Question 1

Did the dinosaurs walk on Pangea?

Accepted Answer

A) Yes, some of them did, because Pangea did not break up until the Jurassic Period. 
B) No, Pangea broke apart at the end of the Permian before dinosaurs evolved. 
C) Yes, Pangea formed in the Permian and broke apart at the end of the Cretaceous. 
D) Yes, the meteorite impact that killed the dinosaurs was responsible for breaking up Pangea. 
A) Yes, some of them did, because Pangea did not break up until the Jurassic Period. 
B) No, Pangea broke apart at the end of the Permian before dinosaurs evolved. 
C) Yes, Pangea formed in the Permian and broke apart at the end of the Cretaceous. 
D) Yes, the meteorite impact that killed the dinosaurs was responsible for breaking up Pangea.

Question 2

What is an epicontinental sea? Why might an epicontinental sea form and retreat?

Accepted Answer

Epicontinental seas are shallow seas tha

Question 3

Fossil succession is the idea that life evolves over time and that once a species goes extinct, it does not reappear. Is this an example of unidirectional change or cyclic change? Why?

Accepted Answer

Unidirectional change involves transform

Question 4

Stromatolites are layered structures produced by the activity of

Accepted Answer

A) dinosaurs. 
B) methanogens. 
C) cyanobacteria 
D) green algae. 
A) dinosaurs. 
B) methanogens. 
C) cyanobacteria 
D) green algae.

Question 5

The Hadean was a time in Earth history when

Accepted Answer

A) the first abundant shelly organisms appeared in the fossil record. 
B) Earth's interior was so hot that a solid outer crust was quickly remelted. 
C) stable continental interiors, termed cratons, first formed. 
D) the dinosaurs appeared and came to dominate large-scale terrestrial life. 
A) the first abundant shelly organisms appeared in the fossil record. 
B) Earth's interior was so hot that a solid outer crust was quickly remelted. 
C) stable continental interiors, termed cratons, first formed. 
D) the dinosaurs appeared and came to dominate large-scale terrestrial life.

Question 6

Using the chart of transgressions and regressions below, when was sea level the highest?

Accepted Answer

A)  Ordovician 
B)  Carboniferous 
C) Jurassic 
D) Cretaceous 
A)  Ordovician 
B)  Carboniferous 
C) Jurassic 
D) Cretaceous

Question 7

What caused the buildup of oxygen in the atmosphere at roughly 2.5 Ga?

Accepted Answer

Photosynthetic organisms produ

Question 8

Chalk rock contains many tiny plankton shells. This is evidence of which depositional environment?

Accepted Answer

A) river 
B) forest 
C) ocean 
D) desert 
A) river 
B) forest 
C) ocean 
D) desert

Question 9

Which of the following would be considered evidence for an orogeny?

Accepted Answer

A)  folded strata 
B)  normal faulting 
C) disconformities 
D) continental rifting 
A)  folded strata 
B)  normal faulting 
C) disconformities 
D) continental rifting

Question 10

The fossil fish Tiktaalik made headlines in 2005 because it

Accepted Answer

A) was preserved with a hook in its mouth and is the oldest evidence of human fishing. 
B) was the largest shark ever recovered from the fossil record. 
C) represents a transitional form between lobe-finned fish and terrestrial vertebrates. 
D) was found alive in the modern deep ocean; previously, the fish was thought to be extinct. 
A) was preserved with a hook in its mouth and is the oldest evidence of human fishing. 
B) was the largest shark ever recovered from the fossil record. 
C) represents a transitional form between lobe-finned fish and terrestrial vertebrates. 
D) was found alive in the modern deep ocean; previously, the fish was thought to be extinct.

Question 11

At times in Earth's history, large regions of continental interiors became flooded with shallow seas, known as __________ seas.

Accepted Answer

A) epeirogenic 
B) epicontinental 
C) Tethys 
D) Iapetus 
A) epeirogenic 
B) epicontinental 
C) Tethys 
D) Iapetus

Question 12

Banded iron formations (BIFs) show evidence of an

Accepted Answer

A) oxygen-poor atmosphere because all of the oxygen was dissolved into the oceans and then precipitated as iron-oxide minerals. 
B) acidic ocean that forced iron to bond with the oxygen in the water to form iron-oxide minerals. 
C) oxygen-poor ocean because all the oxygen was trapped in the iron-oxide minerals that make up the formation. 
D) oxygen-rich atmosphere that forced the oceans to become oxidizing and precipitate iron-oxide minerals. 
A) oxygen-poor atmosphere because all of the oxygen was dissolved into the oceans and then precipitated as iron-oxide minerals. 
B) acidic ocean that forced iron to bond with the oxygen in the water to form iron-oxide minerals. 
C) oxygen-poor ocean because all the oxygen was trapped in the iron-oxide minerals that make up the formation. 
D) oxygen-rich atmosphere that forced the oceans to become oxidizing and precipitate iron-oxide minerals.

Question 13

Continental crust was only able to form once Earth's temperature had cooled enough for partial melting of the mantle to occur and produce basalt that was buoyant enough to stay afloat. Before this point, small rafts of thin crust formed and remelted in a continuous cycle. What was the composition of these rafts?

Accepted Answer

A) mafic 
B) ultramafic 
C) felsic 
D) intermediate 
A) mafic 
B) ultramafic 
C) felsic 
D) intermediate

Question 14

The supercontinent Rodinia assembled during the __________ , and the supercontinent Pangaea assembled during the __________ .

Accepted Answer

A)  Hadean Eon; Archean Eon 
B)  Archean Eon; Proterozoic Eon 
C) Proterozoic Eon; Paleozoic Era 
D) Paleozoic Era; Mesozoic Era 
A)  Hadean Eon; Archean Eon 
B)  Archean Eon; Proterozoic Eon 
C) Proterozoic Eon; Paleozoic Era 
D) Paleozoic Era; Mesozoic Era

Question 15

A __________ change in the Earth system repeats the same steps over and over, though not necessarily with the same results or at the same rate.

Accepted Answer

A)  catastrophic 
B)  periodic 
C) gradual 
D) cyclic 
A)  catastrophic 
B)  periodic 
C) gradual 
D) cyclic

Question 16

Why have some researchers suggested the use of the term Anthropocene?

Accepted Answer

Some researches have suggested the use o

Question 17

Where would you be most likely to see a piece of the earliest continental crust?

Accepted Answer

A) southern California 
B)  Iceland 
C) the ocean floor 
D) central Canada 
A) southern California 
B)  Iceland 
C) the ocean floor 
D) central Canada

Question 18

According to the graph below, continental crust was mostly done forming by

Accepted Answer

A) the mid-Archean. 
B) roughly 1 Ma. 
C) roughly 4.5 Ga. 
D) the early Proterozoic. 
A) the mid-Archean. 
B) roughly 1 Ma. 
C) roughly 4.5 Ga. 
D) the early Proterozoic.

Question 19

Cells that have a nucleus are called __________ life.

Accepted Answer

A) prokaryotic 
B) eukaryotic 
C) archaea 
D) flagellum 
A) prokaryotic 
B) eukaryotic 
C) archaea 
D) flagellum

Question 20

Dinosaurs first appeared during the _________ Period.

Accepted Answer

A) Cambrian 
B) Devonian 
C) Permian 
D) Triassic 
A) Cambrian 
B) Devonian 
C) Permian 
D) Triassic

Exam 10: A Biography of Earth

Did the dinosaurs walk on Pangea?

What is an epicontinental sea? Why might an epicontinental sea form and retreat?

Fossil succession is the idea that life evolves over time and that once a species goes extinct, it does not reappear. Is this an example of unidirectional change or cyclic change? Why?

Stromatolites are layered structures produced by the activity of

The Hadean was a time in Earth history when

Using the chart of transgressions and regressions below, when was sea level the highest?

What caused the buildup of oxygen in the atmosphere at roughly 2.5 Ga?

Chalk rock contains many tiny plankton shells. This is evidence of which depositional environment?

Which of the following would be considered evidence for an orogeny?

The fossil fish Tiktaalik made headlines in 2005 because it

At times in Earth's history, large regions of continental interiors became flooded with shallow seas, known as __________ seas.

Banded iron formations (BIFs) show evidence of an

The supercontinent Rodinia assembled during the __________ , and the supercontinent Pangaea assembled during the __________ .

A __________ change in the Earth system repeats the same steps over and over, though not necessarily with the same results or at the same rate.

Why have some researchers suggested the use of the term Anthropocene?

Where would you be most likely to see a piece of the earliest continental crust?

According to the graph below, continental crust was mostly done forming by

Cells that have a nucleus are called __________ life.

Dinosaurs first appeared during the _________ Period.

The Earth in Context

The Way the Earth Works: Plate Tectonics

Patterns in Nature: Minerals

Up From the Inferno: Magma and Igneous Rocks

A Surface Veneer: Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks

A Process of Change: Metamorphism and the Rock Cycle

Crags, Cracks, and Crumples: Crustal Deformation and Mountain Building

A Violent Pulse: Earthquakes

Deep Time: How Old Is Old

Riches in Rock: Energy and Mineral Resources

Shaping the Earths Surface: Landscapes, the Hydrologic Cycle, and Mass Wasting

Freshwater: Streams, Lakes, and Groundwater

Extreme Realms: Desert and Glacial Landscapes

Ocean Waters: the Blue of the Blue Marble

Marine Geology: the Study of Ocean Basins and Coasts

The Air We Breathe: Introducing Earths Atmosphere

Winds of the World: the Earths Major Weather Systems

Thunderstorms, Tornadoes, and Local Weather Systems

Climate and Climate Change

Our Solar System and Beyond

Our Neighborhood in Space

The Sun, Stars, and Deep Space

Prelude: Welcome to Earth Science

Filters

The supercontinent Rodinia assembled during the , and the supercontinent Pangaea assembled during the .