fossils
A fossil is ____.
a. any dead organism.
b. the preserved remains or traces of an organism.
c. a perfect copy of a rock.
d. an unusual type of rock.
the preserved remains or traces of an organism.
A type of organism that no longer exists on Earth is said to be ____.
a. fossilized
b. sedimentary
c. extinct
d. petrified
extinct
Radioactive dating enables geologists to determine ____.
a. the age of the atoms in a rock
b. the half-life of a fossil organism
c. the relative ages of rocks
d. the absolute ages of rocks
the absolute ages of rocks
The end of the Paleozoic was marked by the ____.
a. evolution of plants
b. Permian extinction
c. evolution of winged insects
d. extinction of the dinosaurs
evolution of winged insects
Which of the following statements is FALSE? *
a. A geologic period is divided further into epochs.
b. Eons are the largest unit of geologic time.
c. Epochs are the smallest unit of geologic time.
d. A geologic epoch is divided further into eras
A geologic period is divided further into epochs.
How do most fossils form?
a. Living things die and their remains are buried by sediments.
b. The hard parts of an organism dry out in the air.
c. The soft parts of an organism change to stone.
d. Freezing preserves the remains of an organism.
Living things die and their remains are buried by sediments.
The relative age of a rock is ____.
a. its age compared to the ages of other rocks
b. less than the age of the fossils the rock contains
c. the number of years since the rock formed
d. its age based on how much carbon-14 the rock contains
its age compared to the ages of other rocks
The Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic are divisions in the geologic time scale called ____.
a. centuries
b. periods
c. layers
d. eras
eras
The first vertebrates were ____.
a. jawless fishes
b. lungfishes
c. amphibians
d. reptiles
jawless fishes
Using the geologic time scale provided, what is the current era, period and epoch? *
a. Precambrian, Hadeon, Priscoan
b. Cenozoic, Quaternary, Holocene
c. Mesozoic, Tertiary, Paleocene
d. Paleozoic, Permain, Age of amphibians
Cenozoic, Quaternary, Holocene
The process by which all the different kinds of living things have changed over long periods of time is called ____.
a. sedimentation
b. replacement
c. deposition
d. evolution
evolution
Radioactive decay occurs when atoms of an unstable element ____.
a. become part of a fossil
b. join with atoms of another element
c. break down to form atoms of another element
d. are exposed to chemical weathering
are exposed to chemical weathering
The evolution of photosynthetic organisms about 2.5 billion years ago led to ____.
a. an increase in the ultraviolet radiation reaching Earth’s surface
b. an increase in oxygen in the atmosphere
c. the Precambrian Explosion
d. the first mass extinction
an increase in oxygen in the atmosphere
What is the first period of geologic time?
a. Quaternary
b. Cenozoic
c. Paleozoic
d. Cambrian
Cambrian
Which of the following is theorized to be cause of the dinosaurs extinction? *
a. Impact from asteroid or comet
b. Rapid climate change
c. Collapse of ecosystems
d. All of the answer choices
. All of the answer choices
A fossil formed when minerals replace all or part of an organism is called a ____.
a. mold
b. petrified fossil
c. cast
d. trace fossil
petrified fossil
The law of superposition states that, in horizontal layers of sedimentary rock, each layer is ____.
a. younger than the layer above it and older than the layer below it
b. neither older nor younger than the other layers
c. older than the layer above it and younger than the layer below it
d. always older than any vertical layers
older than the layer above it and younger than the layer below it
The geologic time scale is a record of ____.
a. the thickness of sedimentary rock layers
b. the rate of fossil formation
c. the life forms and geologic events in Earth’s history
d. the time since the evolution of dinosaurs
the life forms and geologic events in Earth’s history
Many scientists hypothesize that the dinosaurs became extinct because ____.
a. the formation of Pangaea caused climate change that led to dinosaurs dying out
b. competition with mammals led to the extinction
c. an asteroid hit earth, throwing dust into the atmosphere and cooling the climate so that dinosaurs could not survive
d. a series of diseases wiped out plant-eating dinosaurs, leaving no food for meat-eating dinosaurs
an asteroid hit earth, throwing dust into the atmosphere and cooling the climate so that dinosaurs could not survive
According to this geologic time scale when did reptiles and modern insects appear? *
a. Mesozoic Era
b. Cenozoic Era
c. Paleozoic Era
d. Precambrium
Paleozoic Era
____ can provide clues about the activities of ancient organisms.
a. Trace fossils
b. Remains preserved in amber
c. Carbon films
d. Molds and casts
Trace fossils
The fossils of organisms that were widely distributed but only lived during a short period of time are called ____.
a. trace fossils
b. petrified fossils
c. index fossils
d. carbon film fossils
index fossils
The earliest life forms were ____.
a. dinosaurs
b. single-celled organisms
c. fossils
d. vertebrates
b. single-celled organisms
According to this geologic time scale what eon lasted the longest amount of time?
a. Phanerozoic
b. Cenozoic
c. Precambrium
d. Paleozoic
Precambrium
According to this geologic time scale what era has lasted the shortest amount of time? *
a.Cenozoic
b. Mesozoic
c. Paleozoic
d. Precambrian
Mesozoic