Question 1

What term denotes blocks of older rock enclosed in a body of younger igneous rock?

Accepted Answer

A)  isotopes 
B)  inclusions 
C)  stromatolites 
D)  strata 
A)  isotopes 
B)  inclusions 
C)  stromatolites 
D)  strata B

Question 2

A worm would stand a poor chance of being fossilized because ______ .

Accepted Answer

A)  worms have been rare during the geologic past 
B)  worms contain no carbon- 14 
C)  worms have no hard parts 
D)  all of these 
A)  worms have been rare during the geologic past 
B)  worms contain no carbon- 14 
C)  worms have no hard parts 
D)  all of these C

Question 3

Isotopes of what element are the stable, end products of both uranium decay series?

Accepted Answer

A)  strontium 
B)  lead 
C)  thorium 
D)  rubidium 
A)  strontium 
B)  lead 
C)  thorium 
D)  rubidium B

Question 4

The Morrison Formation is exposed in the western United States and represents a nonmarine deposit with abundant dinosaur fossils. Much of the Morrison is pure mudstone, yet it is common to find highly polished pebbles and cobbles in the mud. Which of the following do you think is the best explanation of these cobbles?

Accepted Answer

A)  They are impossible; people must have put them there. 
B)  They are gastroliths, a trace fossil. 
C)  They were placed in the mud by space aliens. 
D)  They represent meteorites that killed the dinosaurs. 
A)  They are impossible; people must have put them there. 
B)  They are gastroliths, a trace fossil. 
C)  They were placed in the mud by space aliens. 
D)  They represent meteorites that killed the dinosaurs.

Question 5

Which of the following refers to the investigative process by which geologists identify and match sedimentary strata and other rocks of the same ages in different areas?

Accepted Answer

A)  strata indexing 
B)  super matching 
C)  correlation 
D)  cross- access dating 
A)  strata indexing 
B)  super matching 
C)  correlation 
D)  cross- access dating

Question 6

Which radioactive decay used for radiometric dating is not an isotope that was generated during nuclear synthesis in the star that went supernova and its products became our solar system?

Accepted Answer

A)  40K  
B)  147Sm  
C)  238U  
D)  14C 
A)  40K  
B)  147Sm  
C)  238U  
D)  14C

Question 7

The percentage of radioactive atoms that decay during one half- life is______ .

Accepted Answer

A)  50 
B)  25 
C)  75 
D)  100 
A)  50 
B)  25 
C)  75 
D)  100

Question 8

The radioactive isotope, K- 40, has ______ as a daughter product.

Accepted Answer

A)  Ar- 38 
B)  K- 38 
C)  Ar- 40 
D)  K- 39 
A)  Ar- 38 
B)  K- 38 
C)  Ar- 40 
D)  K- 39

Question 9

In a given area where you have little knowledge of the local geology rocks types, fossils, etc.., what type of unconformity would be the most difficult to recognize in an exposed sequence of rocks? Why?

Accepted Answer

Disconformity becaus

Question 10

Which of the following is not a very long- lived, radioactive isotope?

Accepted Answer

A)  Rb- 87 
B)  C- 14 
C)  K- 40 
D)  U- 238 
A)  Rb- 87 
B)  C- 14 
C)  K- 40 
D)  U- 238

Question 11

Petrified wood is an example of a fossil formed by ______.

Accepted Answer

A)  direct preservation 
B)  permineralization replacing original cellulose of the wood 
C)  cast and mold preservation 
D)  trace fossil imprints 
A)  direct preservation 
B)  permineralization replacing original cellulose of the wood 
C)  cast and mold preservation 
D)  trace fossil imprints

Question 12

Which of the following describes radioactive decay by beta particle emission?

Accepted Answer

A)  The daughter isotope has an atomic number two less than the parent and a mass number four less. 
B)  The mass number of the daughter isotope is one more than the parent, and both isotopes have the same atomic number. 
C)  The atomic number of the daughter isotope is one more than the parent; the mass numbers are the same. 
D)  The daughter isotope has an atomic number one less than the parent and a mass number two less. 
A)  The daughter isotope has an atomic number two less than the parent and a mass number four less. 
B)  The mass number of the daughter isotope is one more than the parent, and both isotopes have the same atomic number. 
C)  The atomic number of the daughter isotope is one more than the parent; the mass numbers are the same. 
D)  The daughter isotope has an atomic number one less than the parent and a mass number two less.

Question 13

A major difference between Catastrophism and Uniformitarianism is______ .

Accepted Answer

A)  catastrophism requires all changes on earth be due to unpredictable events that cannot be explained while Uniformitarianism proposes that all events are predictable 
B)  catastrophism supports rapid changes on the earth and a young age of Earth while Uniformitarianism requires long times for changes to be significant and thus a very old earth 
C)  uniformitarianism does not allow for catastrophic events while Catastrophism is based on the assumption that they are the major forces of change in the earth 
D)  uniformitarianism explains the young age of the earth by suggesting that while processes have not changed over time, the rates of processes may vary significantly 
A)  catastrophism requires all changes on earth be due to unpredictable events that cannot be explained while Uniformitarianism proposes that all events are predictable 
B)  catastrophism supports rapid changes on the earth and a young age of Earth while Uniformitarianism requires long times for changes to be significant and thus a very old earth 
C)  uniformitarianism does not allow for catastrophic events while Catastrophism is based on the assumption that they are the major forces of change in the earth 
D)  uniformitarianism explains the young age of the earth by suggesting that while processes have not changed over time, the rates of processes may vary significantly

Question 14

There is geologic evidence that Earth has experienced______ .

Accepted Answer

A)  many episodes of mountain building but not much erosion 
B)  many episodes of both mountain building and erosion 
C)  few episodes of erosion and an unknown amount of mountain building 
D)  only a few recent episodes of mountain building but much erosion 
A)  many episodes of mountain building but not much erosion 
B)  many episodes of both mountain building and erosion 
C)  few episodes of erosion and an unknown amount of mountain building 
D)  only a few recent episodes of mountain building but much erosion

Question 15

The remains or traces of prehistoric life are called ______.

Accepted Answer

A)  fossils 
B)  castes 
C)  fauna 
D)  flora 
A)  fossils 
B)  castes 
C)  fauna 
D)  flora

Question 16

If you observe an angular unconformity, you would infer that the region had experienced ______.

Accepted Answer

A)  deposition in shallow water, uplift or lowering of sea level enough to expose the rocks to erosion and non- deposition for a period of time, and subsequent resubmergence of the remaining sedimentary units where they experience new deposition 
B)  intrusion of igneous rocks into a depositional setting, forcing the sedimentary layers upward and possibly deforming them, followed by subsidence of the remaining sedimentary layers and renewed deposition 
C)  uplift and tilting of sedimentary units that exposes them to erosion over a period of time with subsequent renewed deposition 
D)  deposition of sedimentary layers on crystalline igneous or metamorphic rocks that are exposed at the surface of the earth 
A)  deposition in shallow water, uplift or lowering of sea level enough to expose the rocks to erosion and non- deposition for a period of time, and subsequent resubmergence of the remaining sedimentary units where they experience new deposition 
B)  intrusion of igneous rocks into a depositional setting, forcing the sedimentary layers upward and possibly deforming them, followed by subsidence of the remaining sedimentary layers and renewed deposition 
C)  uplift and tilting of sedimentary units that exposes them to erosion over a period of time with subsequent renewed deposition 
D)  deposition of sedimentary layers on crystalline igneous or metamorphic rocks that are exposed at the surface of the earth

Question 17

You observe a distinct, red sandstone rock body about 50 m thick that is depositionally overlain by a red shale with interbedded gypsum and you follow this boundary in the rock bodies for 1 km until you cross a fault which has displaced the boundary between the two rock bodies. You walk along the fault and see a boundary between a 50 m thick red sandstone and overlying red shale interbedded with gypsum. You conclude______ .

Accepted Answer

A)  the second exposure of sandstone, shale and gypsum correlates to the first, and the boundary between the sandstone and shale is the same stratigraphic horizon 
B)  this new exposure of sandstone, shale and gypsum must be a different age rock unit 
C)  the stratigraphic section must have been inverted by the deformation; the rocks are upside down 
D)  this is impossibly complex; the fault broke up all the rocks 
A)  the second exposure of sandstone, shale and gypsum correlates to the first, and the boundary between the sandstone and shale is the same stratigraphic horizon 
B)  this new exposure of sandstone, shale and gypsum must be a different age rock unit 
C)  the stratigraphic section must have been inverted by the deformation; the rocks are upside down 
D)  this is impossibly complex; the fault broke up all the rocks

Question 18

An important absolute dating measure is the decay of 147Sm to 143Nd. What type of radioactive decay is involved in this parent- daughter pair?

Accepted Answer

A)  alpha decay 
B)  beta decay 
C)  a positron capture 
D)  electron capture 
A)  alpha decay 
B)  beta decay 
C)  a positron capture 
D)  electron capture

Question 19

What general term denotes any buried, erosional surface where rock layers are missing?

Accepted Answer

A)  disconformity 
B)  nonconformity 
C)  unconformity 
D)  conformity 
A)  disconformity 
B)  nonconformity 
C)  unconformity 
D)  conformity

Question 20

The subdivision of the geologic time scale that represents the longest time span is called an______ .

Accepted Answer

A)  period 
B)  epoch 
C)  eon 
D)  era 
A)  period 
B)  epoch 
C)  eon 
D)  era

Exam 11: Geologic Time

What term denotes blocks of older rock enclosed in a body of younger igneous rock?

A worm would stand a poor chance of being fossilized because ______ .

Isotopes of what element are the stable, end products of both uranium decay series?

Which of the following refers to the investigative process by which geologists identify and match sedimentary strata and other rocks of the same ages in different areas?

Which radioactive decay used for radiometric dating is not an isotope that was generated during nuclear synthesis in the star that went supernova and its products became our solar system?

The percentage of radioactive atoms that decay during one half- life is______ .

The radioactive isotope, K- 40, has ______ as a daughter product.

In a given area where you have little knowledge of the local geology rocks types, fossils, etc.., what type of unconformity would be the most difficult to recognize in an exposed sequence of rocks? Why?

Which of the following is not a very long- lived, radioactive isotope?

Petrified wood is an example of a fossil formed by ______.

Which of the following describes radioactive decay by beta particle emission?

A major difference between Catastrophism and Uniformitarianism is______ .

There is geologic evidence that Earth has experienced______ .

The remains or traces of prehistoric life are called ______.

If you observe an angular unconformity, you would infer that the region had experienced ______.

An important absolute dating measure is the decay of 147Sm to 143Nd. What type of radioactive decay is involved in this parent- daughter pair?

What general term denotes any buried, erosional surface where rock layers are missing?

The subdivision of the geologic time scale that represents the longest time span is called an______ .

Introduction to Earth Science

Matter and Minerals

Rocks: Materials of the Solid Earth

Plate Tectonics: a Scientific Revolution Unfolds

Earthquakes and Earths Interior

Volcanoes and Other Igneous Activity

Crustal Deformation and Mountain Building

Weathering, Soil, and Mass Movement

Running Water and Groundwater

Glaciers, Deserts, and Wind

Earths Evolution Through Geologic Time

The Ocean Floor

Ocean Water and Ocean Life

The Dynamic Ocean

The Atmosphere: Composition, Structure, and Temperature

Moisture, Clouds, and Precipitation

Air Pressure and Wind

Weather Patterns and Severe Storms

World Climates and Global Climate Change

Origins of Modern Astronomy

Touring Our Solar System

Light, Telescopes, and the Sun

Beyond Our Solar System

Filters

An important absolute dating measure is the decay of ¹⁴⁷Sm to ¹⁴³Nd. What type of radioactive decay is involved in this parent- daughter pair?