GEOL 1404
Fall 2010
Final Exam Review - Part I
Comprehensive Review Topics - Approximately 25% of the final examination will cover the
following concepts:
1. Domains and kingdoms of life and the differences between them
2. Distinction between body and trace fossils
3. Conditions favoring fossil preservation
4. Characteristics of good index fossils, with examples from the Phanerozoic Eon
5. Major differences between Precambrian and Paleozoic organisms
6. First appearance and ancestors for multicellular life, fishes, land plants, amphibians, reptiles,
mammals, and birds
7. Dominant early, middle, and late Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic reef-building organisms
8. Timing and potential causes for mass extinctions during earth history
9. Relationship between geologic time periods and time-rock systems
10. General methodology for relative and radiometric dating
11. Causes and impact of changes in the amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
12. Use of oxygen isotopes to interpret paleoclimate
13. Changes in the chemistry of the oceans during Earth history
14. Timing, evidence for, and impact of major continental glaciations during Earth history
15. Formation and break-up of supercontinents during Earth history
16. Types of geologic evidence for ancient subduction zones and orogenies
17. Major types of sedimentary deposition in the Paleozoic epicontinental seas in North America
18. General steps involved in the scientific method
Topics Since the Last Midterm Exam - - Approximately 75% of the final exam will cover
concepts and key terms listed below and on the second review sheet.
Geologic Timescale
1. Periods for the Mesozoic and Cenozoic Eras
2. Five epochs of the Tertiary Period used in North America
3. Two epochs of the Cenozoic Era used in Europe
Field Trip (Guidebook and notes)
1. Walnut Formation
a. Rock types and source(s) of the sediment
b. Diversity of fossil types and their significance
c. Depositional environment
d. Origin and significance of celestine crystals
2. Eagle Ford Formation
a. Rock type and types of fossils
b. Depositional environment
3. McKown Formation (Austin Group)
a. Rock type and source(s) of the sedimentary grains
b. Significance of the graded bed of altered volcanic rock fragments
c. Depositional environment
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4. Nature, timing, and origin for Pilot Knob volcanism
5. Balcones Fault Zone
a. Type and orientation of the faults
b. Associated geologic structures
6. Major geographic features associated with the Early Cretaceous (Walnut Formation) and Late
Cretaceous (Del Rio Formation., Buda Formation, Eagle Ford Formation, Austin Group)
paleogeography of Texas
Chapter 16 - Early Mesozoic Era
1. Deposits produced by microorganisms in early Mesozoic seas
2. Dominant types Triassic and Jurassic land plants
3. Dominant early Mesozoic marine invertebrate animals, including reef builders
4. Two major groups of dinosaurs - the ways that they can be told apart and their lifestyles
5. Evolution of Triassic and Jurassic reptiles with examples of convergent and adaptive radiation
6. Basic differences between reptiles and mammals
7. Evolution of birds
8. Timing, tectonic features, and rock types associated with the breakup of Pangaea
9. Nature of Triassic and Jurassic sedimentation in the eastern and western United States
10. Evidence for Triassic and Jurassic climatic conditions in western North America
11. Nature and timing of the Sonoma and Nevadan orogenies
12. Stratigraphic formations associated with the Nevadan subduction zone, forearc basin, and
magmatic arc
13. Cause for the return of epicontinental seas to the North American craton in the Jurassic
Key Terms
ammonoid
Archaeopteryx
Chinle Formation
coccolith
cycad
dinoflagellate
dinosauromorph
endothermic and ectothermic
exotic terranes
foreland basin
gas hydrate
hexacoral
Louann Salt
methane
Morrison Formation
Navaho Sandstone
Nevadan orogeny
Newark Group
ornithischian
Pangaea
pterosaur
saurischian
sauropod
therapsid
theropod
Sonoma orogeny
Sundance Sea
Chapter 17 - The Cretaceous World
1. Three most important groups of photosynthetic marine plankton
2. Invertebrate groups that diversified during the Cretaceous Period
3. Location and origin of Cretaceous chalks
4. Reasons that angiosperms have been more successful than gymnosperms
5. Significance of Cretaceous flying reptiles
6. Difference between Cretaceous and Holocene bird faunas
7. Characterize Cretaceous mammals
8. Location and timing of major Cretaceous seas
9. Sedimentation differences between eastern and western sides of the Western Interior
Seaway
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10. Characteristic Cretaceous sedimentation on the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains, Western
Interior Seaway and West Coast of the conterminous U.S.
11. Continents that separated from Gondwanaland during Cretaceous time
12. Timing and cause for the highest Phanerozoic sea-level stand
13. Relationship between seawater chemistry, marine shell composition, and sea-floor spreading
14. Nature of and evidence for Cretaceous climate
15. Cause(s) for the widespread distribution of Cretaceous black shale
16. Evidence for, location, and probable effects of an asteroid impact at the K-T boundary
17. Major groups of organisms that became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous Period
18. Location, timing and plate tectonic causes for the Sevier orogeny
Key Terms
angiosperm
Chicxulub impact structure
Cordillera
diatom
duck-billed dinosaur
foraminifera
Franciscan mélange
iridium anomaly
K-T boundary
magnesium-calcium ratio
microspherule
mososaur
Mowry Sea
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Niobrara Chalk
rudist
Sevier orogeny
shocked grains
Tethys Seaway
Western Interior Seaway