Fossils and the Rock Record
Practice Test
1.
Electrons tend to occupy the __________ energy level.
a.
intermediate
b.
lowest available
c.
second
d.
highest available
2.
How are fjords formed?
a.
longshore current
b.
global cooling
c.
sea level rise
d.
tectonic forces
3.
What type of boundary created the Alaskan mountains shown in the figure?
a.
continental-continental convergence
b.
oceanic-continental divergence
c.
oceanic-continental convergence
d.
oceanic-oceanic convergence
4.
How are the convection currents set in motion?
a.
the heat from radioactive decay
b.
spreading mid-ocean ridges
c.
slab push and ridge pull
d.
slab push
5.
According to the figure, after four half-lives (22,820 years), how much C-14 would be left?
a.
0%
b.
25%
c.
10%
d.
6.25%
6.
Which is not a region of the Appalachian Mountain belt?
a.
The Blue Ridge
b.
the Piedmont Province
c.
the Adirondack Mountains
d.
the Valley and Ridge
7.
What characterizes an index fossil?
a.
widely distributed geographically
b.
all of these are correct
c.
abundant
d.
easily recognized
8.
Which of these are indirect evidence of plant or animal life?
a.
altered remains
b.
microfossils
c.
trace fossils
d.
original hard parts
9.
What is an erosional contact between sedimentary and nonsedimentary rocks called?
a.
a nonconformity
b.
a disconformity
c.
a fault
d.
a lava flow
10.
According to the figure, what marked the end of the Mesozoic Era?
a.
the building of the Appalachians ends
b.
mammals are abundant
c.
the extinction of many marine invertebrates
d.
the extinction of the dinosaurs
11.
What principle of geology states that sedimentary rocks are deposited horizontally or nearly horizontally?
a.
cross-cutting relationships
b.
superposition
c.
uniformitarianism
d.
original horizontality
12.
What type of material is used in the dating technique of dendrochronology?
a.
sediment layers from lake beds
b.
tree growth rings
c.
key beds
d.
tree leaves
13.
What particle(s) make up the nucleus of an atom?
a.
protons only
b.
electrons only
c.
protons and neutrons
d.
neutrons and electrons
14.
What would happen to the pond in the figure if the freshwater inflow stream and path to the ocean disappeared?
a.
The entire lake would eventually evaporate away, leaving only evaporites.
b.
It would produce extrusive igneous rocks.
c.
Water would come from somewhere else.
d.
All life will stop living in the pond.
15.
The grains of a breccia most likely traveled __________ than the grains in a conglomerate.
a.
a different distance
b.
the same distance
c.
a farther distance
d.
a shorter distance
16.
How deep is the deepest place in the ocean?
a.
2 km
b.
20 km
c.
11 km
d.
100 km
17.
What is the longest division of time in the geologic time scale?
a.
a period
b.
an era
c.
an epoch
d.
an eon
18.
What is thought to be the driving mechanism of plate movement?
a.
volcanoes
b.
conduction of heat in the mantle
c.
convection currents in the mantle
d.
continental drifting
