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.
a disconformity
b.
an erosional surface
c.
an angular unconformity
d.
a nonconformity
2.
What era of geologic time ended with the largest extinction event in Earth history?
a.
the Cretaceous
b.
the Cenozoic
c.
the Mesozoic
d.
the Paleozoic
3.
The number of protons in an atom's nucleus is the __________.
a.
atomic number
b.
mass number
c.
radioactivity number
d.
isotopic number
4.
What type of igneous rocks are associated with oceanic-continental convergences?
a.
gabbro, basalt, and sedimentary rocks
b.
rhyolite and granite
c.
granite and andesite
d.
granite and diorite
5.
How are submarine canyons formed?
a.
runoff
b.
rivers
c.
longshore current
d.
turbidity currents
6.
A gravel-sized particle in a conglomerate is __________ the conglomerate rock.
a.
older than
b.
the same age as
c.
always ten times older than
d.
younger than
7.
What is thought to be the driving mechanism of plate movement?
a.
continental drifting
b.
volcanoes
c.
conduction of heat in the mantle
d.
convection currents in the mantle
8.
How deep is the deepest place in the ocean?
a.
100 km
b.
2 km
c.
20 km
d.
11 km
9.
What geologic principle states that in an undisturbed rock sequence, the oldest rocks are on the bottom and the youngest are on the top?
a.
original horizontality
b.
cross-cutting relationships
c.
superposition
d.
uniformitarianism
10.
According to the figure, after four half-lives (22,820 years), how much C-14 would be left?
a.
0%
b.
10%
c.
6.25%
d.
25%
11.
Sedimentary layers with distinct grain sizes progressing from larger to smaller are called __________.
a.
layered deposits
b.
glacial deposits
c.
unsorted deposits
d.
graded beds
12.
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.
an element
d.
a gas
13.
How are the convection currents set in motion?
a.
the heat from radioactive decay
b.
slab push and ridge pull
c.
spreading mid-ocean ridges
d.
slab push
14.
What is the longest division of time in the geologic time scale?
a.
a period
b.
an era
c.
an eon
d.
an epoch
15.
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 contain fossils.
d.
They provide building stones.
16.
What features do oceanic-continent and oceanic-oceanic convergences have in common?
a.
subduction zones and trenches
b.
trenches
c.
large mountain ranges and subduction zones
d.
crustal thickening
17.
Petrified wood is an example of __________.
a.
permineralization
b.
an index fossil
c.
original hard parts
d.
a mold
18.
A _________ is the unaltered remains of a once-living organism.
a.
mold of a fossil
b.
fossil with permineralization
c.
fossil with original preservation
d.
trace fossil
