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Quiz 8 Geol
Question | Answer |
---|---|
Which of the following gases was NOT part of Earth's original atmosphere? | oxygen |
The most common Precambrian fossils are ________, layered mounds of calcium carbonate. | stromatolites |
The ________ era is known as the "age of flowering plants." | Cenozoic |
________ are among the most widespread Paleozoic fossils | Brachiopods |
As the solar system began forming, the first materials to condense into small particles were ________ and nickel. ? oxygen - silicon - nitrogen - carbon ? | none of these |
Which one of the following represents the greatest expanse of geological time? | Precambrian |
During the early Paleozoic era, South America, Africa, Australia, Antarctica, India, and perhaps China comprised the vast southern continent of ________ | Gondwanaland |
Which type of bacteria thrive in environments that lack free oxygen | anaerobic |
Which era of geologic time spans about 88 percent of Earth's history | Precambian |
The ________ means "the Sun in the making." | protosun |
Mammals became the dominant land animals during the ________ era | Cenozoic |
The ________ period was a time of major extinctions, including 75 percent of amphibian families. | Permian |
The beginning of the Cambrian period marks an important event in animal evolution — the appearance of organisms with _______ | hard parts |
The era of "ancient life" is the ________ era. ? Cenozoic - Precambian - Neolithic - Mesozoic ? | none of these |
Due to a virtual absence of land plants and certain animals, fossil fuels are notably absent in ________ rocks | Precambian |
The major source of free oxygen in the atmosphere is from ________ | green plants |
The age of Earth is about ________. | 4.5 billion years |
The Precambrian rock record indicates that much of Earth's first free oxygen combined with ________ dissolved in water. | iron |
Which one of the following does NOT characterize the early development and specialization of the primitive mammals | increase in stomach capacity |
As they formed, due to their high temperatures and comparatively weak gravitational fields, which planets were unable to retain appreciable amounts of hydrogen, helium, and ammonia? | Mercury and Earth |
Abundant fossil evidence did not appear in the geologic record until about ________ | 540 million years ago |
During the late Paleozoic, the present-day North America, Europe, western Asia, Siberia, and perhaps China formed the northern continent of ________. | Laurasia |
Most ________ rocks are devoid of fossils, which hinders correlation of rocks. | Precambrian |
The ________ period is sometimes called the "golden age of trilobites." | Cambrian |
________ means "planets in the making." | protoplanet |
The process in which plants use light energy to synthesize food sugars from carbon dioxide is called ________. | photosynthesis |
The beginning of the ________ era is marked by the appearance of the first life forms with hard parts. | Paleozoic |
Each continent contains large "core areas" of Precambrian rocks referred to as _______ | shields |
By the close of the Paleozoic, all the continents had fused into the single super continent of ________. | Pangea |
Earth's primitive atmosphere evolved from gases ________. | expelled from within |
The most economically important resource in Cenozoic strata of the Gulf Coast is _______ | petroleum |
The waste gas released by plants as they synthesize food sugars from carbon dioxide and water is ______ | oxygen |
Most of Earth's iron ore occurs in middle ________ rocks | Precambrian |
The first true terrestrial animals were the _______ | reptiles |
This least understood era of Earth's history has not been subdivided into briefer time units (according to the book) | Precambrian |
During the ________ period, large evaporite deposits of rock salt and gypsum formed in North America. | Silurian |
The supercontinent of Pangaea began to break up during the ________ era. | Mesozoic |
Which era is sometimes called the "age of dinosaurs? | Mesozoic |
During the ________ era, the westward-moving North American plate began to override the Pacific plate, eventually causing the tectonic activity that ultimately formed the mountains of western North America | Mesozoic |
By the ________ period, large tropical swamps extended across North America, eventually becoming the vast coal deposits of today | Pennsylvanian |
One group of reptiles, exemplified by the fossil Archaeopteryx, led to the evolution of _______ | birds |
Which period is known as the "age of fishes"? | Devonian |
During the Cenozoic, plate interactions gave rise to many events of mountain building, volcanism, and earthquakes in ________ North America | western |
The cells of these primitive organisms lack organized nuclei and they reproduce asexually. | prokaryotes |
Following the reptilian extinctions at the close of the Mesozoic, two groups of mammals, the marsupials and ________, evolved. | placentals |
Cambrian - Mississippian - Jurassic - Devonian | Jurassic |
trilobites - brachiopods - fish - dinosaurs | dinosaurs |
Cenozoic - Phanerozoic - Mesozoic - Paleozoic | Phanerozoic |
The decay of radioactive atoms, coupled with heat released by colliding particles, produced at least some melting of Earth's early interior. | T |
We are now living in the Mesozoic era. | F |
Most Mesozoic rocks are devoid of fossils; consequently this is the least understood span of Earth's history | F |
Probably the single most characteristic feature of the Precambrian is its great abundance of fossil evidence. | F |
Due to differentiation, the lighter, gaseous materials escaped Earth's interior and became the primitive atmosphere. | T |
During the early Paleozoic era, the continent of Gondwanaland included North and South America. | F |
The bodies of our solar system began forming about 5 billion years ago from an enormous cloud of minute rocky fragments and gases. | T |
The first true terrestrial land animals were the mammals. | F |
Earth's original atmosphere, several billion years ago, was similar to the present atmosphere. | F |
The Cenozoic era is the age of mammals. | T |
The major source of oxygen in Earth's atmosphere is from the decay of plants | F |
The supercontinent of Pangaea formed during the late Mesozoic era. | F |
Much of the original free oxygen in the atmosphere combined with iron dissolved in water to become iron oxide. | T |
During the Cenozoic era, the eastern and western margins of North America experienced similar geologic events. | F |
The large outer planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune) contain huge amounts of hydrogen and other light materials as part of their composition. | T |
Fossil fuels are abundant in Precambrian rocks. | F |
A major event of the Mesozoic era was the breakup of the supercontinent called Pangaea. | T |
The fault-block mountains of Nevada and Mexico formed during the Cenozoic era. | T |
When Earth's primitive surface cooled below water's boiling point, torrential rains slowly filled low areas, forming oceans. | T |
Volcanic activity was common in western North America during much of Cenozoic time. | T |
The earliest land plants had large, broad leafs to efficiently intercept sunlight. | F |
Mammals replaced reptiles as the dominant land animals in the Cenozoic era. | T |
A wave of late Pleistocene extinctions rapidly eliminated many large mammals. | T |
The beginning of the Precambrian era is marked by the appearance of the first life forms with hard parts. | F |
Many reptile groups became extinct at the close of the Cenozoic era. | F |
During the Cenozoic era, a great wedge of sediments from the eroding Rockies created the Great Plains. | T |