New
13.
The patterns in rock resulting from sand dunes that were blown into patterns by the wind
a)
Cross Section
b)
Crossbedding
c)
Cross Section
d)
Geological Time
14.
A sequence of rock layers that has been identified as a predictable sequence of layers over a large region
a)
Cross section
b)
Formation
c)
Fossil
d)
Index Fossil
15.
The view you would get if you sliced into the Colorado Plateau to look at the layers of rock from the side
a)
Cross Section
b)
Crossbedding
c)
Unconformity
d)
Era
16.
The time between the beginning of Earth and the appearance of the first easily-fossilized, complex forms of life
a)
Cenozoic
b)
Paleozoic
c)
Precambrian
d)
Mesozoic
17.
The age of ancient life, which ended with the Great Extinction, during which 90% of the species living in the ocean disappeared
a)
Paleozoic
b)
Mesozoic
c)
Cenozoic
d)
Precambrian
18.
The middle age of life, including the time of the dinosaurs.
a)
Paleozoic
b)
Precambrian
c)
Cenozoic
d)
Mesozoic
19.
The age of recent life, during which mammals thrived. We live in this era.
a)
Precambrian
b)
Paleozoic
c)
Mesozoic
d)
Cenozoic
20.
The measurement of time from the formation of Earth to the present
a)
Cross Section
b)
Geological Time
c)
Formation
d)
Fossil
21.
Based on the kinds of living organisms that existed during four very large chunks of time
a)
Periods
b)
Epochs
c)
Index Fossil
d)
Eras
22.
Based on major evolutionary events that can be determined by the fossil record, such as extinction of certain organisms
a)
Periods
b)
Eras
c)
Epochs
d)
Fossil
23.
A fossil that provides evidence for the age of rock layers
a)
Fossil
b)
Formation
c)
Index Fossil
d)
Cross section
24.
An interruption in the normal sequence of deposition of sedimentary rocks
a)
Unconformity
b)
Crossbedding
c)
Cross Section
d)
Formation
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