Earth's History
Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
____
1. Igneous rocks form from ____ when it cools.
a. magma
c. neither a nor b
b. Lava
d. both a and b
____
2. The longest subdivision in geologic time is a(n) ____.
a. epoch
c. century
b. period
d. eon
____
3. Changes in the environment result in ____.
a. geologic eras
c. plate tectonic changes
b. physical changes in species
d. all of the above
____
4. Cenozoic Era life-forms include ____.
a. humans
b. reptiles
c. marine mammals
d. all of the above
____
5. The development of ____ factored in the development of complex organisms.
a. ozone
c. cyanobacteria
b. oxygen
d. all of the above
____
6. The end of the Paleozoic Era was signaled by ____.
a. the development of humans
b. mass extinction of land and sea animals
c. the development of organisms with hard parts
d. both a and b
____
7. A life-form that evolved during the ____ Era was the dinosaur.
a. Cenozoic
c. Precambrian
b. Mesozoic
d. none of the above
____
8. Little is known about much of Earth’s early history because ____.
a. Precambrian rocks have been deeply buried
b. Precambrian rocks have been changed by heat and pressure
c. Precambrian soft-bodied life-forms weren’t often preserved as fossils
d. all of the above
____
9. If a species can adapt to a changing environment, or ____, its descendants will survive.
a. evolve
c. stay the same
b. become extinct
d. none of the above
____ 10. What time period did Tiktaalik appear on the Earth?
a. Permian
c. Homeobox gene
b. Devonian
d. Penny likes to fetch!
Matching
Match each item with the correct statement below.
a. principle of superposition
b. uniformitarianism
____ 11. states that for undisturbed rocks, the oldest rocks are on the bottom and the rocks become
younger and younger toward the top
____ 12. states that Earth processes today are similar to those that took place in the past
Match each rock type to accurately complete the sentence below:
a. Igneous rock
c. Metamorphic rock
b. Sedimentary rock
____ 13. can melt to form magma.
____ 14. is useful in dating fossils.
____ 15. is formed from volcanic material.
Match each geological times to the description below. A geological times may be used
more than once. One or more geological times may match.
a. Cenozoic
e. Paleozoic
b. Triassics
f. Pennsylvanian
c. Ordovician
g. Mesozoic
d. Archean
h. Proterozoic
____ 16. stromatolites were common
____ 17. Cambrian explosion
____ 18. Ediacaran fauna
____ 19. first land plants
____ 20. dinosaurs evolved
Completion
Complete each statement.
Figure 4
21. Refer to Figure 4. The graph shows radioactive decay of an isotope. It shows that after
two half-lives (2T), the percent of original isotope remaining is ____________________.
Figure 5
22. Refer to Figure 5. At time A, the mountain was 5,000 meters high. Today it is 1,000
meters high. If erosion has proceeded at a constant rate, it was about
____________________ meters high at time B.
True/False
Indicate whether the statement is true or false.
____ 23. One ancient species of bird had a dinosaur-like skeleton with feathers.
____ 24. Precambrian rocks are hard to study because they have been changed by metamorphism.
____ 25. Plate tectonic movements have caused the destruction of much evidence from
Precambrian times.
Modified True/False
Indicate whether the statement is true or false. If false, change the identified word or phrase to
make the statement true.
Figure 7
____ 26. Refer to Figure 7. Layer A is probably the oldest layer. _________________________
____ 27. The first human fossils are found in rocks from the Mesozoic Era.
_________________________
Short Answer
28. How do the absolute and relative ages of rocks differ? Which is more useful to scientists,
and why are both used?
Earth's History
Answer Section
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. ANS: D
PTS: 1
DIF: 1
STA: 7.4.c
2. ANS: D
PTS: 1
DIF: 1
STA: 7.4.a
3. ANS: B
PTS: 1
DIF: 1
STA: 7.3.a
4. ANS: D
PTS: 1
DIF: 1
STA: 7.3.a
5. ANS: D
PTS: 1
DIF: 1
STA: 7.3.a
6. ANS: B
PTS: 1
DIF: 1
STA: 7.3.a
7. ANS: B
PTS: 1
DIF: 1
STA: 7.3.a
8. ANS: D
PTS: 1
DIF: 1
STA: 7.4.a
9. ANS: A
PTS: 1
DIF: 1
STA: 7.3.e
10. ANS: A
PTS: 1
MATCHING
11. ANS: A
PTS: 1
DIF: 1
STA: 7.4.c
12. ANS: B
PTS: 1
DIF: 1
STA: 7.4.a
13. ANS: C
PTS: 1
NOT: What does magma become?
DIF: 3
STA: 7.4.c
14. ANS: B
PTS: 1
NOT: Where are fossils found?
DIF: 3
STA: 7.4.c
15. ANS: A
PTS: 1
NOT: What comes out of volcanoes?
DIF: 3
STA: 7.4.c
16. ANS: D
PTS: 1
NOT: What ate them?
DIF: 3
STA: 7.4.b | 7.4.c | 7.4.g
17. ANS: E
PTS: 1
NOT: When was the Pre-Cambrian?
DIF: 3
STA: 7.4.b | 7.4.c | 7.4.g
18. ANS: H
PTS: 1
DIF: 3
NOT: After what crisis did this happen?
STA: 7.4.b | 7.4.c | 7.4.g
19. ANS: C
PTS: 1
NOT: What did that make possible?
DIF: 3
STA: 7.4.b | 7.4.c | 7.4.g
20. ANS: B
PTS: 1
NOT: What happened then?
DIF: 3
STA: 7.4.b | 7.4.c | 7.4.g
STA: 7.4.d
NOT: What does half-life
COMPLETION
21. ANS: 25
PTS: 1
mean?
DIF: 4
22. ANS: 3,000
PTS: 1
DIF: 4
STA: 7.4.a
NOT: How much has the height changed altogether?
TRUE/FALSE
23. ANS: T
PTS: 1
NOT: What were Archaeopteryx?
DIF: 2
STA: 7.4.e
24. ANS: T
PTS: 1
DIF: 2
NOT: What happens to rocks at the deepest levels?
STA: 7.4.c
25. ANS: T
PTS: 1
DIF: 2
NOT: What happens at subduction zones?
STA: 7.4.f
MODIFIED TRUE/FALSE
26. ANS: F, D
PTS: 1
formed?
DIF: 3
STA: 7.4.c
27. ANS: F, Cenozoic
PTS: 1
DIF: 2
STA: 7.4.e
NOT: What was found in the Mesozoic Era?
SHORT ANSWER
NOT: How are rock layers
28. ANS:
Possible answer: Absolute age is the real age, usually determined by radioactive dating.It
is more accurate than relative age, which is based on comparison with older or younger
rocks or fossils. However, in some cases only relative age can be determined.
PTS: 1
measured?
DIF: 5
STA: 7.4.d | 7.4.e NOT: How is each