Question 1

The late Proterozoic Grenville orogen is an event related to ____________.

Accepted Answer

A)  uplift of the modern Rocky Mountains 
B)  uplift of the ancestral Rocky Mountains 
C)  assembly of the supercontinent Pangaea 
D)  assembly of the supercontinent Rodinia 
A)  uplift of the modern Rocky Mountains 
B)  uplift of the ancestral Rocky Mountains 
C)  assembly of the supercontinent Pangaea 
D)  assembly of the supercontinent Rodinia

Question 2

The eon represented by abundant deposits of strata with shelly fossils is the ____________.

Accepted Answer

A)  Archean 
B)  Hadean 
C)  Proterozoic 
D)  Phanerozoic 
A)  Archean 
B)  Hadean 
C)  Proterozoic 
D)  Phanerozoic

Question 3

The Caledonian,Acadian,and Alleghenian orogenic events all led to uplift in the region of the modern ____________.

Accepted Answer

A)  Rockies 
B)  Appalachians 
C)  Alps 
D)  Himalayas 
A)  Rockies 
B)  Appalachians 
C)  Alps 
D)  Himalayas

Question 4

What term or phrase would best apply to the letters A,B,C,D and E in the figure below?

Accepted Answer

A)  accreted terranes 
B)  orogeny 
C)  superplume 
D)  K-T boundary event 
A)  accreted terranes 
B)  orogeny 
C)  superplume 
D)  K-T boundary event

Question 5

The oldest age-dated rocks or minerals found on Earth are:

Accepted Answer

A)  stromatolites dated to 4.2 billion years 
B)  granites dated to 4.4 billion years 
C)  zircons dated to 4.4 billion years 
D)  quartzite dated to 4.4 billion years 
A)  stromatolites dated to 4.2 billion years 
B)  granites dated to 4.4 billion years 
C)  zircons dated to 4.4 billion years 
D)  quartzite dated to 4.4 billion years

Question 6

Humans belong to a lineage of mammals called the ____________.

Accepted Answer

A)  carnivores 
B)  primates 
C)  odd-toed ungulates 
D)  edentates 
A)  carnivores 
B)  primates 
C)  odd-toed ungulates 
D)  edentates

Question 7

Once an ancient mountain range is destroyed by erosion,it leaves no detectable record; therefore geologists have very little likelihood of learning of its past existence.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 8

Huge dragonflies and tree-sized relatives of the living ferns,club mosses,and scouring rushes were common during the ____________ Period.

Accepted Answer

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

Question 9

Through geologic time,continents have drifted over the surface of Earth,but each continent has always been about as large as it is today.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 10

Past greenhouse climate on Earth was associated with relatively high atmospheric levels of which gas?

Accepted Answer

A)  nitrogen 
B)  water vapor 
C)  oxygen 
D)  carbon dioxide 
A)  nitrogen 
B)  water vapor 
C)  oxygen 
D)  carbon dioxide

Question 11

Convergence along the Cenozoic western margin of North America gave way to rifting forces that created the characteristic topography of the ____________.

Accepted Answer

A)  Coast Ranges 
B)  Basin and Range Province 
C)  Colorado Plateau 
D)  Columbia Plateau 
A)  Coast Ranges 
B)  Basin and Range Province 
C)  Colorado Plateau 
D)  Columbia Plateau

Question 12

Oxygen in Earth's atmosphere was probably derived from ____________.

Accepted Answer

A)  volcanic outgassing 
B)  photosynthesis 
C)  animal respiration 
D)  water from the oceans breaking down into hydrogen and oxygen during evaporation 
A)  volcanic outgassing 
B)  photosynthesis 
C)  animal respiration 
D)  water from the oceans breaking down into hydrogen and oxygen during evaporation

Question 13

Which statement about Cretaceous paleogeography (shown below)is INCORRECT?

Accepted Answer

A)  India lay much closer to the South Pole than it does now. 
B)  The Pacific Ocean was probably larger than it is now. 
C)  North America consisted of several very large pieces of land separated by shallow seas that were hundreds of miles wide. 
D)  Subduction of oceanic lithosphere between India and Asia had ceased. 
A)  India lay much closer to the South Pole than it does now. 
B)  The Pacific Ocean was probably larger than it is now. 
C)  North America consisted of several very large pieces of land separated by shallow seas that were hundreds of miles wide. 
D)  Subduction of oceanic lithosphere between India and Asia had ceased.

Question 14

A shield is ____________.

Accepted Answer

A)  a low-lying region where rocks older than approximately 1 billion years age crop out 
B)  a low-lying region where Precambrian rocks are covered by Phanerozoic sedimentary strata 
C)  a region located behind a volcanic arc at a convergent continental margin 
D)  synonymous with "craton" 
A)  a low-lying region where rocks older than approximately 1 billion years age crop out 
B)  a low-lying region where Precambrian rocks are covered by Phanerozoic sedimentary strata 
C)  a region located behind a volcanic arc at a convergent continental margin 
D)  synonymous with "craton"

Question 15

Earth is approximately how old?

Accepted Answer

A)  15 billion years 
B)  4.57 billion years 
C)  40 million years 
D)  6,000 years 
A)  15 billion years 
B)  4.57 billion years 
C)  40 million years 
D)  6,000 years

Question 16

An iridium-rich layer of clay,glass spherules,and shocked quartz grains strongly suggest that the K-T boundary extinctions were at least in part caused by ____________.

Accepted Answer

A)  a long trend of global warming 
B)  a long trend of global cooling 
C)  worldwide explosive volcanism 
D)  the impact of a bolide (meteoroid or comet) 
A)  a long trend of global warming 
B)  a long trend of global cooling 
C)  worldwide explosive volcanism 
D)  the impact of a bolide (meteoroid or comet)

Question 17

Which gas found in today's atmosphere was nearly absent in the Hadean Eon?

Accepted Answer

A)  nitrogen 
B)  water vapor 
C)  oxygen 
D)  carbon dioxide 
A)  nitrogen 
B)  water vapor 
C)  oxygen 
D)  carbon dioxide

Question 18

During which period did the Atlantic Ocean begin to open?

Accepted Answer

A)  the Triassic 
B)  the Cretaceous 
C)  the Permian 
D)  the Jurassic 
A)  the Triassic 
B)  the Cretaceous 
C)  the Permian 
D)  the Jurassic

Question 19

The generally accepted scientific theory for the origin of our Moon involves ____________.

Accepted Answer

A)  impact between Earth and a Mars-sized body during the Hadean 
B)  simultaneous formation of Earth and the Moon in neighboring parts of the Solar System 4.6 billion years ago 
C)  gravitational capture of the Moon by Earth during the Hadean 
D)  gravitational capture of Earth by the Moon during the Archean 
A)  impact between Earth and a Mars-sized body during the Hadean 
B)  simultaneous formation of Earth and the Moon in neighboring parts of the Solar System 4.6 billion years ago 
C)  gravitational capture of the Moon by Earth during the Hadean 
D)  gravitational capture of Earth by the Moon during the Archean

Question 20

In the figure below,what are the areas encircled by the thick black lines?

Accepted Answer

A)  orogens (areas of orogeny) 
B)  platforms 
C)  cratons 
D)  former shallow inland seas 
A)  orogens (areas of orogeny) 
B)  platforms 
C)  cratons 
D)  former shallow inland seas

Exam 11: A Biography of Earth

The late Proterozoic Grenville orogen is an event related to ____________.

The eon represented by abundant deposits of strata with shelly fossils is the ____________.

The Caledonian,Acadian,and Alleghenian orogenic events all led to uplift in the region of the modern ____________.

What term or phrase would best apply to the letters A,B,C,D and E in the figure below?

The oldest age-dated rocks or minerals found on Earth are:

Humans belong to a lineage of mammals called the ____________.

Once an ancient mountain range is destroyed by erosion,it leaves no detectable record; therefore geologists have very little likelihood of learning of its past existence.

Huge dragonflies and tree-sized relatives of the living ferns,club mosses,and scouring rushes were common during the ____________ Period.

Through geologic time,continents have drifted over the surface of Earth,but each continent has always been about as large as it is today.

Past greenhouse climate on Earth was associated with relatively high atmospheric levels of which gas?

Convergence along the Cenozoic western margin of North America gave way to rifting forces that created the characteristic topography of the ____________.

Oxygen in Earth's atmosphere was probably derived from ____________.

Which statement about Cretaceous paleogeography (shown below)is INCORRECT?

A shield is ____________.

Earth is approximately how old?

An iridium-rich layer of clay,glass spherules,and shocked quartz grains strongly suggest that the K-T boundary extinctions were at least in part caused by ____________.

Which gas found in today's atmosphere was nearly absent in the Hadean Eon?

During which period did the Atlantic Ocean begin to open?

The generally accepted scientific theory for the origin of our Moon involves ____________.

In the figure below,what are the areas encircled by the thick black lines?

The Earth in Context

The Way the Earth Works: Plate Tectonics

Patterns in Nature: Minerals

Up From the Inferno: Magma and Igneous Rocks

The Wrath of Vulcan: Volcanic Eruptions

Pages of Earths Past: Sedimentary Rocks

Metamorphism: a Process of Change

A Violent Pulse: Earthquakes

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

Deep Time: How Old Is Old

Riches in Rock: Energy and Mineral Resources

Unsafe Ground: Landslides and Other Mass Movements

Streams and Floods: the Geology of Running Water

Restless Realm: Oceans and Coasts

A Hidden Reserve: Groundwater

Dry Regions: the Geology of Deserts

Amazing Ice: Glaciers and Ice Ages

Global Change in the Earth System

Rock Groups

A Surface Veneer: Sediments and Soils

The Rock Cycle

The Earths Interior Revisited: Insights From Geophysics

Memories of Past Life: Fossils and Evolution

An Introduction to Landscapes and the Hydrologic Cycle

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