Deck 9: History of Earth

Question 1

The ___ hypothesis explains the evolution of the solar system.

A) planetesimal
B) nebular
C) differentiation

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The outer gaseous planets are made up mostly of which two chemical elements?

A) hydrogen and helium
B) oxygen and helium
C) oxygen and silicon

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which of the following mechanisms did not cause the early Earth to heat up?

A) plate tectonics
B) disintegration of radioactive elements
C) collision of planetesimals with primitive Earth

Answer 3

A

Question 4

The impact energy of a body the size of Mars colliding with Earth is approximately equivalent to several ___ 1-megaton nuclear bombs.

A) million
B) billion
C) trillion

Question 5

Complete the following sentence: In the Sun, nuclear fusion combines ______ to form ____.

A) two helium atoms; one hydrogen atom
B) two hydrogen atoms; one helium atom
C) two carbon atoms; one oxygen atom
D) two oxygen atoms; one helium atom

Question 6

During the formation of our solar system the gravitational attraction of our Sun caused the inner planets in the solar system to grow to much larger size than the outer planets in our solar system.

Question 7

Which of the following planets has a heavy, hot atmosphere?

A) Mars
B) Mercury
C) Venus

Question 8

Earth's Heavy Bombardment period ended about ___ billion years ago.

A) 1
B) 2.5
C) 3.9

Question 9

Which of the following terrestrial planets has the largest radius?

A) Venus
B) Mars
C) Earth

Question 10

Which of the following terrestrial planets has the longest orbital period around the Sun (in Earth days)?

A) Mercury
B) Venus
C) Mars

Question 11

Which of the following characteristics is common to the terrestrial planets?

A) iron-nickel core
B) silicate mantle
C) both an iron-nickel core and silicate mantle

Question 12

Which planet has the oldest surface?

A) Earth
B) Mars
C) Venus

Question 13

The most recent mission to Mars employed ___ to examine its surface.

A) rovers
B) orbiters
C) flybys

Question 14

The sedimentary rocks in the Gulf of Mexico are up to ___ thick.

A) 100 -150 meters
B) 1 -2 kilometer
C) 10 -15 kilometers

Question 15

Which of the following parts of North America contains many terranes accreted to the edge of the continent in the past 200 million years?

A) northeast
B) southeast
C) western

Question 16

What is the general term for the mountain-building process of folding, faulting, magmatism, and metamorphism?

A) diagenesis
B) isostasy
C) orogeny

Question 17

The Appalachian Mountains were formed by the collision of Laurentia and

A) Baltica.
B) Gondwana.
C) Pangaea.

Question 18

Which of the following provinces of North America is described as an "island of stability" as it has not experienced any major tectonic activity since the Precambrian?

A) Basin and Range
B) Colorado Plateau
C) Valley and Ridge

Question 19

-Which region consists of folded and faulted rocks that formed during the Paleozoic era?

A) region A
B) region B
C) region C
D) region D

Question 20

-Which region represents the North American Cordillera?

A) region A
B) region B
C) region C
D) region D

Question 21

-Which region is characterized by flat-lying sedimentary rocks at the surface?

A) region A
B) region B
C) region C
D) region D

Question 22

-Which region contains the thickest sedimentary deposits?

A) region A
B) region C
C) region D
D) region E

Question 23

I. formation of the Main Boundary fault
II. formation of the Main Central thrust
III. collision of the Indian and Eurasian continents
IV. formation of a volcanic arc on southern edge of Eurasia
-Which of events listed above occurred before the collision of India and Eurasia?

A) event I
B) event II
C) event III
D) event IV
E) events I, II, and IV

Question 24

I. formation of the Main Boundary fault
II. formation of the Main Central thrust
III. collision of the Indian and Eurasian continents
IV. formation of a volcanic arc on southern edge of Eurasia
-Which of the following correctly lists the sequence of events that led to the development of the Himalayas?

A) I → II → III
B) III → I → II
C) II → I → III
D) III → II → I

Question 25

Which of the following tectonic provinces formed during the Precambrian Era?

A) Appalachian Mountains
B) Basin and Range province
C) Canadian Shield

Question 26

Which of the following terms describes large exposures of very old, crystalline basement rocks?

A) orogens
B) platforms
C) shields

Question 27

During the metabolic process of photosynthesis, organisms use ___ and ___ from their environment and energy from sunlight to make carbohydrates.

A) water; oxygen
B) carbon dioxide; water
C) oxygen; carbon dioxide

Question 28

In the universal tree of life, which of the following organism belongs to the Eukarya domain?

A) cyanobacteria
B) methanobacterium
C) fungi

Question 29

The oldest chemofossils are ___ Ma.

A) 3700
B) 2700
C) 1700

Question 30

Increasing oxygen concentrations in the Earth's atmosphere is linked to the evolution of

A) fungi.
B) humans.
C) cyanobacteria.

Question 31

The Cambrian explosion is an example of a(n)

A) mass extinction.
B) radiation.
C) extremophile environment.

Question 32

When groups of organisms are unable to adapt to changing environmental conditions, the result is a

A) mass extinction.
B) radiation.
C) biosphere.

Question 33

The extreme imbalance in the Earth system that caused the mass extinction of the Paleocene-Eocene boundary was from the dramatic influx of which greenhouse gas?

A) carbon dioxide
B) sulfur dioxide
C) methane

Question 34

Ancient microbial mats preserved in the rock record are called

A) microbial lamina.
B) stromatolites.
C) globules.

Question 35

The ___ crater is the impact site for the life-altering asteroid that hit the Earth at the end of the Cretaceous.

A) Chicxulub
B) Iridium
C) Cambrian

Question 36

About how long did microbes exist on Earth before the evolution of the first multicellular organisms, according to the geologic record?

A) 1.5 million years
B) 100 million years
C) 2.5 billion years
D) 4 billion years

Question 37

From where did the oxygen in Earth's atmosphere come?

A) volcanic outgassing
B) solar winds
C) weathering of rocks
D) photosynthesis

Question 38

Which of the modern phyla listed originated during the Cambrian explosion?

A) chordata
B) mollusca
C) cnidaria
D) all of these

Question 39

What is the hypothesized cause of the Paleocene-Eocene mass extinction?

A) asteroid impact
B) release of marine methane deposits
C) global cooling from volcanic emissions
D) the formation of Pangaea

Question 40

Which mass extinction event was the largest?

A) Cretaceous-Tertiary mass extinction
B) Paleocene-Eocene mass extinction
C) End Permian mass extinction
D) End Cambrian mass extinction