Trilobites thrived...
In the Paleozoic
when continental crust meets continental crust in a convergent plate boundary what is the most likely feature to form?
A huge mountain range
what is the definition of a theory?
An explanation of observed phenomena that has been thourly tested through experiment and can be used to make predictions
All dinosaurs became extinct in 65 ma
False because birds are dinosaurs
Varved deposits corals, tree rings, glaciers, what do alternating bands of light and dark material represent?
annual fluctuations of the seasons
a sedimentary rock sequence contains two rock units tiled vertically so that you can't use the law of superposition to determine the relative age. Unit A contains rock pieces of unit B, which unit is older and why?
Unit B because of the law of inclusions
The following statements about polar magnetism on earth are true:
magnetic field orientation during the time of rock formation is recorded in solidifying lavas sea floor
Halte is an example of:
Evaporite
Hawaiian lavas can be characterized as:
Low in silica, non-explosive
New oceanic lithosphere is formed at ____________ plate boundaries
divergent
Which interval of geologic time. is the earliest (oldest) in which there was significant free oxygen in the atmosphere and oceans?
Proterozoic
Which absolute age system would be appropriate to determine the age of the earth and what ages are produced by this system?
U-PB ; 4.56 Ga
Thermal convection cells distribute heat via....
Warm mantle, rising under mid-ocean ridges: then cooling and sinking under ocean trenches and then warming again to continue the cycle
Which of the following is not one of the eight most abundant elements in the crust?
Hydrogen
The longest unit of geologic time is:
EON
The principle of inclusions states that:
Rocks can contain inclusions of other, older rocks
Which of the following intervals of geologic time is not found in oceanic crust?
Archean
Conglomerates are rocks composed of:
Rock fragments larger than 2mm
Volcanic ash is an example of:
An extrusive igneous rock
A rock made from shells of small marine animals, including those that form coral reefs, would almost completely made of:
Carbonate Minerals
Oceanic crust is much younger than continental crust because:
Oceanic crust is more dense than continental, so it subjects and is recycled
Sandstone that bears similar characteristics of present day sand dunes indicates:
Both a and c. A:sandstone was deposited in a dune environment. C: The sandstone represents an interval of the geologic past when a dune field existed
why does some sandstone consist of only rounded grains of quartz?
Quartz is durable and can survive erosion and transport
The thickness of the crust at the Himalayas is greater than at the mid-atlantic ridge
TRUE
Magnetic stripes are well preserved in ocean crust and represent:
Seafloor spreading and change in the direction of earth magnetic field
a rock containing radioactive element is found to have 250,00 parent isotopes and 750,000 daughter isotopes, if the hale-life and the parent isotope is 2 million years, how old is the rock?
4 million years
which is true about the density of magic and felsic minerals?
Mafic minerals are more dense
The direction of plate movement over geologic time scales is best indicated by:
the formation of linear chain of volcanic islands formed by mantle hotspots
which of the following is not a magic silicate mineral?
Quartz
If mantle hot spot remains stationary and tectonic plate moves over it, a chain of district volcanos will extend away from the hot spot. dating volcanos such as those of Hawaii shows that rates of plate motion....
are not much slower than many ma ago
The two most abundant elements in earths crust are:
silicon and oxygen
characteristics of convergent plate boundaries include:
mid ocean ridges
the oldest rocks on earth come from___________; the oldest one known on earth is ___________.
continental cratons; the canadian shield
which of the following is likely a product of endosymbiosis during the archean Eon?
a eukaryote that originated from symbiotic prokaryote cells
which of the following is a positive feedback that helps ice expands during a snowball earth interval?
high reflectivity of ice and snow
In the absence of rain how might the earth start to warm up when covered in ice?
volcanic eruptions releasing carbon dioxide
What rock type deposited throughout the oceans after snowball earth interval ended and is consistent with high amounts of carbon dioxide in atmosphere
cap carbonate
which of the following fossils of the cambrian explosion was one of the first predators?
anomalocaris
What property of the rock record distinguishes the paleozoic era from earlier intervebrates of earth history
large, easy to see fossils in sedimentary rocks
what types of sedimentary rocks represent orogenies of the Paleozoic
coarse-grained sedimentary rocks formed at the edges of mountains
which of the following Paleozoic orogenies is oldest
taconic
which of the following transgression occurred during the early Cambrian period
sauk
which 2 orogenies occurred during the silurian period
acadian & caledonian
which super continent was fully assembled by the end of the permian
pangea
what types of animals appeared during the cambrain explosion
shelly marine invertebrates
which of the following animals had 3 body sections and lived in both shallow and deep marine environments
trilobite
a theorized result of the event which formed the moon include:
fused cores of 2 distinct planets and tilted rotational axis of earth
what was one of the first vertebrates/chordates to appear during cambrian
pikaia
which of the following is one of the first jawed fish predators of the paleozoic and featured on armored head
placoderm
what group of invertebrates are humans closets relatives
echinodermata
Dropstones are found in deep marine sediments and are derived from glaciers/icebergs. They are found in 600 MA sedimentary rocks all over the world, including those which were at tropical latitudes in the late Proterozoic
True
which of the paleozoic periods are poorly represented in the Williston basin corresponding with the regression following the Tippecanoes transgression
the silurian
archean stromatolites are most likely formed by___________, which are _____________ cells
anaerobic cynobacteria, prokaryote
the banded iron formations which formed during the proterozic represent which of the following events?
great oxygenation event
during which period of the paleozoic were reefs primairly formed by cup-shaped archeocythids
cambrian
during the tippecanoe transgression, the thickest sedimentary sequences formed in the center Laurentia
false
which of the following animals thrived in the aftermath of the Argonomic revolution
burrowers
which of the following animals groups were immobile filter feeders that appeared during the cambrian and were abundant for much of the paleozoic
bryozoans, brachiopods, crinoids, tabulate corals
during the Pennsylvanian-permian, laurentia was characterized by
thick coal-forming deposits in the east & thick carbonate deposits in the west
a Cratonic sequence with coarse grained sedimentary rocks on the bottom and finer grained sedimentary rock in the middle and carbonate rocks on top represent
transgression
which of the following evolutionary divergence lines is correct
aganthians> jawed fish> labyrinthodants> amniotic egg reptiles > synapsids
which of the following animal groups was first to lay amniotic eggs on land
reptiles
when the rate of seafloor spreading increases global sea level
rises
which of the following statements about earths precambrian oxygenation are true
in the presence of oxygen, uranium becomes soluble, so most sedimentary
animal with fish features and structures for land life
tiktaalik
early vertabrate without jaws
pikaia
amphibian land-dweller and lobe fish descendant
labyrinthodont
Which group of organisms would you most likely see in a marine deposit from the mesozoic?
Bivalves, gastropods, ammoiods
which event is highly correlated to be a cause of the end permian extinction?
Siberian traps
The niobrara formation was deposited in the late cretaceous and is rich in dinosaur fossils, this sedimentary rock records a _______________environment?
Delta
Tyrannosaurus rex, a theropod, is more closely related in time and in body form to birds than to stegosaurus.
TRUE
Which statement about the relationship between orogenies relative sea level is true?
A foreland basin forms parallel to the orogeny and relative sea level increases
What happened at the end of the triassic period that may have created ecological space for dinosaurs to thrive and evolve?
Extinction of large therapsids
The oldest dinosaurs appeared during the __________ period
Triassic
How did the breakup of Pangea affect the diversity of dinosaurs?
Continents become isolated, leading to divergent and speciation
What group of dinosaurs shared more than 20 body characteristics with birds?
Theropods
What is the first bird identified in the fossil record of the mesozoic era?
Archaeopteryx
What is the phylogenetic order largely agreed on by paleontologists to represent the relationships between oldest birds to modern birds?
Archaeopteryx-->Jeholorinis----> Enantiornithes------>Hesperornis--->Modern birds
What is a gastrolith?
Small rocks used by non-arian dinosaurs and birds to aid digestion
How did features amount early birds evolve to permit flight over greater distances?
They became asymmetric and tail fans became longer
Which of the following skull properties distinguishes mammals from reptiles in the fossil record
A,B, and C. A: Jaw bone. B:Ear bones. C:teeth
what body characteristic of mesozoic mammals suggest they were nocturnal?
Large eyes, powerful sense of smell, larger brain
Of the following choices, what would you NOT expect to find in hell creek formation?
Gasses
what is the most likely source of concentrated iridium found in sediments deposited at the end of mesocoic era?
meteor or asteroid
Which of the following went extinct at the end of the cretaceous period?
all ammonites
what are commonly found in the hell creek formation?
Fossil egg clutches
_________ fractionates based on temp and _________ fractionates based on vital effect (biological mediated)
Oxygen isotopes, carbon isotopes
when did the Paleocene - Eocene thermal maximum occurs and how long did it last?
At 55, 100,000 years
Which of the following is a records warmth during the Paleocene Eocene thermal maximum?
All of the above.
-oxygen isotopes from marine fossils
-fossils of warm adapted trees at hight latitudes
-fossils of warm adapted marine organisms at latitudes
why geologists know more about the Cenozoic rocks than rocks from other ages.
They are most accessible being at or near the surface
which of the following may have been a source of the excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in the early Cenozoic (66-50 ma)
increased volcanic activity
in which sedimentary formation are you most likely to discover abundant dinosaur fossils?
Morrison (jurassic flood plains)
What is the Pierre shale in ND primarly composed of?
organic rich, black mud
according to oxygen isotopes records, what was the long term trend in climate change during the last 35 ma?
Cooling
During the mesozoic, western American was an ____________ continental margin featuring a ___________plate boundary.
Active, Convergent
What was the first orogeny to occur in western North America during the mesozoic era, forming the first subduction zone along western North America?
Sonoma
Which of the following is a record of the Nevadan orogeny?
Granite batholiths along the western edge of North America
which of these groups of mesozoic orogenies comprise the Rocky Mountains?
Nevadan, sevier, laranide (those are spelled wrong)
A foreland basin forms landward of mountains that form along a subduction zone. During the mesozoic orogenies, a foreland basin formed ____________ of the mountains in North America
East
The end permian mass extinction was caused by _________
Degassing of metamorphosed sediments beneath continental crust
Which of the following fossil groups suggest that the cretaceous interior seaway was hundreds of meters deep, at maximum size
A, B, &C. Ammonites, mosasaurs, Ginsu shark
What are the two formations that show the evidence for the first phase of interior seaway in ND?
Niobrara Fm and Pierre Shale
Why are ammonites the index fossil's for the interior seaway in ND?
Each species has a distinctive survive pattern, very common, widely distributed (A, B, C are correct)
During the end permian mass extinction, about ________________ of species went extinct. During the end cretaceous mass extinction, about ___________ of species went extinct
96%, 75%
How does the marine paleoecology differ between mesozoic and Paleozoic?
Extinction and decline of immune organisms, and increases in mobile organisms and burrowers
Metamorphic rocks have been altered by temp and pressure, causing new minerals and structures to form, but were never melted
true
Straigraphy applies to all rock groups but it focuses primarily on
sedimentary rocks
Darwins theory of natural selection is best described as
survival of the individuals most adapted to the environment
Fossils preserved in sedimentary rocks include trace fossils and body fossils which of the following is a trace fossil
Burrow
Sandstone can be deposited in which of the following environments
All of the above; beach, dune, fast flowing river
The principle of fossil succession states that assemble ages of fissils
succeed each other in predictable way
During marine transgressions and regressions several facies are deposited at the same time giving rise to vertical and lateral relationships. which principle summarizes these relationships
walthers principle
which of the following grain sizes is/are held in suspension in very low velocity
silt and clay
which of the following rock types is poorly sorted
conglomerate deposited by glacier
a piece of petrified wood consists of some of the original wood and some mineral material in its void space. The wood is fossilized by
permineralization
when a marine regression occurs sea level ____________ and the shoreline migrates_______________
falls, oceanward
which of the following properties of sedimentary rocks is most useful for determining its depositional environment
sedimentary structures
which of the following condition is/are favorable for an organism to become fossilized
rapid burial, consists of hard parts, low oxygen environment
in which of the following environments can mud cracks form?
tidal flat where water evaporates
the precambrian internal accounts for the first __________ of earth history
4 billon years
According to the solar nebular theory a ____________ will form at the center of a rotating disk and ____________ will form alone the outer part
star, planets
Int he solar system the inner planets are ___________ and composed mostly of _____________ compared to the outer planets
smaller, metals
to be used as an index fossil the fossil organism
must have been very common and had a wide geographic distribution and must have included species that are both easy to identify and that went extinct quickly
in a cliff you see a sandstone bed resting on top of a coarse-grained igneous rock, the contact between them looks planar. Based on the law of inclusions the sandstone is
older than the igneous rock
For the image to the right the stratigraphic column is indicating
transgression
The grain size of a detrital sedimentary rock relates to
the velocity of the water which it was deposited
Sediments deposited in a braided stream close to eroding mountains would typically include
altering beds of poorly sorted gravel and cross-bedded sand, they usually have no muddy beds and no fossils
According to the theory of natural selection positive traits are known as __________ and are ______________ to be passed alone to the next generation
adaptations, more likely
What is the name of fossilized feces
coprolite
In which marine environment are you likely to find a turbidite
continental slope
which of these is a transitional enviroment
barrier island and beach
which of the statements is most likely to cause speciation
a natural barrier between populations
Lamarck believed that organisms _______________ traits and _______________ pass
acquire, do
If a population nearly goes extinct the remaining individuals can evolve in just a few generations. This is an example of evolution by
punctuated equilibrium
If a sedimentary rock is in contact with a metamorphic rock, what is this unconformity called
nonconformity
The geological time scale is based on
biostratigraphy
which organism would make best index fossil
ammonites
what type of fossilization is likely to leave a thin dark film?
carbonization
what size of particles can a river like the red river of the north transport
silt/clays
_________ is triangular deposit of sand and soil, found at the mount of some rivers
delta
____________ ripples form in channelled flow deposits while____________ ripples are formed in tidal flow, both produce_____________
asymmetrical, symmetrical, cross- beds
ancestor to mammal-like
pelycosaur
during which internal of pre Cambrian time did the moon form
hadean
which of the following contributed free oxygen to the atmosphere during proterzoic eon
photosynthesis by cyanobacteria
which of the following continental represents the proterzoic and early paleozoic versioon of north america
Laurentia
the last snowball earth interval to occur in earth history was during the
Late Proterozoic earth