Download QUIZ 3, Qtr

QUIZ 3, Qtr. 3, Integrated Science - Geologic Time
1. Please fill in the following letter on your quiz. A
2. The principle of uniformitarianism was proposed by geologist ____________.
a. John Wesley Powell
c. William Smith
b. James Hutton
d. Alfred Wegener
3. Uniformitarianism is the premise that __________.
a. geologic processes today are the same as in the past
b. Earth never changes
c. the continents drifted
d. lower undisturbed rock layers are older
4. If arid, windy conditions near eroding mountains create sand dunes today, evidence of ancient
sand dunes in the rock record suggests the environment then was _______________________.
a. warmer and moister than today
b. arid and windy, with nearby mountains
c. unknown to us today
d. cooler and wetter than today
5. Assuming that a Jurassic shoreline was produced by similar processes to shorelines today is an
example of the reasoning that enables geologists to _______________.
a. draw conclusions about ancient climate and landforms
b. make no inferences, because we do not really know
c. learn more about planet formation
d. distinguish a principle from a theory
6. If rock layers are undisturbed, the ______ layer is at the bottom.
a. oldest
c. intrusive
b. youngest
d. unknown
7. Which of the following is NOT a geologic process that can disturb rock layers?
a. earthquakes along earthquake faults
b. sedimentation
c. magma intrusion from below, melting existing rock
d. uplift, with resulting erosion creating an unconformity
8. The top rock layer in undisturbed sedimentary layers is the _________.
a. oldest
c. unknown
b. intrusive
d. youngest, that is, most recent
9. Scientists conclude that the evidence indicates Earth is about _________ years old.
a. 4.65 billion
c. 13.75 billion
b. 4.65 million
d. 6000
10. On our geologic timeline, the shortest unit of geologic time is called a(n) _______.
a. period
b. eon
c. era
d. epoch
11. The longest unit of geologic time on our timeline is called a(n) _______.
a. era
b. eon
c. period
12. The correct order of geologic time units, from shortest to longest, is ___________.
a. epoch, period, era, eon
b. period, epoch, era, eon
c. era, epoch, eon, period
d. eon, epoch, period, era
d. epoch
13. Periods are defined by _______________.
a. the length of time they last
b. lifeforms that were abundant or became extinct during the time specific rocks were
deposited
c. the ancient climate
d. the type of rock layers found in them
14. The most recent period is the ___________.
a. Quaternary
b. Jurassic
c. Precambrian
d. Cretaceous
15. Relative-age dating of rocks allows scientists to determine________.
a. the actual age of the rock formation
b. whether the rocks are older or younger than other rock layers
c. the radioactivity of the rocks
d. the age of the Earth
16. Absolute-age dating, in contrast, is determination of the ___________ of geologic samples.
a. age compared to neighboring formations
b. actual age
c. isotope radioactivity
d. correlation
17. Which of the following is used to determine the absolute age of a sample?
a. radiometric dating
c. relative-age dating
b. permineralization
d. correlation
18. Radioactive decay of isotopes in rocks or ancient, formerly living organisms can be compared
using the ratio of parent isotopes to daughter decay products in a process called _________.
a. correlation
c. permineralization
b. relative-age dating
d. radiometric dating
19. The half-life of a radioactive isotope is _____________.
a. the length of time when half of the sample decays to its daughter products
b. the time it takes for all the sample to decay
c. the same for all radioactive isotopes
d. impossible to accurately determine
20. Index fossils are useful to geologists if the organisms ___________.
a. are not easily recognized
b. lived over a short period of time (went extinct fast)
c. were not widely distributed geographically
d. were scarce
21. Scientists use index fossils to ________.
a. provide absolute dates for a rock layer
b. aid radiometric dating
c. permit relative dating and correlation of rock layers
d. study extinction processes
22. Earth was formed by _______________.
a. supernovas
b. accretion, the repeated collisions of asteroid-sized debris
c. masses of cold hydrogen and helium
d. collisions with large galaxies