Quiz about Earth's History and Diversity of Life Review

Question 1

Why do some organisms never turn into fossils?

Accepted Answer

They are made mostly of soft tissues.

Answer

They are far too large to be buried in the ground.

Answer

They contain too much protein to be preserved.

Answer

They contain chemicals that prevent the hardening of their bodies.

Question 2

Which of these can lead to the extinction of a species?

Accepted Answer

Loss of habitat

Answer

Small temperature changes

Answer

Increase in food supply

Answer

Decrease in available light

Question 3

What is the relative age of a rock?

Accepted Answer

Its age compared with the ages of other rocks

Answer

Less than the age of the fossils the rock contains

Answer

The number of years since the rock formed

Answer

Its age based on how much carbon-14 the rock contains

Question 4

Why do geologists use radioactive dating?

Accepted Answer

To determine the absolute ages of rocks

Answer

To determine the relative ages of rock layers

Answer

To tell the difference between molds and casts

Answer

To tell where on soil horizon ends and the next one begins

Question 5

What can be said about the many new life forms that evolved during the Cambrian Explosion that began the Paleozoic Era?

Accepted Answer

They were invertebrates that lived in the sea.

Answer

They lived on land.

Answer

They were vertebrates covered with scales or fur.

Answer

They were single-celled.

Question 6

Earth's earliest atmosphere lacked which gas that is necessary for life as we know it to exist today?

Accepted Answer

Oxygen

Answer

Nitrogen

Answer

Carbon Dioxide

Answer

Argon

Question 7

During the Paleozoic, what were the first organisms to live partly on land?

Accepted Answer

Amphibians

Answer

Insects

Answer

Reptiles

Answer

Invertebrates

Question 8

Late in the Paleozoic Era, the supercontinent Pangaea formed. What was the probable climate in the Pangaea?

Accepted Answer

Hot, dry desert climate

Answer

Extremely cold, polar climate

Answer

Wet tropical climate

Answer

Warm, mild climate

Question 9

Which best describes the climates of Europe and North America during the 1.8 million years of the Quatemary Period?

Accepted Answer

A series of ice ages followed by periods when the glaciers melted

Answer

Hot and dry climates

Answer

Cool and rainy periods followed by droughts

Answer

Warm and mild climates

Question 10

When the dinosaurs became extinct, which types of organisms were able to evolve more and flourish?

Accepted Answer

Mammals

Answer

Birds

Answer

Fish

Answer

Amphibians

Question 11

Which statement supports the law of superposition?

Accepted Answer

The amount of carbon found in deep rocks layers will be less than that found at the surface.

Answer

Rock layers at the bottom of an undisturbed formation are always the oldest.

Answer

Fossils found in deep rock layers will be younger than those in higher up ones.

Answer

No matter the position of a rock layer, it will have the same relative age as others.

Question 12

Use the illustration to answer the question. How do the rock layers shown in this illustration compare?

Accepted Answer

Layer C is older than Layer B.

Answer

Layer B and Layer D are exactly the same age.

Answer

Layer F is older than layer C.

Answer

Layer A was formed before Layer G.

Question 13

Use the illustration to answer the question. A fossil was found in layer C. In which other layer would similar fossils be expected to be found?

Accepted Answer

Layer B

Answer

Layer F

Answer

Layer D

Answer

Layer A

Question 14

Which environmental condition MOST likely existed at the time a fossil formed?

Accepted Answer

Organism remains were buried with little oxygen.

Answer

Organism remains were deposited in an area of open space.

Answer

Organism remains were covered by lava flow.

Answer

Organism remains were buried in an area where a lot of erosion occurred.

Question 15

A paleontologist was developing a model of Earth's time periods from fossils that were found in different rock layers. He found fossils of dinosaurs in one of the rock layers he was studying.

During which time period did the animals whose fossils were found in this rock layer most likely live?

Accepted Answer

Mesozoic Era

Answer

Cenozoic Era

Answer

PreCambrian Time

Answer

Paleozoic Era

Question 16

A student was developing a model to organize Earth's history.

Which of the following would be the best suggestion to help this student further develop this model?

Accepted Answer

Further divide each era into several periods using evidence from fossils and rock layers.

Answer

Further divide each era into several eons using evidence from fossils and rock layers.

Answer

Further divide each epoch into several eras using evidence from fossils and rock layers.

Question 17

What was the name of the super-continent at the beginning of the Mesozoic era?

Accepted Answer

Pangaea

Answer

Rhodinia

Answer

Laurencia

Answer

Nebraska

Question 18

What type of fossils provide evidence of the activities of ancient organisms?

Accepted Answer

Trace fossils

Answer

Molds and casts

Answer

Petrified fossils

Answer

Carbon films

Question 19

A student builds a stack of different layers of clay and places two marbles in one of the layers of clay. Using this model, which concept can the student best communicate about the marbles?

Accepted Answer

The marbles represent different fossils that are about the same age.

Answer

The marbles represent organisms of the same species that died

Answer

The marbles represent organisms that became extinct at different times.

Answer

The marbles represent rocks that became fossils at about the same time.

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