Exam
Name___________________________________
MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question.
1)
The age of Earth is about ________.
1)
A)
16 million years
B)
2 billion years
C)
195 million years
D)
4.5 billion years
E)
4.5 million years
2)
The ________ period is sometimes called the “golden age of trilobites.”
2)
A)
Cambrian
B)
Triassic
C)
Silurian
D)
Devonian
E)
Pennsylvanian
A
3)
Which of the following gases was not part of Earth’s original atmosphere?
3)
A)
carbon dioxide
B)
water vapor
C)
oxygen
D)
nitrogen
E)
both A and C
C
D
4)
The beginning of the Phanerozoic marks an important event in animal evolutionthe appearance
of organisms with ________.
4)
A)
wings
B)
cells
C)
vertebrae
D)
hard parts
E)
none of the above
5)
Abundant fossil evidence did not appear in the geologic record until about ________.
5)
A)
3 billion years ago
B)
6 million years ago
C)
300 million years ago
D)
5 billion years ago
E)
550 million years ago
6)
The beginning of the ________ era is marked by the appearance of the first life forms with hard
parts.
6)
A)
Cenozoic
B)
Mesozoic
C)
Precambrian
D)
Paleozoic
7)
Which era is sometimes called the “age of dinosaurs”?
7)
A)
Cenozoic
B)
Mesozoic
C)
Cretaceous
D)
Pleistocene
E)
none of the above
8)
One group of reptiles, exemplified by the fossil Archaeopteryx, led to the evolution of ________.
8)
A)
dinosaurs
B)
mammals
C)
horses
D)
cephalopods
E)
birds
9)
During the ________ Era, the westward–moving North American plate began to override the
Pacific plate, eventually causing the tectonic activity that formed the mountains of western North
America.
9)
A)
Paleozoic
B)
Precambrian
C)
Cenozoic
D)
Mesozoic
E)
none of the above
10)
During the late Paleozoic, the present–day North America, Europe, western Asia, Siberia, and
perhaps China formed the northern continent of ________.
10)
A)
Laurasia
B)
Greenland
C)
Africa
D)
Gondwanaland
E)
none of the above
Explanation:
11)
Due to a virtual absence of land plants and certain animals, fossil fuels are notably absent in
________ rocks.
11)
A)
Mesozoic
B)
Cenozoic
C)
Precambrian
D)
Paleozoic and Mesozoic
E)
Paleozoic
12)
The waste gas released by plants as they synthesize food sugars from carbon dioxide and water is
________.
12)
A)
methane
B)
oxygen
C)
nitrogen
D)
carbon dioxide
E)
none of the above
B
13)
The most common Precambrian fossils are ________, layered mounds of calcium carbonate.
13)
A)
trilobites
B)
prokaryotes
C)
chert
D)
stromatolites
E)
none of the above
D
C
14)
The most economically important resource in Cenozoic strata of the Gulf Coast is ________.
14)
A)
coal
B)
iron
C)
petroleum
D)
fresh water
E)
carbon
15)
As the solar system began forming, the first materials to condense into small particles were
________ and helium.
15)
A)
carbon
B)
hydrogen
C)
silicon
D)
oxygen
16)
The cells of these primitive organisms lack organized nuclei and they reproduce asexually.
16)
A)
trilobites
B)
prokaryotes
C)
eukaryotes
D)
brachiopods
E)
none of the above
17)
Following the reptilian extinctions at the close of the Mesozoic, two groups of mammals, the
marsupials and ________, diversified.
17)
A)
trilobites
B)
eukaryotes
C)
placentals
D)
cephalopods
E)
stromatolites
18)
Which type of bacteria thrives in environments that lack free oxygen?
18)
A)
foraminifera
B)
aerobic
C)
placental
D)
anaerobic
E)
photosynthetic
19)
As they formed, due to their high temperatures and comparatively weak gravitational fields, which
planets were unable to retain appreciable amounts of hydrogen, helium, and ammonia?
19)
A)
Uranus and Pluto
B)
Neptune and Uranus
C)
Mercury and Earth
D)
Jupiter and Uranus
E)
Jupiter and Neptune
20)
Which period is known as the “age of fishes”?
20)
A)
Pennsylvanian
B)
Jurassic
C)
Mississippian
D)
Devonian
E)
Permian
21)
Most ________ rocks are devoid of fossils, which hinders correlation of rocks.
21)
A)
Mesozoic
B)
Cenozoic
C)
Mesozoic and Cenozoic
D)
Precambrian
E)
Paleozoic
22)
The supercontinent of Pangaea began to break up during the ________ Era.
22)
A)
Paleozoic
B)
Cenozoic
C)
Precambrian
D)
Mesozoic
23)
________ means “planets in the making.“
23)
A)
Protoplanets
B)
Terrestrial
C)
Asteroids
D)
Jovian
E)
none of the above
24)
During the Cenozoic, plate interactions gave rise to many events of mountain building, volcanism,
and earthquakes in ________ North America.
24)
A)
northern
B)
eastern
C)
western
D)
central
E)
southern
25)
The first true terrestrial animals were the ________.
25)
A)
trilobites
B)
mammals
C)
lobe–finned fish
D)
reptiles
E)
marsupials
26)
This least understood eon of Earth’s history has not been subdivided into epochs.
26)
A)
Paleozoic
B)
Precambrian
C)
Mesozoic
D)
Cenozoic
27)
________ Eon accounts for ~90% of the geologic time scale.
27)
A)
Paleozoic
B)
Phanerozoic
C)
Proterozoic
D)
Precambrian
28)
Earth‘s primitive atmosphere evolved from gases ________.
28)
A)
expelled from within
B)
from the sun
C)
collected from the nebula
D)
produced by radioactive decay
E)
escaping from water
29)
The “ancient age” time period is the ________ Eon.
29)
A)
Cambrian
B)
Cenozoic
C)
Permian
D)
none of the above
30)
Which one of the following represents the greatest expanse of geological time?
30)
A)
Cenozoic
B)
Paleozoic
C)
Precambrian
D)
Mesozoic
31)
By the ________ period, large tropical swamps extended across North America, eventually
becoming the vast coal deposits of today.
31)
A)
Devonian
B)
Silurian
C)
Cambrian
D)
Triassic
E)
Pennsylvanian
32)
Most of Earth’s iron ore occurs in middle ________ rocks.
32)
A)
Paleozoic
B)
Cenozoic
C)
Precambrian
D)
Mesozoic
33)
Each continent contains large “core areas” of Precambrian rocks referred to as ________.
33)
A)
plateaus
B)
plates
C)
shields
D)
rifts
E)
none of the above
34)
By the close of the Paleozoic, all the continents had fused into the single super continent of
________.
34)
A)
Gondwanaland
B)
Pangaea
C)
Appalachia
D)
Europa
E)
Laurasia
35)
During the early Paleozoic era, the current continents of South America, Africa, Australia,
Antarctica, India, and perhaps China comprised the vast southern continent of ________.
35)
A)
Antindia
B)
Gondwanaland
C)
Pangaea
D)
Europe
E)
Laurasia
Explanation:
36)
The major source of free oxygen in the atmosphere is from ________.
36)
A)
glaciers
B)
water
C)
green plants
D)
molten rock
E)
silicate minerals
37)
Mammals became the dominant land animals during the ________ era.
37)
A)
Pleistocene
B)
Paleozoic
C)
Cretaceous
D)
Mesozoic
E)
Cenozoic
38)
The process in which plants use light energy to synthesize food sugars from carbon dioxide is
called ________.
38)
A)
hydration
B)
photosynthesis
C)
fusion
D)
oxidation
E)
none of the above
39)
The ________ era is known as the “age of flowering plants.”
39)
A)
Silurian
B)
Cenozoic
C)
Devonian
D)
Precambrian
E)
Paleozoic
Explanation:
40)
The ________ period was a time of major extinctions, including 75 percent of amphibian families.
40)
A)
Jurassic
B)
Pennsylvanian
C)
Mississippian
D)
Devonian
E)
Permian
41)
The ________ means “the sun in the making.”
41)
A)
sol
B)
presun
C)
nebular sun
D)
solar disk
E)
protosun
42)
The Precambrian rock record indicates that much of Earth’s first free oxygen combined with
________ dissolved in water.
42)
A)
silicon
B)
carbon
C)
potassium
D)
iron
E)
none of the above
SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or answers the question.
43)
The rock formations of the ________ Era are more widespread and less disturbed than
those of any other time.
43)