Question 1

The first life on Earth developed during the Cambrian period.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False  False

Question 2

What is the definition of a half-life?

Accepted Answer

A) The parent isotope half of a radiometric dating pair 
B) Half the time it takes for the parent isotope to decay to the daughter 
C) The time it takes for half of the parent isotope to decay to the daughter 
D) Half of the alpha particles necessary to decay at a steady rate 
A) The parent isotope half of a radiometric dating pair 
B) Half the time it takes for the parent isotope to decay to the daughter 
C) The time it takes for half of the parent isotope to decay to the daughter 
D) Half of the alpha particles necessary to decay at a steady rate C

Question 3

What is stratigraphic correlation?

Accepted Answer

A) Dividing up rock layers into new ones based on mineral content 
B) Matching up rocks of similar age in different regions 
C) Putting events in order from first to last 
D) Matching up continental coasts based on matching shapes 
A) Dividing up rock layers into new ones based on mineral content 
B) Matching up rocks of similar age in different regions 
C) Putting events in order from first to last 
D) Matching up continental coasts based on matching shapes B

Question 4

Which of the following best describes the principle of faunal succession?

Accepted Answer

A) Rock layers will extend equally in all directions until they pinch out or reach the edge of a basin. 
B) Fossil organisms succeed one another in a specific and identifiable order. 
C) Only the most successful organisms will survive climatic extremes. 
D) Faults are younger than the materials they cut across. 
A) Rock layers will extend equally in all directions until they pinch out or reach the edge of a basin. 
B) Fossil organisms succeed one another in a specific and identifiable order. 
C) Only the most successful organisms will survive climatic extremes. 
D) Faults are younger than the materials they cut across.

Question 5

What is the ultimate source for naturally occurring carbon-14?

Accepted Answer

A) Cosmic ray collisions and neutron capture involving nitrogen 
B) Dissolution of carbonate rocks 
C) Decay of unstable parent isotopes to create a stable carbon-14 
D) Volcanic eruption and emission of greenhouse gases 
A) Cosmic ray collisions and neutron capture involving nitrogen 
B) Dissolution of carbonate rocks 
C) Decay of unstable parent isotopes to create a stable carbon-14 
D) Volcanic eruption and emission of greenhouse gases

Question 6

Which two conditions are the most important in order for an organism to become fossilized?

Accepted Answer

A) Rapid death and oxygen-free environment 
B) Rapid burial and possession of hard parts 
C) Rapid mineralization and rapid desiccation 
D) Rapid decay and possession of soft tissues 
A) Rapid death and oxygen-free environment 
B) Rapid burial and possession of hard parts 
C) Rapid mineralization and rapid desiccation 
D) Rapid decay and possession of soft tissues

Question 7

Which of the following is an example of a relative date?

Accepted Answer

A) The Cenozoic era began sixty-five million years ago. 
B) A headstone in a cemetery has the date a person died. 
C) The Declaration of Independence was written in 1776. 
D) The Silurian period came before the Devonian period. 
A) The Cenozoic era began sixty-five million years ago. 
B) A headstone in a cemetery has the date a person died. 
C) The Declaration of Independence was written in 1776. 
D) The Silurian period came before the Devonian period.

Question 8

For what reason might the nuclei of atoms break apart in radioactivity?

Accepted Answer

A) There are too many neutrons in the nucleus. 
B) Electrons are being shared by two adjacent atoms. 
C) Forces that bind protons and neutrons together are weak. 
D) Protons are being exchanged between atoms. 
A) There are too many neutrons in the nucleus. 
B) Electrons are being shared by two adjacent atoms. 
C) Forces that bind protons and neutrons together are weak. 
D) Protons are being exchanged between atoms.

Question 9

Compare and contrast the three common types of radioactive decay: alpha particle decay, beta particle decay, electron capture.Your answer should include how the atomic mass and the atomic number of the isotope have changed.

Accepted Answer

Alpha decay - An alpha particle of 2 pro

Question 10

Which era are we currently in?

Accepted Answer

A) Mesozoic 
B) Precambrian 
C) Paleozoic 
D) Cenozoic 
A) Mesozoic 
B) Precambrian 
C) Paleozoic 
D) Cenozoic

Question 11

In radioactive decay, an unstable ________ isotope will decay into a stable ________ isotope.

Accepted Answer

A) ion; carbon 
B) parent; daughter 
C) daughter; parent 
D) neutron; ionized 
A) ion; carbon 
B) parent; daughter 
C) daughter; parent 
D) neutron; ionized

Question 12

Hadean is an informal term used by many geologists to refer to the earliest interval of Earth's history.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 13

Which rock layer is the youngest in this image?

Accepted Answer

The answer of   Which rock layer is the...

Question 14

When rocks are ________, several adjacent layers were deposited without interruption.

Accepted Answer

A) included 
B) dissolved 
C) conformable 
D) cross-cut 
A) included 
B) dissolved 
C) conformable 
D) cross-cut

Question 15

The fossil record is biased toward preserving organisms with hard parts.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 16

What is an index fossil?

Accepted Answer

A) An organism that existed for a vast period of time and is representative of an era 
B) An organisms that is restricted to one small, geographic setting 
C) A trace fossil that defines a colony of organisms 
D) An organism that was geographically widespread but limited to a short span of geologic time 
A) An organism that existed for a vast period of time and is representative of an era 
B) An organisms that is restricted to one small, geographic setting 
C) A trace fossil that defines a colony of organisms 
D) An organism that was geographically widespread but limited to a short span of geologic time

Question 17

What is the definition of an inclusion?

Accepted Answer

A) A fossil of an organism that existed for a short period of geologic time 
B) A fragment of one rock unit enclosed in another rock unit 
C) An unstable isotope decaying into a stable form 
D) A fault bisecting a layer of rock 
A) A fossil of an organism that existed for a short period of geologic time 
B) A fragment of one rock unit enclosed in another rock unit 
C) An unstable isotope decaying into a stable form 
D) A fault bisecting a layer of rock

Question 18

________ is the scientific study of fossils.

Accepted Answer

A) Quaternary geology 
B) Volcanology 
C) Geomorphology 
D) Paleontology 
A) Quaternary geology 
B) Volcanology 
C) Geomorphology 
D) Paleontology

Question 19

A Devonian-aged limestone contains fossils of brachiopods and bryozoans.What do these fossils indicate about the environment during the Devonian period?

Accepted Answer

A) Arid desert 
B) Coastal swamp 
C) Delta 
D) Shallow marine 
A) Arid desert 
B) Coastal swamp 
C) Delta 
D) Shallow marine

Question 20

What is a fossil assemblage?

Accepted Answer

A) A fossil that is geographically widespread but limited to a short span of geologic time 
B) A fossil that is very common and existed for a long period of geologic time 
C) A group of fossils used to establish the age of a rock unit 
D) Fossil organisms that have survived multiple geologic eras 
A) A fossil that is geographically widespread but limited to a short span of geologic time 
B) A fossil that is very common and existed for a long period of geologic time 
C) A group of fossils used to establish the age of a rock unit 
D) Fossil organisms that have survived multiple geologic eras

Exam 9: Geologic Time

The first life on Earth developed during the Cambrian period.

What is the definition of a half-life?

What is stratigraphic correlation?

Which of the following best describes the principle of faunal succession?

What is the ultimate source for naturally occurring carbon-14?

Which two conditions are the most important in order for an organism to become fossilized?

Which of the following is an example of a relative date?

For what reason might the nuclei of atoms break apart in radioactivity?

Compare and contrast the three common types of radioactive decay: alpha particle decay, beta particle decay, electron capture.Your answer should include how the atomic mass and the atomic number of the isotope have changed.

Which era are we currently in?

In radioactive decay, an unstable ________ isotope will decay into a stable ________ isotope.

Hadean is an informal term used by many geologists to refer to the earliest interval of Earth's history.

Which rock layer is the youngest in this image?

When rocks are ________, several adjacent layers were deposited without interruption.

The fossil record is biased toward preserving organisms with hard parts.

What is an index fossil?

What is the definition of an inclusion?

________ is the scientific study of fossils.

A Devonian-aged limestone contains fossils of brachiopods and bryozoans.What do these fossils indicate about the environment during the Devonian period?

What is a fossil assemblage?

An Introduction to Geology

Plate Tectonics: a Scientific Revolution Unfolds

Matter and Minerals

Magma, Igneous Rocks, and Intrusive Activity

Volcanoes and Volcanic Hazards

Weathering and Soil

Sedimentary Rocks

Metamorphism and Metamorphic Rocks

Crustal Deformation

Earthquakes

Earths Interior

Divergent Boundaries

Convergent Boundaries

Mass Wasting

Running Water

Groundwater

Glaciers and Glaciation

Deserts and Winds

Shorelines

Global Climate Change

Earths Evolution Through Geologic Time

Energy and Mineral Resources

Touring Our Solar System

Filters

In radioactive decay, an unstable isotope will decay into a stable isotope.