Chapter 4 Quiz: A Trip Through Geologic Time

1.

1 point

Why are index fossils useful to geologists?

They tell the age of the rock at one location only

They tell the relative age of the rock in which they occur.

They tell the absolute age of the rock in which they occur.

They tell the ages of many different rock layers.

2.

1 point

The geologic time scale is a record of

the rate of fossil formation

the time since the evolution of dinosaurs

The thickness of sedimentary rock layers

the life forms and geologic events in Earth's history

3.

1 point

What is a fossil?

Any dead organism

A perfect copy of a rock

The preserved remains or traces of an organism

An unusual type of rock

4.

1 point

The fossil record shows that life on Earth has changed over time. For example, paleontologists have found that older rocks contain fossils of

both simple and complex organisms

organisms that are simpler than those alive today

organisms that are more complex than those alive today

only organisms that are alive today

5.

1 point

The relative age of a rock is

its age compared to the ages of other rocks

the number of years since the rock formed

less than the age of the fossils the rock contains

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

6.

1 point

A fossil formed when minerals replace all or part of an organism is called a

trace fossil

cast

mold

petrified fossil

7.

1 point

The law of superposition states that, in horizontal layers of sedimentary rock, each layer is

older than the layer above it and younger than the layer below it

neither older nor younger than the other layers

always older than any vertical layers

younger than the layer above it and older than the layer below it

8.

1 point

How do most fossils form?

The hard parts of an organism dry out in the air

The soft parts of an organism change to stone

Freezing preserves the remains of an organism

Living things die and their remains are buried by sediments

9.

1 point

The process by which all different kinds of living things have changed over long periods of time is called

deposition

replacement

sedimentation

evolution

10.

1 point

A gap in the geologic record formed when sedimentary rocks cover an eroded surface is called a(n)

intrusion

fault

extrusion

unconformity