Question 1

The time equivalence of strata is determined by ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  correlation of unusual lithologies 
B)  correlation of key beds 
C)  correlation of fossils 
D)  lateral tracing 
E)  superposition 
A)  correlation of unusual lithologies 
B)  correlation of key beds 
C)  correlation of fossils 
D)  lateral tracing 
E)  superposition C

Question 2

What is the approximate length of time preserved in Grand Canyon rocks?

Accepted Answer

A)  10,000 years 
B)  100,000 years 
C)  1 million years 
D)  1 billion years 
E)  10 billion years 
A)  10,000 years 
B)  100,000 years 
C)  1 million years 
D)  1 billion years 
E)  10 billion years D

Question 3

What fact makes radiocarbon dating possible?

Accepted Answer

Life forms stop accumulating carbon 14 when they die.

Question 4

The principle of ____________________ states that rock layers extend laterally in all directions unless or until they terminate in one of a number of natural means.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The principle of ____________________ states that rock...

Question 5

Why is it necessary to employ lithologic and fossil correlation to establish a relative sequence of geologic time?

Accepted Answer

Most bodies of rock cannot be recognized

Question 6

Prior to the discovery of radioactivity in the late ______ century,geologists were able to develop a(n)____________________ geologic time scale.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Prior to the discovery of radioactivity in...

Question 7

A body of rock that is intruded by another rock must be ____________________ in age than the intrusion.

Accepted Answer

The answer of A body of rock that is intruded...

Question 8

If an isotope has a half-life of 50 million years,and 1/8 of the sample remaining consists of that isotope,what is the age of the rock from which it was taken?

Accepted Answer

A)  400 million years 
B)  300 million years 
C)  150 million years 
D)  800 million years 
E)  none of these 
A)  400 million years 
B)  300 million years 
C)  150 million years 
D)  800 million years 
E)  none of these

Question 9

What is the principle of superposition,and what is its importance? Who is credited with discovering it?

Accepted Answer

In an undisturbed succession of sediment

Question 10

A fossil that is particularly useful for correlation is an evolutionary fossil.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 11

What types of deposits are considered marker beds? What is the importance of a marker bed?

Accepted Answer

Marker beds include unusual lithologies

Question 12

The geologic time scale was initially put together by

Accepted Answer

A)  radiometric dating and correlation. 
B)  superposition, fossil succession and correlation. 
C)  lithostratigraphy and biostratigraphy. 
D)  carbon-14 age dating and lithostratigraphy. 
A)  radiometric dating and correlation. 
B)  superposition, fossil succession and correlation. 
C)  lithostratigraphy and biostratigraphy. 
D)  carbon-14 age dating and lithostratigraphy.

Question 13

Fossils cannot usually be dated directly because they are not composed of minerals that naturally contain radioactive isotopes.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 14

What principle states that in an undisturbed succession of sedimentary rocks,the oldest layer is at the bottom and the youngest is at the top?

Accepted Answer

A)  principle of cross-cutting relationships 
B)  principle of inclusions 
C)  principle of fossil succession 
D)  principle of uniformitarianism 
E)  principle of superposition 
A)  principle of cross-cutting relationships 
B)  principle of inclusions 
C)  principle of fossil succession 
D)  principle of uniformitarianism 
E)  principle of superposition

Question 15

Biostratigraphic units are defined by fossil content.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 16

____________________ dating is used to obtain absolute age dates.

Accepted Answer

The answer of ____________________ dating is used to obtain absolute...

Question 17

Why don't the sources of uncertainty in radiometric dating invalidate or lend suspicion to the results obtained?

Accepted Answer

The geologic conditions that can produce

Question 18

Once the concept of a linear time and history were established,the earliest estimates of Earth's age were based on ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  inference from the Bible 
B)  inference from the rates of observable geologic processes 
C)  direct statements from the Bible 
D)  faith 
E)  none of these 
A)  inference from the Bible 
B)  inference from the rates of observable geologic processes 
C)  direct statements from the Bible 
D)  faith 
E)  none of these

Question 19

Time-stratigraphic units are units of rock sharing a specific lithology.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 20

Fragments of a rock that are contained in a layer of another rock must be ____________________ in age than the layer of rock which surrounds them.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Fragments of a rock that are contained...

Exam 17: Geologic Time: Concepts and Principles

The time equivalence of strata is determined by ____.

What is the approximate length of time preserved in Grand Canyon rocks?

What fact makes radiocarbon dating possible?

The principle of ____________________ states that rock layers extend laterally in all directions unless or until they terminate in one of a number of natural means.

Why is it necessary to employ lithologic and fossil correlation to establish a relative sequence of geologic time?

Prior to the discovery of radioactivity in the late ______ century,geologists were able to develop a(n)____________________ geologic time scale.

A body of rock that is intruded by another rock must be ____________________ in age than the intrusion.

If an isotope has a half-life of 50 million years,and 1/8 of the sample remaining consists of that isotope,what is the age of the rock from which it was taken?

What is the principle of superposition,and what is its importance? Who is credited with discovering it?

A fossil that is particularly useful for correlation is an evolutionary fossil.

What types of deposits are considered marker beds? What is the importance of a marker bed?

The geologic time scale was initially put together by

Fossils cannot usually be dated directly because they are not composed of minerals that naturally contain radioactive isotopes.

What principle states that in an undisturbed succession of sedimentary rocks,the oldest layer is at the bottom and the youngest is at the top?

Biostratigraphic units are defined by fossil content.

____________________ dating is used to obtain absolute age dates.

Why don't the sources of uncertainty in radiometric dating invalidate or lend suspicion to the results obtained?

Once the concept of a linear time and history were established,the earliest estimates of Earth's age were based on ____.

Time-stratigraphic units are units of rock sharing a specific lithology.

Fragments of a rock that are contained in a layer of another rock must be ____________________ in age than the layer of rock which surrounds them.

Understanding Earth: A Dynamic and Evolving Planet

Plate Tectonics: A Unifying Theory

Minerals The Building Blocks of Rocks

Igneous Rocks and Plutons

Volcanoes and Volcanism

Weathering, Erosion, and Soil

Sediment and Sedimentary Rocks

Metamorphism and Metamorphic Rocks

Earthquakes and Earth's Interior

Deformation,Mountain Building,and Earth's Crust

Mass Wasting

Running Water Streams and Rivers

Groundwater

Glaciers and Glaciation

The Work of Wind and Deserts

Oceans, Shorelines, and Shoreline Processes

Organic Evolution The Theory and Its Supporting Evidence

Precambrian Earth and Life History

Paleozoic Earth History

Paleozoic Life History

Mesozoic Earth and Life History

Cenozoic Earth and Life History

Geology in Perspective

Filters

Prior to the discovery of radioactivity in the late century,geologists were able to develop a(n)______________ geologic time scale.