Content Benchmark E.8.C.1
Students know sedimentary rocks and fossils provide evidence for changing environments
and the constancy of geologic processes. E/S
Sample Test Questions
1st Item Specification: Understand why most fossils are found in sedimentary rocks.
Depth of Knowledge Level 1
1. Nearly all of the fossils found to date have been found in
A. igneous rocks.
B. metamorphic rocks.
C. sedimentary rocks.
D. volcanic rocks.
2. Shells and bones of animals fossilize well because they
A. contain hard parts.
B. never decompose.
C. have a crystal structure.
D. will melt at high temperatures.
3. Use the diagram of the rock cycle below to answer the question that follows.
(From http://regentsprep.org/Regents/earthsci/rockcycle.htm)
What process must happen to rocks and sediment in order for a sedimentary rock to
form?
A. Melting and solidification
B. Solidification and uplift
C. Heat and pressure
D. Compaction and cementation
Depth of Knowledge Level 2
4. Which statement best explains why fossils are found nearly exclusively in
sedimentary rock?
A. As sediment forms it heats the surrounding environment, causing local organisms
to die.
B. As organisms die they settle into the layers of the sediment and become buried.
C. As sediment settles in the ocean it collides with and traps many organisms, thus
burying them.
D. As organisms die they are quickly broken down into sediment that forms fossils.
5. A student finds a fossil of a fish and concludes that the fossil must be made of
sedimentary rock. What evidence supports the student’s conclusion?
A. Only marine fossils form in sedimentary rock.
B. Sedimentary rocks are soft and fish bones will fossilize well in rock.
C. Nearly all fossils form in sedimentary rock.
D. Fish fossils only form on the shore in sedimentary rocks.
2nd Item Specification: Given examples, identify how fossils and sedimentary rocks
provide evidence of changing environments.
Depth of Knowledge Level 1
6. The presence of limestone rock indicates what past environment?
A. Ocean
B. Mountain
C. Desert
D. Forest
7. Fossils and sedimentary rocks form under specific conditions, so their presence in
certain locations provides evidence for
A. past environments.
B. stationary continents.
C. constant temperatures.
D. magnetic pole reversal.
Depth of Knowledge Level 2
8. The presence of coral fossils in some of Nevada’s bedrock indicates that
A. coral lived on land environments.
B. coral has lived on Earth only in recent times.
C. most of the state of Nevada was once a mountainous region.
D. areas of the state of Nevada were once covered with seas.
9. What would be the most likely explanation if an amphibian fossil were found in
Antarctica?
A. The amphibian swam from its habitat to fossilize in the cold environment.
B. The area must have been a moist and warm environment at one point in time.
C. Amphibians can live in extremely cold environments.
D. The area must be composed of newly formed rock.
3rd Item Specification: Understand rocks are dated by several methods (e.g., the law
of superposition, radiometric dating, and index fossils).
Depth of Knowledge Level 1
10. Several layers of the Earth are exposed. The oldest rock layer is most likely to be
A. at the bottom layer.
B. the thickest layer.
C. the layer with the most fossils.
D. igneous intrusive rock.
11. Use the diagram below showing a geologic cross section of rock layers to answer the
following question.
(From http://facstaff.gpc.edu/~pgore/geology/historical_lab/reldat_exercises.html)
Which layer is most likely the oldest?
A. C
B. G
C. P
D. W
12. The term used to identify a fossil that is produced from an animal that was
geographically widespread, abundant, and lived for a relatively short period of time is
a(n)
A. marine fossil.
B. determining fossil.
C. index fossil.
D. absolute fossil.
Depth of Knowledge Level 2
13. A dolphin bone that originally contained 60 grams of radioactive carbon-14 now
contains 15 grams of carbon-14. How many carbon-14 half-lives have passed since
this whale was alive?
A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4
14. Use the diagram below showing a geologic cross section of rock layers to answer the
following question.
(From http://facstaff.gpc.edu/~pgore/geology/historical_lab/reldat_exercises.html)
What has most likely occurred to the strata after the erosion at point I?
A. Fault A
B. Deposition of layer G
C. Deposition of layer C
D. Intrusion N
Constructed Response E.8.C.1
1. The image of the trilobite fossil below was taken from a rock outcrop. Trilobites were
aquatic animals that became extinct about 260 million years ago. Use the image and
your knowledge of age dating to describe characteristics of the fossil and give
examples of how the fossil could be dated.
Trilobite image of Corynexochida (from http://www.trilobites.info/galcorynexochida.htm)
A. List two ways that the age of the fossil could be determined?
B. Why is this fossil found exclusively in sedimentary rock?
C. Explain how this fossil, of an aquatic animal, could be found in a layer of rock
through a mountain above sea level.
Content Benchmark E.8.C.1
Students know sedimentary rocks and fossils provide evidence for changing environments
and the constancy of geologic processes. E/S
Answers to Sample Question:
1. C, DOK level 1
2. A, DOK level 1
3. D, DOK level 1
4. B, DOK level 2
5. C, DOK level 2
6. A, DOK level 1
7. A, DOK level 1
8. D, DOK level 2
9. B, DOK level 2
10. A, DOK level 1
11. A, DOK level 1
12. C, DOK level 1
13. B, DOK level 2
14. D, DOK level 2
Constructed Response E.8.C.1 Score Rubric:
Response addresses all parts of the question clearly and correctly.
3 points
A. The age of a fossil could be determined by relative age
dating and/or absolute age dating (radiometric age dating).
B. Fossils form through a number of ways, but almost
exclusively they form in sedimentary rock. This particular
fossil is a mold and cast fossil that will only form in
sedimentary rocks. Also, the response could be related to,
“this is a marine organism and the primary location for
sedimentary rock formation occurs in large bodies of
water?”
C. At the time of the trilobite’s death he must have settled into
layers of sediment at the bottom of the ocean. As time
passed and the land masses moved the rock layers that
contained the trilobite must have been uplifted to form the
mountain. Finally, through weathering and erosion, the
fossil was exposed to be seen. The ultimate point is that the
environment must have changed from a seabed to a
mountain.
2 points
Response addresses all parts of the question and includes only minor
errors.
Response does not address all parts of the question.
1 point
Response is totally incorrect or no response provided.
0 points