Question 1

Which of the following is the name of an eon in the geologic time scale?

Accepted Answer

A) Cretaceous 
B) Eocene 
C) Phanerozoic 
D) Paleozoic 
A) Cretaceous 
B) Eocene 
C) Phanerozoic 
D) Paleozoic C

Question 2

The Paleocene is the oldest epoch of the Paleogene Period.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False  True

Question 3

What catastrophic event has been proposed as the most likely explanation as to why the dinosaurs became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous Period?

Accepted Answer

meteorite impact

Question 4

Pebbles of granite in sandstone and conglomerate resting on the granite suggest that the granite intruded the sedimentary beds.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 5

Which of the following is an essential characteristic of an index fossil?

Accepted Answer

A) The organism lived only in specific environments such as beaches or estuaries. 
B) The organism only lived for a short span of geologic time but was very widespread. 
C) The fossils are exceptionally abundant for a long time span and readily preserved. 
D) The fossils occur in deep-water marine sediments, but the organism actually lived in the sunlit, surface layer of the ocean. 
A) The organism lived only in specific environments such as beaches or estuaries. 
B) The organism only lived for a short span of geologic time but was very widespread. 
C) The fossils are exceptionally abundant for a long time span and readily preserved. 
D) The fossils occur in deep-water marine sediments, but the organism actually lived in the sunlit, surface layer of the ocean.

Question 6

Name two geologic processes that can invalidate attempts at radiometric dating?

Accepted Answer

thermal resetting (reheating a

Question 7

What is the source of natural carbon-14?

Accepted Answer

A) nuclear fission of the heavy, radioactive elements uranium and thorium 
B) fusion of hydrogen and helium in the Sun and eruption of solar flares 
C) leakage of radioactive gases from the liquid, outer core 
D) cosmic ray collisions triggering "neutron-capture" in ordinary atmospheric nitrogen 
A) nuclear fission of the heavy, radioactive elements uranium and thorium 
B) fusion of hydrogen and helium in the Sun and eruption of solar flares 
C) leakage of radioactive gases from the liquid, outer core 
D) cosmic ray collisions triggering "neutron-capture" in ordinary atmospheric nitrogen

Question 8

If the ratio of radioactive parent to stable daughter isotope is 1:3, how many half-lives have elapsed?

Accepted Answer

The answer of If the ratio of radioactive parent to...

Question 9

Carbon-14 is very helpful for dating geologic events from the beginning of the Paleocene Epoch until the present.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 10

Which type of microfossils have a tooth-like shape made of apatite, are a mouth part of an extinct swimming eel-like chordate, and are useful index fossils for the Paleozoic through Triassic?

Accepted Answer

A) acritarchs and dinoflagellates 
B) coccoliths and formaminifera 
C) conodonts 
D) diatoms and radiolaria 
A) acritarchs and dinoflagellates 
B) coccoliths and formaminifera 
C) conodonts 
D) diatoms and radiolaria

Question 11

Which of the following means to recognize, identify, and describe similar-aged strata or similar lithologies in nearby areas or in widely separated, different areas?

Accepted Answer

A) coagulation 
B) correlation 
C) strata-titling 
D) fossicking 
A) coagulation 
B) correlation 
C) strata-titling 
D) fossicking

Question 12

How can fossiliferous sedimentary rock most easily be dated and correlated if they lack the most diagnostic index fossil for that period or epoch?

Accepted Answer

A) by performing radiometric dating like U-238/Pb-206 or C-14 on fossils 
B) by using the entire fossil assemblage and ranges for the two localities in question 
C) by mapping out the intervening contacts or drilling a series of boreholes between 
D) by paying a geologist to tell you the answer 
A) by performing radiometric dating like U-238/Pb-206 or C-14 on fossils 
B) by using the entire fossil assemblage and ranges for the two localities in question 
C) by mapping out the intervening contacts or drilling a series of boreholes between 
D) by paying a geologist to tell you the answer

Question 13

Consider the names of the eras in the geologic time scale.What is meant by "zoic"?

Accepted Answer

A) life; living things 
B) rocks; lithified strata 
C) animals 
D) ancient 
A) life; living things 
B) rocks; lithified strata 
C) animals 
D) ancient

Question 14

At the end of the Cretaceous (K/T boundary)what unusual geologic phenomenon occurred that has been linked to mass extinction and the end of the dinosaurs?

Accepted Answer

A) A 10 kilometre diameter meteor impact occurred on the Yucatan peninsula. 
B) Enormous outpourings of basaltic lavas built the Rocky Mountains in British Columbia. 
C) The climate abruptly warmed and massive weathering of iridium poisoned the seas 
D) Dinosaurs were hunted to extinction by Klingons. 
A) A 10 kilometre diameter meteor impact occurred on the Yucatan peninsula. 
B) Enormous outpourings of basaltic lavas built the Rocky Mountains in British Columbia. 
C) The climate abruptly warmed and massive weathering of iridium poisoned the seas 
D) Dinosaurs were hunted to extinction by Klingons.

Question 15

What kind of materials can be reliably dated by the C-14 method?

Accepted Answer

A) biotite, hornblende, and muscovite; particularly in Mesozoic and older rocks 
B) Recent: clams, foraminifera, and wood <50,000 years old 
C) Paleozoic oil and gas deposits in limestones 
D) Precambrian zircons in igneous and metamorphic rocks 
A) biotite, hornblende, and muscovite; particularly in Mesozoic and older rocks 
B) Recent: clams, foraminifera, and wood <50,000 years old 
C) Paleozoic oil and gas deposits in limestones 
D) Precambrian zircons in igneous and metamorphic rocks

Question 16

Carbon-14 is produced by cosmic rays reacting with nuclei of iron atoms in the Earth's core.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 17

In a given area where you have little knowledge of the local geology (rocks types, fossils, etc.), what type of unconformity would be the most difficult to recognize in an exposed sequence of rocks? Why?

Accepted Answer

Disconformity.Rock layers above and belo

Question 18

Name the two Quaternary Epochs.

Accepted Answer

Pleistocen

Question 19

An unstable radioactive ________ isotope decays to a stable ________ isotope.

Accepted Answer

parent, daughter; or

Question 20

Which of the following geologic observations would not bear directly on working out the sequence of geologic events in an area?

Accepted Answer

A) inclusions of sandstone in a granite pluton 
B) a well-exposed dyke of basalt intruding a sandstone 
C) the feldspar and quartz contents of a granite 
D) an nonconformity between a granite and sandstone 
A) inclusions of sandstone in a granite pluton 
B) a well-exposed dyke of basalt intruding a sandstone 
C) the feldspar and quartz contents of a granite 
D) an nonconformity between a granite and sandstone

Which of the following is the name of an eon in the geologic time scale?

The Paleocene is the oldest epoch of the Paleogene Period.

What catastrophic event has been proposed as the most likely explanation as to why the dinosaurs became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous Period?

Pebbles of granite in sandstone and conglomerate resting on the granite suggest that the granite intruded the sedimentary beds.

Which of the following is an essential characteristic of an index fossil?

Name two geologic processes that can invalidate attempts at radiometric dating?

What is the source of natural carbon-14?

If the ratio of radioactive parent to stable daughter isotope is 1:3, how many half-lives have elapsed?

Carbon-14 is very helpful for dating geologic events from the beginning of the Paleocene Epoch until the present.

Which type of microfossils have a tooth-like shape made of apatite, are a mouth part of an extinct swimming eel-like chordate, and are useful index fossils for the Paleozoic through Triassic?

Which of the following means to recognize, identify, and describe similar-aged strata or similar lithologies in nearby areas or in widely separated, different areas?

How can fossiliferous sedimentary rock most easily be dated and correlated if they lack the most diagnostic index fossil for that period or epoch?

Consider the names of the eras in the geologic time scale.What is meant by "zoic"?

At the end of the Cretaceous (K/T boundary)what unusual geologic phenomenon occurred that has been linked to mass extinction and the end of the dinosaurs?

What kind of materials can be reliably dated by the C-14 method?

Carbon-14 is produced by cosmic rays reacting with nuclei of iron atoms in the Earth's core.

In a given area where you have little knowledge of the local geology (rocks types, fossils, etc.), what type of unconformity would be the most difficult to recognize in an exposed sequence of rocks? Why?

Name the two Quaternary Epochs.

An unstable radioactive isotope decays to a stable isotope.

Which of the following geologic observations would not bear directly on working out the sequence of geologic events in an area?

An Introduction to Geology and Plate Tectonics

Minerals: The Building Blocks of Rocks

Igneous Rocks

Volcanoes and Volcanic Processes

Weathering and Soil

Sedimentary Rocks

Metamorphism and Metamorphic Rocks

Crustal Deformation

Earthquakes and Earth's Interior

The Ocean Floor

Plate Tectonics: The Framework for Modern Geology

Mountain Building and Continental Frameworks

Mass Wasting: The Work of Gravity

Running Water

Groundwater

Glaciers and Glaciation

Deserts and Winds

Shorelines

Mineral and Energy Resources

Filters

Exam 8: Geologic Time

Which of the following is the name of an eon in the geologic time scale?

The Paleocene is the oldest epoch of the Paleogene Period.

What catastrophic event has been proposed as the most likely explanation as to why the dinosaurs became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous Period?

Pebbles of granite in sandstone and conglomerate resting on the granite suggest that the granite intruded the sedimentary beds.

Which of the following is an essential characteristic of an index fossil?

Name two geologic processes that can invalidate attempts at radiometric dating?

What is the source of natural carbon-14?

If the ratio of radioactive parent to stable daughter isotope is 1:3, how many half-lives have elapsed?

Carbon-14 is very helpful for dating geologic events from the beginning of the Paleocene Epoch until the present.

Which type of microfossils have a tooth-like shape made of apatite, are a mouth part of an extinct swimming eel-like chordate, and are useful index fossils for the Paleozoic through Triassic?

Which of the following means to recognize, identify, and describe similar-aged strata or similar lithologies in nearby areas or in widely separated, different areas?

How can fossiliferous sedimentary rock most easily be dated and correlated if they lack the most diagnostic index fossil for that period or epoch?

Consider the names of the eras in the geologic time scale.What is meant by "zoic"?

At the end of the Cretaceous (K/T boundary)what unusual geologic phenomenon occurred that has been linked to mass extinction and the end of the dinosaurs?

What kind of materials can be reliably dated by the C-14 method?

Carbon-14 is produced by cosmic rays reacting with nuclei of iron atoms in the Earth's core.

In a given area where you have little knowledge of the local geology (rocks types, fossils, etc.), what type of unconformity would be the most difficult to recognize in an exposed sequence of rocks? Why?

Name the two Quaternary Epochs.

An unstable radioactive ________ isotope decays to a stable ________ isotope.

Which of the following geologic observations would not bear directly on working out the sequence of geologic events in an area?

An Introduction to Geology and Plate Tectonics

Minerals: The Building Blocks of Rocks

Igneous Rocks

Volcanoes and Volcanic Processes

Weathering and Soil

Sedimentary Rocks

Metamorphism and Metamorphic Rocks

Crustal Deformation

Earthquakes and Earth's Interior

The Ocean Floor

Plate Tectonics: The Framework for Modern Geology

Mountain Building and Continental Frameworks

Mass Wasting: The Work of Gravity

Running Water

Groundwater

Glaciers and Glaciation

Deserts and Winds

Shorelines

Mineral and Energy Resources

Filters

An unstable radioactive isotope decays to a stable isotope.