Introduction, Plate Tectonics, Geologic Time, Sed. Archives, And Fossils

35 Questions | By Blairnoelledavid | Updated: Mar 20, 2022 | Attempts: 100

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Exam One Questions.

Questions and Answers

1.

The scientific method commonly begins with
- A.
  
  Unproven beliefs
- B.
  
  A hypothesis
- C.
  
  A question
- D.
  
  Scientific laws
- E.
  
  Observations
2.

One of the three great themes in Earth history is:
- A.
  
  Absolute age
- B.
  
  Plate tectonics
- C.
  
  Divergent boundaries
- D.
  
  Radioactivity
- E.
  
  Natural selection
3.

The term half-life is related most closely to ___________.
- A.
  
  Relative age dating
- B.
  
  Absolute age dating
- C.
  
  Deformation of the asthenosphere
- D.
  
  Formation of the lithosphere
- E.
  
  Organic evolution
4.

Plate boundaries where plates move past one another are called __________.
- A.
  
  Divergent
- B.
  
  Lithospheric
- C.
  
  Convergent
- D.
  
  Organic
- E.
  
  Transform
5.

The age of the Earth is _____________.
- A.
  
  4,600,000 years
- B.
  
  5.5 million years
- C.
  
  150,000 to 300,000 years
- D.
  
  4.6 billion years
- E.
  
  704 million years
6.

The radioactive process creates stable ____________.
- A.
  
  Particles that are expelled
- B.
  
  Daughter atoms
- C.
  
  Rock outcrops in Canada
- D.
  
  Divergent boundaries
- E.
  
  Natural selection
7.

A mineral with a ratio of 1:1 among parent and daughter atoms must
- A.
  
  Have formed only days ago
- B.
  
  Be at the age corresponding to the second half-life
- C.
  
  Have passed the age of the second half-life
- D.
  
  Be at the age corresponding to the first half-life
- E.
  
  Be worthless for age dating
8.

Geologists and other scientists assume that the results of an experiment conducted on a given day will be applicable to events that take place a day, a year, a century, or a million years later. Which concept best fits this example?
- A.
  
  Uniformitarianism
- B.
  
  Actualism
- C.
  
  Catastrophism
- D.
  
  Principle of original lateral continuity
- E.
  
  Natural Selection
9.

Layers of rocks outcropping on one side of a highway are the same as the layers of rocks outcropping on the other side of the highway, a distance of 1000m. Which best principle explains this example?
- A.
  
  Principle of Unconformity
- B.
  
  Principle of Superposition
- C.
  
  Principle of Original Horizontality
- D.
  
  Principle of Original Lateral Continuity
- E.
  
  Principle of Intrusive Relationships
10.

Which of the following rocks can an absolute date be extracted?
- A.
  
  A layered sandstone
- B.
  
  A fossiliferous limestone
- C.
  
  A fossiliferous shale
- D.
  
  A gneiss rock that extremely altered through contact metamorphism
- E.
  
  A basaltic rock cooled from a volcano
11.

Such time units as eons, eras, periods, and epochs in the geologic time scale correspond to _______.
- A.
  
  Seconds, minutes, hours and days
- B.
  
  Days, hours, minutes and seconds
- C.
  
  Seconds, hours, minutes and days
- D.
  
  Months, days, years and hours
- E.
  
  Hours, minutes, days and months
12.

Where are the oldest rocks on Earth found?
- A.
  
  On the platform of the craton.
- B.
  
  On the shield of the craton.
- C.
  
  In an orogenic belt.
- D.
  
  On the ocean shelf.
- E.
  
  On the abyssal plain.
13.

The ratio of parent to daughter isotopes in a radioactive decay process is 0.40 (i.e. 40% parent & 60% daughter atoms.) How many half-lives have elapsed since the material was 100% parent atoms?
- A.
  
  Less than 1.
- B.
  
  More than 3.
- C.
  
  Between 1 and 2.
- D.
  
  Between 2 and 3.
- E.
  
  Can't be determined.
14.

Select the only chronostratigraphic unit below.
- A.
  
  Pleistocene Epoch
- B.
  
  Silurian System
- C.
  
  Cambrian Period
- D.
  
  Cenozoic Era
- E.
  
  Phanerozoic Eon
15.

A continental shield is part of a(n) _______________.
- A.
  
  Depositional environment
- B.
  
  Orogenic belt
- C.
  
  Continental shelf
- D.
  
  Craton
- E.
  
  Continental platform
16.

An example of a marine environment of deposition is __________.
- A.
  
  Glacial lake
- B.
  
  River channel
- C.
  
  Continental shelf
- D.
  
  Wind-blown dune
- E.
  
  Alluvial fan
17.

An eolian environment is a(n) _____________.
- A.
  
  Lake
- B.
  
  Delta
- C.
  
  Alluvial fan
- D.
  
  Deep marine
- E.
  
  Wind-blown dune
18.

Walther's principle does NOT help us understand ______________.
- A.
  
  Chronostratigraphic units
- B.
  
  Fining upward successions
- C.
  
  Onlap and offlap sequences
- D.
  
  Transgressions and regressions
- E.
  
  Biofacies and lithofacies
19.

Select the vertical sequence that indicates regression.
- A.
  
  Shale over sandstone
- B.
  
  Limestone over conglomerate
- C.
  
  Sandstone over conglomerate
- D.
  
  Sandstone over shale
- E.
  
  Shale over conglomerate
20.

The part of a rock body that has characteristics from which we can infer the depositional environments is called a __________.
- A.
  
  Facies
- B.
  
  Member
- C.
  
  Group
- D.
  
  Formation
- E.
  
  Time-rock unit
21.

Fossils that are abundant, widely dispersed and derived from organisms that lived during a relatively shore span of geologic time are _______________.
- A.
  
  Reworked fossils
- B.
  
  Haploid
- C.
  
  Index fossils
- D.
  
  Trace fossils
- E.
  
  Unaltered fossils
22.

The interval between the first and last appearance of a species constitutes the ___________.
- A.
  
  Extinction rate
- B.
  
  Geologic time
- C.
  
  Geologic range
- D.
  
  Rate of evolution
- E.
  
  Relative geologic age
23.

A type of geologic evidence of past glaciation is called __________.
- A.
  
  Paleomagnetism
- B.
  
  Tillites
- C.
  
  Evaporites
- D.
  
  Coal seams
- E.
  
  Annual rings
24.

A type of reverse fault is _________.
- A.
  
  Strike-slip
- B.
  
  Normal
- C.
  
  Thrust
- D.
  
  Transform
- E.
  
  Oblique
25.

Select the item below most closely associated with a convergent boundary.
- A.
  
  Lateral faults
- B.
  
  Subduction zone
- C.
  
  Hot spots
- D.
  
  Midoceanic ridge
- E.
  
  Continental rifting