Download review packet

1. Which of the following statements is true?
A.
B.
C.
D.
The Earth's surface has not changed over time.
The Earth is exactly the same as it was millions of years ago.
The Earth's continents have not changed over time, but some islands have formed.
The Earth has evolved over time.
2. If old mountains are worn down over the course of millions of years, what is one of the
primary reasons that mountains still exist?
A.
B.
C.
D.
New mountains are created from decomposition of plants and animals.
New mountains are created from leaf litter.
New mountains are created through tectonic and volcanic activity.
New mountains are created through city development.
3. The sizes, shapes, and positions of Earth's continents and oceans are changed by
A. lithospheric plate motion.
B. very strong ocean currents.
C. continental drift.
D. global wind belts.
4. Which of the following is true about the lithospheric plates?
A. they move occasionally
B. they constantly move
C. they never move
D. they move annually
5. The Earth, the Sun, and the rest of the solar system are almost unimaginably old when viewed
on a human time scale. While modern humans first evolved approximately 200,000 years ago,
the age of the Earth, the Sun, and the rest of the solar system is approximately _______ years.
A. 4.6 million
B. 100,000
C. 200,000
D. 4.6 billion
6. What does the process of absolute dating determine?
A. the order in which rock layers formed
B. the age of a rock based on what layer it is in
C. the age of a rock based on what fossils are in it
D. a numerical value for the age of a rock
7. Which of the following can help scientists estimate geologic time?
A. observing rock sequences
B. radiometric dating
C. comparing fossils
D. all of these
9. When fossils or minerals form, certain unstable elements are sometimes locked into them. The
proportion of these unstable elements gradually decreases over time as they decay into other
materials in a predictable way. Scientists use the rate at which such unstable elements decay to
determine when the fossils or minerals formed.
The technique described above is known as as
A. the law of estimation.
B. radioactive dating.
C. the law of superposition.
D. fossil fusion.
10. Although the Earth's crust formed relatively early in the Earth's history, it was not present
when the Earth first began to form. Also, plate tectonics has recycled the Earth's crust throughout
most of its history.
Using this information, what can be concluded about the age of the Earth if the oldest known
rocks in the Earth's crust are 4.28 billion years old?
A. The Earth is exactly 4.28 million years old.
B. The Earth is older than 4.28 billion years.
C. The Earth is exactly 4.28 billion years old.
D. The Earth is younger than 4.28 billion years.