Deck 24: Geologic Time

Question 1

Amber is fossilized

A) bone.
B) tree resin.
C) shell.
D) plant.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The earliest evidence of ancient life, blue-green algae, are

A) cyanobacteria.
B) amber.
C) foraminifera.
D) coal.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Sedimentary layer A is found above sedimentary layer B, and the two are separated by a horizontal layer of ash, C. Therefore, the order from oldest to youngest is

A) B, C, A.
B) C, B, A.
C) A, C, B.
D) none of these.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

The oldest evidence of life on Earth dates back to about how many years ago?

A) 65 million
B) 3.8 million
C) 3500 million
D) 570 million

Question 5

Fossilized tree resin is known as

A) coal.
B) amber.
C) opal.
D) stromatolite.

Question 6

Sedimentary layer A lies above sedimentary layer B, and both are cut by an igneous dike, C. Therefore, the order from oldest to youngest is

A) A, B, C.
B) C, B, A.
C) B, A, C.
D) none of these.

Question 7

The largest units of geologic time are the

A) eons.
B) periods.
C) eras.
D) epochs.

Question 8

Eons are divided first into

A) eras.
B) periods.
C) millennia.
D) epochs.

Question 9

The oldest evidence of life on Earth dates back to about how many years ago?

A) 65 million
B) 3.8 million
C) 3.5 billion
D) 570 million

Question 10

The process of matching up rock layers in different localities by such means as index fossils is called

A) conformational analysis.
B) correlation.
C) indexation.
D) cross-cutting.

Question 11

Another name for cyanobacteria, the earliest evidence of ancient life, is

A) blue-green algae.
B) amber.
C) foraminifera.
D) coal.

Question 12

Fossils that are useful in correlating rock layers are called

A) index fossils.
B) trace fossils.
C) range fossils.
D) tracing fossils.

Question 13

Which of the following is not a feature of a good index fossil?

A) Numerous specimens found
B) Occurrence limited to a few localities
C) Easily identified species
D) Limited time span of existence

Question 14

Paleontology is the study of

A) animals.
B) plants.
C) fossils.
D) none of these.

Question 15

Breaks, or gaps, in the rock record at a given locality are called

A) unconformities.
B) preconformities.
C) nonconformities.
D) disconformities.

Question 16

Trace fossils are

A) tracks only.
B) borings only.
C) burrows only.
D) all of the above.

Question 17

The study of fossils is called

A) cryptology.
B) petrology.
C) paleontology.
D) historical biology.

Question 18

Tracks, borings, and burrows are examples of

A) replaced remains.
B) index fossils.
C) trace fossils.
D) microfossils.

Question 19

A group of eras are called a(n)

A) eon.
B) period.
C) millennia.
D) epoch.

Question 20

The smallest units of geologic time are the

A) eons.
B) periods.
C) eras.
D) epochs.

Question 21

The Cretaceous is a(n)

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

Question 22

The Phanerozoic is a(n)

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

Question 23

The Triassic is a(n)

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

Question 24

The Permian is a(n)

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

Question 25

The Jurassic is a(n)

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

Question 26

The Cambrian is a(n)

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

Question 27

Periods are divided into

A) eons.
B) epochs.
C) millennia.
D) eras.

Question 28

The Mesozoic is a(n)

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

Question 29

The Devonian is a(n)

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

Question 30

The Holocene is a(n)

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

Question 31

The Paleocene is a(n)

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

Question 32

The Pliocene is a(n)

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

Question 33

The Quarternary is a(n)

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

Question 34

A number of epochs is called a(n)

A) eon.
B) period.
C) millennia.
D) era.

Question 35

The Paleozoic is a(n)

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

Question 36

The Miocene is a(n)

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

Question 37

Eras are divided first into

A) epochs.
B) millennia.
C) periods.
D) eons.

Question 38

The Pleistocene is a(n)

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

Question 39

A group of periods is called a(n)

A) epoch.
B) millennia.
C) era.
D) eon.

Question 40

The Cenozoic is a(n)

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

Question 41

Geologists have principally used which class of rocks for radiometric dating?

A) Sedimentary
B) Igneous
C) Foliated
D) Metamorphic

Question 42

Potassium-40, one of the six major radionuclides used for radiometric dating, decays to

A) nitrogen.
B) strontium.
C) lead.
D) argon.

Question 43

Geologists have principally used which class of rocks to establish the relative time scale?

A) Igneous
B) Foliated
C) Metamorphic
D) Sedimentary

Question 44

Geologists think that Earth is how old?

A) 4560 billion years
B) 45.6 thousand years
C) 45.6 million years
D) 4.56 billion years

Question 45

Which of the following radionuclides has the shortest half-life?

A) Potassium-40
B) Uranium-238
C) Carbon-14
D) Uranium-235

Question 46

If a rock sample contains uranium and lead, and lead-204 is present, then

A) both radiogenic and primordial lead are present.
B) all the lead is primordial.
C) neither radiologic nor primordial lead is present.
D) all the lead is radiogenic.

Question 47

The Tertiary is a(n)

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

Question 48

The Paleocene is a(n)

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

Question 49

Geology's best tool for establishing absolute geologic time is

A) index fossils.
B) radiometric dating.
C) the principle of superposition.
D) the principle of cross-cutting relationships.

Question 50

If a rock sample contains uranium and lead, but no lead-204 is present, then

A) all the lead is radiogenic.
B) all the lead is primordial.
C) both radiogenic and primordial lead are present.
D) neither radiologic nor primordial lead is present.

Question 51

In Europe, the combined Mississippian and Pennsylvanian periods are known as the

A) Carboniferous.
B) Devonian.
C) Pliocene.
D) Tertiary.

Question 52

Which of the following is a period of the Cenozoic era?

A) Eocene
B) Quaternary
C) Cretaceous
D) Cambrian

Question 53

The Shroud of Turin, the Iceman, and the Dead Sea Scrolls were dated by use of

A) Rubidium-87.
B) Potassium-40.
C) Carbon-14.
D) Uranium-238.

Question 54

The Oligocene is a(n)

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

Question 55

Which of the following radionuclides is used to date once-living material?

A) Rubidium-87
B) Potassium-40
C) Thorium-232
D) Carbon-14

Question 56

Starting with a sample of pure parent radionuclide, what would be the ratio of the parent radionuclide to its daughter after two half-lives have elapsed?

A) 1 to 1
B) 1 to 2
C) 1 to 3
D) 1 to 4

Question 57

The fundamental concept of geology that was developed by James Hutton is

A) radiometric dating.
B) the principle of superposition.
C) the principle of cross-cutting relationships.
D) uniformitarianism.

Question 58

The Eocene is a(n)

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

Question 59

Starting with a sample of pure parent radionuclide, what would be the ratio of the parent radionuclide to its daughter after one half-life has elapsed?

A) 1 to 1
B) 1 to 2
C) 1/2 to 1
D) 2 to 1

Question 60

Which of the following is the era sometimes called the age of reptiles?

A) Mesozoic
B) Paleozoic
C) Cenozoic
D) Phanerozoic

Question 61

The Paleozoic era began about how many million years ago?

A) 65
B) 545
C) 245
D) 3

Question 62

In which of the following eons do we live?

A) Phanerozoic
B) Hadean
C) Proterozoic
D) Archean

Question 63

The Mesozoic era began about how many million years ago?

A) 3
B) 545
C) 245
D) 65

Question 64

Trilobites lived during which era?

A) Paleozoic
B) Cenozoic
C) Mesozoic
D) Archeozoic

Question 65

The Paleozoic era ended with an event called the

A) Chicxulub Impact.
B) Cambrian Explosion.
C) Great Dying.
D) Pangaean Rift.

Question 66

Which epoch is also called the Ice Ages?

A) Permian
B) Holocene
C) Pleistocene
D) Cretaceous

Question 67

The first 87% of geologic time is often called

A) Hadean time.
B) Pangaean time.
C) Precambrian time.
D) Proterozoic time.

Question 68

Which occurrence is associated with the demise of the dinosaurs?

A) The Great Dying
B) The Cambrian explosion
C) The breakup of Pangaea
D) The K-T event

Question 69

The K-T impact is thought to have occurred at what site?

A) Iridium
B) Chicxulub
C) Gubbio
D) Alvarez

Question 70

The term Cambrian explosion refers to

A) an asteroid impact.
B) the breakup of a supercontinent.
C) intense, widespread volcanic activity.
D) a proliferation of life forms.

Question 71

Stromatolites are structures created by

A) algae.
B) brachiopods.
C) sea worms.
D) trilobites.

Question 72

We live in the period called the

A) Cenozoic.
B) Holocene.
C) Ordovician.
D) Quaternary.

Question 73

The oldest known fossils of the genus Homo date from about how long ago?

A) 6000 years
B) 2 million years
C) 10,000 years
D) 65,000 years

Question 74

Which of the following were marine invertebrates that looked like plants and left fossil segments sometimes called "Indian money"?

A) Trilobites
B) Gastropods
C) Crinoids
D) Brachiopods

Question 75

About how long ago was the last retreat of the glaciers from North America and Europe?

A) 60,000 years
B) 10,000 years
C) 2 million years
D) 6000 years

Question 76

We live in the epoch called the

A) Quaternary.
B) Ordovician.
C) Holocene.
D) Cenozoic.

Question 77

Which of the following eons is the oldest?

A) Proterozoic
B) Phanerozoic
C) Hadean
D) Archean

Question 78

The Cenozoic era began about how many million years ago?

A) 65
B) 545
C) 3
D) 245

Question 79

Archaeopteryx fossils are those of a prehistoric

A) bird.
B) crinoid.
C) trilobite.
D) ground sloth.

Question 80

The Holocene epoch began when

A) the glaciers last retreated from North America.
B) a period of intense volcanic activity ended.
C) an asteroid hit Chicxulub.
D) Pangaea began breaking up.