Multiple Choice
Identify the
choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
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1.
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Which of the following is NOT one of the main
areas of Earth science? a. | geology | c. | astrology | b. | oceanography | d. | astronomy |
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2.
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The inner planets—Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars—were formed by
____.
a. | supernovas | b. | repeated collisions of asteroid-sized
debris | c. | masses of cold hydrogen and helium | d. | collisions with large
galaxies |
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3.
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According to the nebular hypothesis, our solar
system formed from a huge rotating cloud made mostly of ____. a. | carbon and hydrogen | c. | oxygen and helium | b. | helium and hydrogen | d. | nitrogen and
oxygen |
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4.
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The outer planets—Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune—are made up
of ____.
a. | hydrogen, helium, and water | b. | iron, nickel, and carbon
dioxide | c. | carbon, oxygen, and methane | d. | water, carbon dioxide, ammonia, and
methane |
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5.
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The distance, measured in degrees, north and south of the equator is referred to
as ____.
a. | longitude | c. | the prime meridian | b. | latitude | d. | the poles |
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6.
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On the global grid, the prime meridian is at
____. a. | 0 degrees latitude | c. | 0 degrees longitude | b. | 90 degrees latitude | d. | 90 degrees
longitude |
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7.
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How could two points 35 degrees north of the equator—one in North America
and the other in China—be distinguished using map coordinates?
a. | by their elevation | c. | by their longitude | b. | by their map projection | d. | by their
latitude |
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8.
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Differences in elevation are best shown using a
____. a. | Mercator projection map | c. | Robinson projection
map | b. | gnomonic projection map | d. | topographic map |
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9.
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A Mercator projection map shows
____. a. | accurate directions, but has distorted sizes and distances | b. | accurate distances,
sizes, and shapes, but has distortions around the edges | c. | accurate size, but
has distorted distances | d. | accurate size and distances only at the center
of the map |
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10.
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Because there is only a small amount of distortion over a local area, what type
of map is used for road maps and weather maps?
a. | Mercator projection map | c. | Robinson projection
map | b. | conic projection map | d. | gnomonic projection map |
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11.
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On a topographic map, contour lines that form a
circle indicate a(n) ____. a. | lake | c. | hill | b. | ocean | d. | depression |
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12.
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In Figure 1-2, what is the distance from point B to point C?
a. | 4 miles | c. | 5 kilometers | b. | 6 miles | d. | 4 kilometers |
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13.
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In Figure 1-2, what is the contour interval of the map?
a. | 10 feet | c. | 100 feet | b. | 50 feet | d. | 25 feet |
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14.
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In Figure 1-2, what is the approximate difference in elevation between point E
and point D?
a. | 7500 feet | c. | 750 feet | b. | 1000 feet | d. | 1500 feet |
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15.
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In Figure 1-2, what is the elevation of Sugar Loaf Mountain?
a. | 11,300 feet | c. | 1130 feet | b. | 15,000 feet | d. | 10,000 feet |
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16.
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A map with a scale of 1:24,000 means that
____. a. | one unit on the map is equal to 24,000 units on the ground | b. | one unit on the
ground is equal to 24,000 units on the map | c. | the contour interval is 24,000
feet | d. | the contour interval changes every 24,000 feet |
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17.
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What are the two sources of energy for the Earth system?
a. | lightning and the sun | c. | the sun and wind | b. | the sun and Earth’s
interior | d. | Earth’s
interior and the winds |
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18.
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A hypothesis can become a theory if
____. a. | it has lasted a very long time | b. | the hypothesis is tested extensively and
competing hypotheses are eliminated | c. | there are no other competing
hypotheses | d. | the hypothesis can be tested at least once |
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19.
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A preliminary untested explanation that tries to explain how or why things
happen in the manner observed is a scientific ____.
a. | law | c. | fact | b. | theory | d. | hypothesis |
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20.
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A scientific idea that is well tested and widely accepted by the scientific
community is called a scientific ____.
a. | hypothesis | c. | theory | b. | inquiry | d. | method |
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21.
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In scientific inquiry, when competing hypotheses have been eliminated, a
hypothesis may be elevated to the status of a scientific ____.
a. | estimate | c. | theory | b. | idea | d. | truth |
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22.
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How old is Earth?
a. | 2 billion years | c. | 16 million years | b. | 4.6 million years | d. | 4.56 billion
years |
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23.
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Which span of geologic time spans covers the majority of Earth’s
history?
a. | Cenozoic | c. | Paleozoic | b. | Mesozoic | d. | Precambrian |
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24.
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Which era immediately follows the Precambrian?
a. | Paleozoic | c. | Cenozoic | b. | Mesozoic | d. | Tertiary |
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25.
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When did abundant fossil evidence first appear in the geologic record?
a. | 5 billion years ago | c. | 300 million years ago | b. | 540 million years
ago | d. | 3 billion years
ago |
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26.
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In the early Paleozoic, life was restricted to the ____.
a. | air | c. | continents | b. | seas | d. | islands |
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27.
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What event may have triggered the mass extinction at the end of the Permian
period?
a. | climatic change | c. | changes in Earth’s orbit | b. | meteorite
strike | d. | heightened solar
activity |
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28.
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Which animals did NOT survive the Mesozoic extinction?
a. | dinosaurs | c. | snakes | b. | turtles | d. | lizards |
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29.
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The current geologic period is called the ____.
a. | Mesozoic | c. | Quaternary | b. | Tertiary | d. | Silurian |
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30.
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The formation of the solar system from a huge cloud of dust and gases is called
the ____.
a. | protoplanet theory | c. | planetesimal theory | b. | nebular theory | d. | solar theory |
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31.
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Most asteroids lie between the orbits of ____.
a. | Mercury and Venus | c. | Earth and Mars | b. | Venus and Earth | d. | Mars and
Jupiter |
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32.
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A comet’s tail always points ____.
a. | away from the sun | c. | sideways | b. | toward the sun | d. | downward |
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33.
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Using the Doppler effect, astronomers can determine a star’s ____.
a. | temperature | c. | movement toward or away from Earth | b. | chemical
composition | d. | age |
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34.
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Our galaxy is called the ____.
a. | Local Group | c. | Andromeda | b. | Orion | d. | Milky Way |
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35.
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At its nucleus, the Milky Way Galaxy is about 100,000 light-years wide and
____.
a. | 1,000 light-years thick | c. | 100,000 light-years
thick | b. | 10,000 light-years thick | d. | 1,000,000 light-years thick |
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36.
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Where is our sun located in the Milky Way?
a. | within one of the spiral arms | b. | at the exact center of the galactic
nucleus | c. | in the galactic halo | d. | at the tip of one of the spiral
arms |
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37.
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According to Hubble’s law, galaxies are retreating at a speed that is
proportional to their ____.
a. | orientation | c. | galactic position | b. | distance | d. | mass |
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38.
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According to the big bang theory, the universe began about ____.
a. | 4.5 billion years ago | c. | 49.6 billion years ago | b. | 13.7 billion years
ago | d. | 130 billion years
ago |
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39.
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Which of the following supports the big bang theory?
a. | pulsars | c. | galactic clusters | b. | cosmic background radiation | d. | irregular
galaxies |
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40.
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The present is the key to the past. This statement rephrases the ____.
a. | principle of cross-cutting relationships | b. | law of
gravity | c. | principle of uniformitarianism | d. | principle of original
horizontality |
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41.
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According to the principle of cross-cutting
relationships, an intrusive rock body is ____. a. | deposited as sedimentary layers | b. | always made of the same materials as rock
around it | c. | older than the rocks into which it intrudes | d. | younger than the
rocks into which it intrudes |
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42.
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The dating process that places geologic events in proper sequence is referred to
as a ____.
a. | radiometric dating | c. | numerical dating | b. | relative dating | d. | temporary
dating |
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43.
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In general, the law of superposition states that in an undeformed sequence of
sedimentary rocks, each layer is ____.
a. | basically the same age | c. | older than the one below it | b. | older than the one
above it | d. | thicker than the
one above it |
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44.
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What is the youngest feature shown in Figure 12-1?
a. | rock layer J | c. | fault M | b. | rock layer A | d. | igneous intrusion
L |
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45.
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Which of the following sequences correctly lists the geologic events in Figure
12-1 in order from oldest to youngest (oldest listed first)?
a. | A, B, K, X, C, D, E, F, G, H, M, Y, I, J, L | b. | L, J, I, Y, M, H, G,
F, E, D, C, X, K, B, A | c. | A, B, C, X, K, D, E, F, M, G, H, Y, L, I,
J | d. | K, A, B, C, X, D, E, M, F, G, H, Y, I, J, L |
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46.
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In Figure 12-1, what type of unconformity is shown at X?
a. | conformity | c. | disconformity | b. | angular unconformity | d. | nonconformity |
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47.
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A break that separates older metamorphic rocks from younger sedimentary rocks
immediately above them is a type of unconformity called a(n) ____.
a. | disconformity | c. | angular unconformity | b. | nonconformity | d. | conformity |
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48.
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What type of unconformity consists of tilted sedimentary rocks that are overlain
by younger, more flat-lying sedimentary rocks?
a. | angular unconformity | c. | nonconformity | b. | disconformity | d. | conformity |
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49.
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Which type of geologic event has to occur to
create an angular conformity? a. | uninterrupted deposition of sediment | b. | igneous intrusion into layered
rock | c. | sediment deposited on older, eroded igneous rock | d. | folding or tilting
of rock layers, followed by renewed deposition |
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50.
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An unconformity is a(n) ____.
a. | layer of sedimentary rocks | c. | intrusion | b. | gap in the rock
record | d. | layer of rocks with
unusual fossils |
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51.
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After examining a sequence of horizontal sedimentary rocks, you determine that
there is a considerable span of time for which no sedimentary rock layers exist at this location. You
have discovered a(n) ____.
a. | angular unconformity | c. | nonconformity | b. | disconformity | d. | sequence of correlated
strata |
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52.
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a. | oldest layers of rock in a region | b. | remains or traces of prehistoric
life | c. | living creatures with habitats in or around rock | d. | objects that people
of long ago left behind as artifacts |
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53.
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In what type of rocks are most fossils found?
a. | sedimentary rocks | c. | metamorphic rocks | b. | igneous rocks | d. | granite and
marble |
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54.
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Which of the following environments would most
likely NOT contain fossils? a. | sediment deposited in a riverbed | b. | a thick deposit of dried
mud | c. | layers of sand that accumulate over thousands of years | d. | intrusive rock
formed from cooled magma |
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55.
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The footprints of a dinosaur are an example of what type of fossil?
a. | unaltered remains | c. | carbonized remains | b. | mold | d. | trace fossil |
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56.
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Which of the following is important if an organism
is to become a fossil? a. | slow burial and soft parts | c. | rapid burial and soft
parts | b. | rapid burial and hard parts | d. | slow burial and hard parts |
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57.
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Organisms with hard parts stand a good chance of being fossilized if they are
____.
a. | rapidly decomposed by bacteria | c. | rapidly eaten by
scavengers | b. | slowly buried by sediments | d. | rapidly buried by sediments |
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58.
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The principle of fossil succession states that
different types of fossil organisms ____. a. | generally leave behind hard parts | b. | occur most often in sedimentary
rock | c. | succeed one another in a definite order | d. | are younger in the
deepest layers of rock |
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59.
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The task of using fossils to match up rocks of similar ages in different areas
is called ____.
a. | succession | c. | geology | b. | correlation | d. | fossilization |
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60.
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Index fossils allow geologists to
____. a. | match rocks of the same age in different regions | b. | determine the exact
age of rocks | c. | identify organisms that did not leave fossil evidence behind | d. | determine why some
organisms became extinct |
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61.
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Radioactivity is produced when unstable nuclei
____. a. | bond together | c. | become cooler | b. | break apart | d. | expand |
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62.
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The time it takes for 50% of the nuclei in a radioactive sample to decay to its
stable isotope is called ____.
a. | the daughter product | c. | the half-life | b. | geologic time | d. | the half-time |
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63.
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Radiometric dating is possible because the rates of decay of radioactive
isotopes ____.
a. | change over time | c. | are constant | b. | change from place to place | d. | vary widely |
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64.
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According to Figure 12-2, what fraction of the original parent isotope still
exists after 4 half-lives have passed?
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65.
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A sample is brought to the laboratory and it is determined that one-eighth of
the original parent isotope remains in the sample. Use Figure 12-2 to determine the age of the sample
if the half-life of the material is 60 million years.
a. | 180 million years old | c. | 240 million years old | b. | 18 million years
old | d. | 120 million years
old |
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66.
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Use Figure 12-2 to determine the age of a rock sample that contains a parent
isotope with a half-life of 100 million years and contains 1/32 of the parent isotope.
a. | 100 million years old | c. | 500 million years old | b. | 300 million years
old | d. | 200 million years
old |
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67.
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The radiometric dating of an igneous rock provides ____.
a. | the relative age of the rock | c. | the age of
Earth | b. | a date for when the rock formed | d. | a date for when the rock was
eroded |
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68.
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If the half-life of an unstable isotope is 10,000 years, and only 1/8 of the
radioactive parent remains in a sample, how old is the sample?
a. | 10,000 years old | c. | 30,000 years old | b. | 20,000 years old | d. | 40,000 years
old |
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69.
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Radiocarbon dating is used to date
____. a. | recent geologic events up to 75,000 years ago | b. | recent geologic
events up to 10,000 years ago | c. | distant geologic events more than one million
years ago | d. | all geologic events of the past |
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70.
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Which two substances do geologists use in
radiocarbon dating? a. | carbon-12 and carbon-10 | c. | lead-206 and
carbon-14 | b. | carbon-14 and uranium-238 | d. | carbon-14 and carbon-12 |
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71.
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In living things, what is the source of the carbon-14 that is used in
radiocarbon dating?
a. | carbon dioxide in rocks | c. | carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere | b. | carbonic acid in caves | d. | carbon dioxide in water |
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72.
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Radiocarbon dating could be used to date which of the following?
a. | 65-million-year-old meteorite | c. | 60,000-year-old metamorphic
rock | b. | 15-million-year-old lava flow | d. | 60,000-year-old mammoth bone
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73.
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What length of time does the geologic time scale
cover? a. | 2.0 million years | c. | 20.5 billion years | b. | 4.6 billion years | d. | 10.1 million
years |
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74.
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Based on interpretations of rock units and changes in fossil life forms,
geologists have divided Earth’s history into manageable units that are represented by the
____.
a. | geologic time scale | c. | geographical time scale | b. | fossil time
scale | d. | Precambrian time
scale |
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75.
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What is the currently accepted age of Earth?
a. | about 4.6 million years old | c. | about 4.6 billion years
old | b. | about 10 billion years old | d. | about 5.6 billion years old |
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Completion
Complete each
statement.
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76.
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The ____________________ hypothesis suggests that our solar system evolved from
a huge rotating cloud of dust and gas.
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77.
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The major difference between a topographic map and other maps is that a
topographic map shows ____________________.
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78.
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A meteoroid that reaches Earth’s surface is called a(n)
____________________.
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Short Answer
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79.
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What are stromatolites?
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80.
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Explain how Earth’s oceans formed.
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81.
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How do rocks allow geologists to interpret Earth’s history?
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82.
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Explain why it is difficult to place the fault labeled M in a specific position
in the sequence of geologic events in Figure 12-1.
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Essay
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83.
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Predict what might happen if humans steadily increase the amount of oil they
burn for transportation and electricity. Explain your reasoning.
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84.
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Why is the process of nuclear fusion important to life on Earth?
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85.
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According to the big bang theory, how did the universe begin? What had to happen
before atoms could form?
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86.
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Briefly describe three of the principles used in relative dating.
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87.
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Can scientists use radiocarbon dating to find the age of a very tall, old
redwood tree living in an old growth forest? Explain your answer.
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