Earth Science Quiz 1
Directions: Answer all the questions completely.
Total: 37 points
Section I: Multiple Choice
_____1. Which of the following sciences deals with study of the development of earth
through history?
A. Astronomy
B. Oceanography
C. Historical Geology
D. Physical Geology
_____2. Which of the following is not an era?
A. Paleozoic
B. Triassic
C. Mesozoic
D. Cenozoic
_____3. Which of the following is a Period?
A. Precambrian
B. Phanerozoic
C. Cenozoic
D. Mississippian
_____4. Which division in the Geologic Time Scale is the largest?
A. Period
B. Era
C. Eon
D. Epoch
_____5. Which of the following is the oldest period?
A. Cambrian
B. Permian
C. Jurassic
D. Triassic
______6. Put the following units of time in order from the longest to shortest
A. Periods, Epoch, Era, and Eons
B. Epoch, Period, Era, and Eons
C. Eons, Periods, Era, and Epochs
D. Eon, Era, Period, and Epochs
_______7. Human beings (homo sapiens) evolved during which geologic era?
A. Cenozoic
B. Mesozoic
C. Paleozoic
D. Precambrian
Section III: Matching: Match each time interval name with its location
in this simplified geologic time scale record.
Questions 8-14:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Phanerozoic:
Paleozoic:
Quaternary:
Mississippian:
Ordovician:
Jurassic:
Section II: Short Answer
15. What period did the first reptiles appear?______________________
16. What period could be named the “Age of the Mammals”?______________________
17. What period did oxygen start to accumulate in the atmosphere?_________________
18. How many years did the Cretaceous last?___________________________________
19. How many years did the Precambrian last?__________________________________
20. What is the name of the first (oldest) era? __________________________________
21. When did the Cenozoic era begin? ________________________________________
22. When was there extensive coal swamps on our planet? ________________________
23. How many years did the Paleozoic era last?__________________________________
Essay 1: Why did scientists divide the geologic time scale into different
sections? Meaning what is the basis of the divisions. GIVE ME
EXAMPLE (3 points)
Essay 2: Imagine you time-traveled to the Paleozoic era and had to describe to a
friend what you saw ( Plants, Animals Etc.) Write at least 5 sentences describing it.
Be as creative as possible and write incomplete sentences.( 5 points)
Essay 3: Earth’s geologic history has changed greatly over millions of years.
Organisms have evolved to adapt to new environments and mass extinctions have
occurred when environments became too harsh for survival.
A.
Describe the events that occurred at the end of the Cretaceous
Period.
B.
Explain how these events affected life on Earth.
C.
Describe one hypothesis for why these events occurred.(6 points)