Deck 16: The Evolving Earth

Question 1

Gondwana did not contain

A) North America.
B) South America.
C) Africa.
D) Australia.

Answer 1

North America.

Question 2

The principle of uniform change is credited to

A) Charles Lyell.
B) Charles Darwin.
C) Abraham Werner.
D) Bishop Ussher.

Answer 2

Charles Lyell.

Question 3

A typical speed for a lithosphere plate is

A) 3 mm/year.
B) 3 cm/year.
C) 3 m/year.
D) 3 km/year.

Answer 3

3 cm/year.

Question 4

It is believed that India

A) was always part of the Asian landmass.
B) rose from the Tethys Sea.
C) was once separated from Asia and later migrated to its present position.
D) is moving away from the Asian landmass.

Question 5

The youngest of the following mountain ranges is the

A) Sierra Nevada.
B) Rockies.
C) Appalachians.
D) Himalayas.

Question 6

The oldest of the following is the

A) Atlantic Ocean.
B) Tethys Sea.
C) Andes.
D) Himalayas.

Question 7

Compared with granitic continental crust, basaltic oceanic crust is

A) less dense.
B) about as dense.
C) more dense.
D) Any of these choices could be correct, depending on the location.

Question 8

The earth's crust in midocean

A) is always solid and thin relative to the continents.
B) is always solid and thick relative to the continents.
C) may have rifts through which molten rock rises and spreads out.
D) may have rifts through which the ocean floors sink downward.

Question 9

The boundary between two plates that are sliding past each other is called a

A) normal fault.
B) transform fault.
C) syncline.
D) subduction zone.

Question 10

The Tethys Sea once separated

A) North and South America.
B) South America and Africa.
C) Europe and Asia.
D) Laurasia and Gondwanaland.

Question 11

Pangaea consisted of

A) Laurasia and Gondwana.
B) North and South America.
C) North America, Greenland, and most of Eurasia.
D) South America, Africa, Antarctica, India, and Australia.

Question 12

Relative to the ocean floors, the continents are

A) much younger.
B) about the same age.
C) much older.
D) Any of these choices could be correct, depending on the ocean and continent.

Question 13

If present trends continue,

A) California will be detached from the rest of North America.
B) the Atlantic Ocean will become narrower.
C) the Pacific Ocean will become wider.
D) the West Indies will sink below the ocean surface.

Question 14

Relative to the thickness of the earth's crust under the continents, under the oceans the crust is

A) thinner.
B) about the same in thickness.
C) thicker.
D) Any of these choices could be correct, depending on the ocean.

Question 15

The Andes are the result of

A) an oceanic plate sliding under a continental plate.
B) two oceanic plates colliding.
C) two continental plates colliding.
D) an enormous earthquake.

Question 16

A fractured surface in the earth's crust, one side of which has moved relative to the other, is called a

A) fault.
B) fault scarp.
C) sill.
D) dike.

Question 17

The layer of soft rock under the lithosphere is called the

A) stratosphere.
B) thermosphere.
C) asthenosphere.
D) mantle.

Question 18

The magnetizations of ocean-floor rocks alternate in direction in strips

A) parallel to adjacent midocean ridges.
B) perpendicular to adjacent midocean ridges.
C) parallel to adjacent continental margins.
D) perpendicular to adjacent continental margins.

Question 19

A subduction zone is never

A) associated with a mountain range.
B) associated with an island chain.
C) located at a midocean ridge.
D) located at a continental margin.

Question 20

The Himalayas are the result of

A) a giant volcanic eruption.
B) two oceanic plates colliding.
C) two continental plates colliding.
D) an oceanic and a continental plate colliding.

Question 21

The oldest division of geologic time is

A) Precambrian time.
B) the Paleozoic era.
C) the Mesozoic era.
D) the Cenozoic era.

Question 22

The theory of evolution is credited to

A) Charles Lyell.
B) Charles Darwin.
C) Abraham Werner.
D) Bishop Ussher.

Question 23

Each of the following elements has at least one radioactive isotope. Which is not useful in geochronology?

A) potassium
B) rubidium
C) uranium
D) plutonium

Question 24

Mammals were the dominant form of life in

A) the Cenozoic Era.
B) the Mesozoic Era.
C) the Paleozoic Era.
D) Precambrian time.

Question 25

The most recent division of geologic time is

A) Precambrian time.
B) the Paleozoic era.
C) the Mesozoic era.
D) the Cenozoic era.

Question 26

The age of the oldest rocks that have been dated is about

A) 4 million years.
B) 50 million years.
C) 1 billion years.
D) 4 billion years.

Question 27

Mammals originated in

A) Precambrian time.
B) the Paleozoic era.
C) the Mesozoic era.
D) the Cenozoic era.

Question 28

The correct sequence of geologic time divisions from longest to shortest is

A) epoch, period, era.
B) period, epoch, era.
C) epoch, era, period.
D) era, period, epoch.

Question 29

Paleozoic rocks are noteworthy for the presence of

A) dinosaur fossils.
B) fossils of early humans.
C) coal deposits.
D) radiocarbon deposits.

Question 30

Which one of the following is not a fossil?

A) an insect trapped in amber
B) the track of a dinosaur
C) a tooth of an extinct species of horse
D) ancient raindrop impressions preserved in shale

Question 31

Most fossils are found in

A) volcanic rocks.
B) metamorphic rocks.
C) sedimentary rocks that formed from deposits on the floors of shallow seas.
D) sedimentary rocks that formed from stream deposits.

Question 32

Classed as mammals are which one or more of the following?

A) reptiles.
B) fish.
C) birds.
D) human beings.

Question 33

Flowering plants first appeared in the

A) Cenozoic era.
B) Mesozoic era.
C) Paleozoic era.
D) late Precambrian.

Question 34

Land animals first appeared in the

A) Cenozoic Era.
B) Mesozoic Era.
C) Paleozoic Era.
D) late Precambrian.

Question 35

Birds are descended from

A) mammals.
B) dinosaurs.
C) fish.
D) insects.

Question 36

In general, ancient forms of life are

A) simpler than those of today.
B) more complex than those of today.
C) about the same in complexity as those of today, although different.
D) similar to those of today.

Question 37

Large-scale biological extinctions can be caused by

A) volcanic activity.
B) tectonic activity.
C) asteroid impacts.
D) All of these choices.

Question 38

A suitable object for radiocarbon dating would be one whose age is

A) 10,000 years old.
B) 100,000 years old.
C) 1 million years old.
D) 10 million years old.

Question 39

Large exposures of Precambrian rocks are found in

A) eastern Canada and adjacent parts of the United States.
B) the Rocky Mountains.
C) Texas and New Mexico.
D) the Middle West.

Question 40

The oldest rocks in which evidence of life appears are those of

A) Precambrian time.
B) the Paleozoic Era.
C) the Mesozoic Era.
D) the Cenozoic Era.

Question 41

The dinosaurs disappeared at the end of

A) Precambrian time.
B) the Paleozoic era.
C) the Mesozoic era.
D) the Cenozoic era.

Question 42

The Neanderthals

A) were less than a meter tall and had grapefruit-sized skulls.
B) died out before modern humans had evolved.
C) never lived in the same regions as modern humans.
D) provided a few percent of the genomes of people with European or Asian ancestry.

Question 43

The leading explanation for the disappearance of the dinosaurs ascribes it to

A) an Ice Age.
B) an asteroid impact.
C) solar ultraviolet radiation.
D) hunting by early humans.

Question 44

Laurasia and Gondwanaland broke up in

A) the Cenozoic Era.
B) the Mesozoic Era.
C) the Paleozoic Era.
D) Precambrian time.

Question 45

Which of the following statements is in accord with present knowledge?

A) Coal and petroleum originated from plant matter from swamps.
B) Coal and petroleum originated from marine life such as algae and plankton.
C) Coal originated from plant matter and petroleum from marine life.
D) Coal originated from marine life and petroleum from plant matter.

Question 46

Climates in the Cenozoic era

A) were always cooler than today.
B) were always warmer than today.
C) were sometimes cooler and sometimes warmer than today.
D) were always about the same as today.

Question 47

Modern humans

A) descended from Neanderthals.
B) descended from chimpanzees.
C) share a common ancestor with chimpanzees.
D) share less than 50 percent of their DNA with other species.

Question 48

The dinosaurs

A) were reptiles.
B) were giant mammals.
C) disappeared gradually over a long period of time.
D) still existed when the early humans appeared.

Question 49

Pangaea split into Laurasia and Gondwana during

A) Precambrian time.
B) the Paleozoic era.
C) the Mesozoic era.
D) the Cenozoic era.

Question 50

During the Pleistocene Epoch

A) ice sheets covered the entire earth.
B) there was a single period of widespread glaciation.
C) there were a number of periods of widespread glaciation.
D) all animal life became extinct and later began again.