Fossils and the Rock Record
Practice Test
1.
If a horizontal Devonian shale directly overlies a horizontal Ordovician limestone, what is the surface between the strata called?
a.
an erosional surface
b.
a nonconformity
c.
a disconformity
d.
an angular unconformity
2.
What is the shallowest part of the continental margin called?
a.
a submarine canyon
b.
the continental rise
c.
the shelf break
d.
the continental shelf
3.
A _________ is the unaltered remains of a once-living organism.
a.
trace fossil
b.
fossil with original preservation
c.
mold of a fossil
d.
fossil with permineralization
4.
Which is not a region of the Appalachian Mountain belt?
a.
The Blue Ridge
b.
the Adirondack Mountains
c.
the Piedmont Province
d.
the Valley and Ridge
5.
What are boundaries like the one in the figure responsible for?
a.
deep sea trenches
b.
the world's largest mountains
c.
massive volcanoes
d.
island arc complexes
6.
The __________ states that the processes that have been occurring today have been occurring since Earth formed.
a.
principle of superposition
b.
principle of original horizontality
c.
principle of uniformitarianism
d.
principle of cross-cutting relationships
7.
What is thought to be the driving mechanism of plate movement?
a.
convection currents in the mantle
b.
volcanoes
c.
continental drifting
d.
conduction of heat in the mantle
8.
According to the figure, what marked the end of the Mesozoic Era?
a.
the extinction of the dinosaurs
b.
the building of the Appalachians ends
c.
the extinction of many marine invertebrates
d.
mammals are abundant
9.
How are the convection currents set in motion?
a.
spreading mid-ocean ridges
b.
the heat from radioactive decay
c.
slab push
d.
slab push and ridge pull
10.
What era of geologic time ended with the largest extinction event in Earth history?
a.
the Paleozoic
b.
the Mesozoic
c.
the Cretaceous
d.
the Cenozoic
11.
What is a substance that cannot be broken down into simpler substances with all the characteristics of the substance?
a.
a solid
b.
matter
c.
a gas
d.
an element
12.
How are fjords formed?
a.
tectonic forces
b.
global cooling
c.
longshore current
d.
sea level rise
13.
Which of these are indirect evidence of plant or animal life?
a.
altered remains
b.
original hard parts
c.
microfossils
d.
trace fossils
14.
What type of material is used in the dating technique of dendrochronology?
a.
key beds
b.
tree growth rings
c.
sediment layers from lake beds
d.
tree leaves
15.
What isotope is used for finding the age of materials that are organic in origin?
a.
potassium-40
b.
carbon-14
c.
uranium-238
d.
thorium-232
16.
Why are sedimentary rocks important?
a.
They contain gemstones of high value.
b.
They provide many natural resources and evidence of Earth's past.
c.
They provide building stones.
d.
They contain fossils.
17.
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.
All life will stop living in the pond.
c.
It would produce extrusive igneous rocks.
d.
Water would come from somewhere else.
18.
According to the symbols shown in the figure, in which state of matter do these elements occur?
a.
solid
b.
plasma
c.
gas
d.
liquid
