Geologic Time Scale

Question 1

what do you call the remnants of any ancient plant or animal that are preserved in the earth’s rocks.

Answer 1

fossils

Question 2

this is a record of the life forms and geological events in Earth’s history.

Answer 2

geologic time scale

Question 3

scientists have divided the _______ years of Earth’s rich history into different spans time to conveniently indicate a major geological or paleontological event.

Answer 3

4.6 billion

Question 4

this is the method of measuring the absolute age of an event or object

Answer 4

absolute dating

Question 5

It states that the present is the key to the past, which is based on the principle that natural laws have remained the same throughout time.

Answer 5

uniformitarianism

Question 6

_______ serve as guide or indicators of

certain geologic periods.

Answer 6

index fossil

Question 7

based on the principle of _______, it is known that the new layers can be laid down only on top of pre existing older strata, and therefore, older rocks lie below younger ones

Answer 7

superposition

Question 8

it is the earliest of the geologic ages, which are marked by different layers of sedimentary rock.

Answer 8

Precambrian era

Question 9

the earliest living organisms were

Answer 9

microscopic bacteria

Question 10

considered the age of the dinosaurs

Answer 10

jurassic period

Question 11

enumerate the three eons of the precambrian era

Answer 11

hadean eon
archean eon
proterozoic eon

Question 12

this is the eon of visible life.

Answer 12

phanerozoic eon

Question 13

_______ studies the earth

Answer 13

geologists

Question 14

_______ studies ancient life

Answer 14

paleontologists

Question 15

enumerate the three eras of the phanerozoic eon

Answer 15

paleozoic era
mesozoic era
cenozoic era

Question 16

in what epoch is the present time

Answer 16

holocene epoch

Question 17

this is characterized by Earth’s initial formation-from the accretion of dust and gases and the frequent collisions of larger planetesimals-and by the stabilization of its core and dust and the development of its atmosphere and oceans.

Answer 17

hadean eon

Question 18

the period when life first formed on

earth.

Answer 18

archean eon

Question 19

the first oxygen-dependent animals

Answer 19

ediacara fauna

Question 20

the _______ lasted for 1.9 billion years, almost half the age of earth

Answer 20

proterozoic eon

Question 21

considered the chaotic eon

Answer 21

hadean eon

Question 22

the atmosphere began to have oxygen, eukaryotes diversified, multicellular animals appeared, and the continents began to drift away

Answer 22

proterozoic eon

Question 23

during _______, animals began to breathe air as amphibians came out of the sea

Answer 23

devonian period

Question 24

what are the periods of the paleozoic era

Answer 24

cambrian
ordovician
silurian
devonian
mississippian
pennsylvanian
permian

Question 25

the time of ancient life

Answer 25

cambrian period

Question 26

a rich variety of marine life flourished in the vast seas and the first primitive plants began to appear on land

Answer 26

ordovician period

Question 27

it is often known as the “Age of Fishes” although significant events also happened in the evolution of plants, the first insects and other animals.

Answer 27

devonian period

Question 28

this period is characterized by shallow-water limestone deposits occupying the interiors of continents especially in the Northern Hemisphere.

Answer 28

mississippian period

Question 29

this is recognized as a time significant advance and retreat by shallows seas. Many nonmarine areas the equator became coal swamps during this period

Answer 29

pennsylvanian period

Question 30

at the end of this period was the largest mass extinction in history. what period is this and what was the extinction called

Answer 30

permian period , permian extinction

Question 31

enumerate mesozoic era’s periods

Answer 31

triasssic period
jurassic period
cretaceous period

Question 32

mesozoic era is derived from the Greek term

for ______

Answer 32

“middle life”

Question 33

during this era the continents began to move into their present-day configurations.

Answer 33

mesozoic era

Question 34

during this period, oceans formed as land shifted and broke out of one big supercontinent into smaller ones.

Answer 34

cretaceous period

Question 35

This period is the longest period of the phanerozoic.

Answer 35

cretaceous period

Question 36

It was the interval of time during which the continents assumed their modern configuration and geographic positions and during which earth’s flora and fauna evolved toward those of the present.

Answer 36

cenozoic era

Question 37

cenozoic era is divided into two periods. what are these two

Answer 37

tertiary period

quaternary period

Question 38

first major worldwide division of rocks and time of the Paleogene Period. The most complete picture of this epoch is the terrestrial life and environments.

Answer 38

paleocene epoch

Question 39

it is derived from the Greek eon, for “dawn” referring to the appearance and diversification of many modern groups of organisms, especially mammals and mollusks.

Answer 39

eocene epoch

Question 40

it is derived from Greek and means the “epoch of few recent forms”, referring to the sparseness of the number of modern animals that originated during that time.

Answer 40

oligocene epoch

Question 41

earliest major worldwide division of the Neogene Period

Answer 41

miocene epoch

Question 42

second of two worldwide divisions of the Neogene Period

Answer 42

pliocene epoch

Question 43

this period has been characterized by several periods of glaciation

Answer 43

quaternary period

Question 44

it is one of the best studied parts of the geologic record.

Answer 44

quaternary period

Question 45

it is best known as a time during which extensive ice sheets and other glaciers formed repeatedly on the landmasses and has been informally referred to as “Great Ice Age”.

Answer 45

pleistocene epoch

Question 46

enumerate the major methods of relative dating

Answer 46

Radiometric dating
Amino acid dating
Dendrochronology
Thermoluminescence

Question 47

This technique solely depends on the traces of radioactive isotopes found in fossils. The rate of decay of these elements helps determine their age, and in turn the age of the rocks.

Answer 47

Radiometric dating

Question 48

Each tree has growth rings in its trunk. This technique dates the time period during which these rings were formed.

Answer 48

Dendrochronology

Question 49

Physical structure of living beings depends on the protein content in their bodies. The changes in this content help determine the relative age of these fossils.

Answer 49

Amino acid dating

Question 50

It determines the period during which certain object was last subjected to heat. It is based on the concept that heated objects absorb light, and emit electrons. The emissions are measured to compute the age.

Answer 50

Thermoluminescence

Question 51

________ estimate whether an object is younger or older than other things found at the site. this does not offer specific dates, it simply allows to determine if one artifact, fossil, or stratigraphic layer is older than another.

Answer 51

relative dating methods

Question 52

________ provide more specific origin dates and time ranges, such as an age range in years. How specific these dates can be will depend on what method is used.

Answer 52

absolute dating methods

Question 53

_______ are atoms of the same element that have similar number of protons but different numbers of neutrons

Answer 53

isotopes

Question 54

other isotopes are unstable, in that they break down into stable isotopes or other elements. what are they called?

Answer 54

radioactive

Question 55

the unstable radioactive isotope is called the _______

Answer 55

parent isotope

Question 56

the stable isotope produced by the radioactive decay is called the _______

Answer 56

daughter isotope

Question 57

During this time continental landmasses were low and sea levels were rising. This meant rich shallow sea ecosystems with new ecological niches.

Answer 57

silurian period

Question 58

time when life outside of the oceans began diversify.

Answer 58

triassic period

Question 59

The term Cenozoic originally spelled _________

Answer 59

cainozoic