Reading Earth's Timeline

How much area does our solar system take up out of the universe?

• It takes up most of the universe
• It takes up a really tiny area
• It grows and shrinks so it varies
• It takes up a very large area 

According to the law of superposition, which layer is the youngest?

• A
• B
• C

Which division on the geologic time scale is the shortest?

• epoch
• era
• eon
• period

How old do Paleontologists believe the Earth is?

• 2015 years old
• 3.6 billion years old
• 4.6 billion years old
• 4.6 million years old

Most events on the geologic timeline happened:

• a long time ago, near the beginning
• more recently, near the modern time
• evenly spread out
• right in the center of the timeline

_{Which of the following questions can be answered by studying  these fossil layers?} 

• What did the fish eat?
• Which organisms lived before/after/or at the same time?
• Why did dinosaurs become extinct?
• Are reptiles the ancestors to birds or fish?

_{^{When scientists use logic to determine the age of one fossil compared to another, they use this type of dating.}}

• Relative
• Carbon
• Absolute

Scientists chose where units of geologic time began and ended based on major changes in life forms at certain times.

• true
• false

Why is the fossil record incomplete?

• fossils get eroded away over time
• most organisms never became fossils
• scavengers and decomposers eat them too quickly
• all of the above

The Geologic Time Scale is a record of what?

• old geologists
• sweet geology music
• the known history of rocks and fossils
• a list of every living thing ever