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EARTH HISTORY
NAME:_________________________
BLOCK_____ DATE______________
contains fossils
is the oldest
contains the greatest variety of minerals
has the finest texture
A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
A)
B)
C)
D)
D) 4
folding at A
the intrusion at B
faulting at C
the unconformity at D
Page 1
B) sandstone
D) shale
Page 2
Base your answers to questions 11 and 12 on the diagram below which shows three geologic columns
representing widely separated rock outcrops. Letters A through E represent fossils found in the
outcrops. Line XY represents a fault in column I. The layers have not been overturned.
11. Which rock would most likely be produced by the metamorphism of the grey limestone?
A) quartzite
B) slate
C) marble
D) gneiss
B) brown sandstone
D) grey limestone
B) Mesozoic
D) Precambrian
Page 3
A) trilobite
C) coelophysis
B) human
D) stromatolite
16. Base your answer to the following question on the geologic cross section below. Overturning has not
occurred. The dike and sills shown in the cross section are igneous intrusions.
Which feature is represented by symbol A along the edges of the dike and sills?
A) contact metamorphic rock
C) a glacial moraine
B) an unconformity
D) index fossils
A) A
B) B
C) C
D) D
B) 43 N. 76 W.
D) 42 N. 75 W.
Page 4
19. Base your answer to the following question on the geologic cross section below. The large
cone-shaped mountain on Earths surface is a volcano. Letters A, B, and C represent certain rocks.
Which statement correctly describes the relative ages of rocks A and C and gives the best supporting
evidence from the cross section?
A)
B)
C)
D)
Page 5
A)
B)
C)
D)
Taconian Orogeny
Grenvillian Orogeny
Alleghenyan Orogeny
Acadian Orogeny
22. Base your answer to the following question on the geologic cross section below in which overturning
has not occurred. Letters A through H represent rock layers.
B) contact metamorphism
D) the extrusion of igneous rock
C)
B)
D)
Page 6
A)
B)
C)
D)
A) A
B) B
C) C
D) D
Page 7
27. Base your answer to the following question on the diagrams of fossil trilobites shown below. The
geologic period in which each trilobite form existed is given.
The diagrams below show different geologic cross sections of rock layers in the Earth's crust. Which
cross section best shows the relative location of these four types of trilobites if overturning of the rock
layers has not occurred?
A)
B)
C)
D)
B) radioactive decay
D) planetary motion
30. How many million years ago did the surface bedrock
under Watertown, New York, form?
Page 8
A) 345 to 395
C) 435 to 500
B) 395 to 435
D) 500 to 570
B) dinosaurs
D) armored fishes
Page 9
33. Base your answer to the following question on the block diagram and the cross section below. The
block diagram shows the present position of Niagara Falls in relation to the Niagara Escarpment. The
cross section shows the general bedrock structure of present-day Niagara Falls.
B) carbon-14
D) rubidium-87
B) potassium-40
D) uranium-238
Page 10
36. The diagram below shows a geologic cross section of 38. The element K 40 radioactively decays to Ar 40. The
a region where no faulting has occurred.
diagram below shows a model of the relative
amounts of K 40 and Ar40 remaining after one
half-life. Which diagram best illustrates the relative
amounts of K 40 and Ar40 remaining after two
half-lives?
A)
B)
C)
D)
A) A and B
C) C and D
B) B and C
D) D and E
Page 11
A)
B)
C)
D)
B) 25.0%
D) 87.5%
Page 12
Base your answers to questions 41 and 42 on the table below, which shows the results of a student's
demonstration modeling radioactive decay. To begin, the student put 50 pennies heads up in a
container. Each penny represented one radioactive atom. The student placed a top on the box and
shook the box. Each penny that had flipped over to the tails up side was replaced with a bean that
represented the stable decay product. The student continued the process until all of the pennies had
been replaced by beans.
41. On the grid provided on your answer paper, graph the data shown on the table by following the steps
below.
a Mark with a dot each number of radioactive atoms (pennies) after each shake. Surround each dot
with a small circle. The zero shake has been plotted for you.
b Connect all the dots with a solid line.
c Mark with an X the number of stable decay atoms (beans) after each shake. The zero shake has
been plotted for you.
d Connect all the X's with a dashed line.
42. Assume that each shake number represents an additional 100 years. State the half-life of the
radioactive material in this model.
Page 13
Page 14
Base your answers to questions 45 and 46 on the geologic cross section and graph provided below,
which represents an outcrop of various types of bedrock and bedrock features in Colorado.
45. The shale and sandstone layers both contain fossilized leaves from the Fagopsis tree, an index fossil
for the Oligocene Epoch. State a possible age for these rock layers, in million years.
46. Place the geologic events listed in order by numbering them from oldest (1) to youngest (4).
__________The fault was formed.
__________The shale was deposited.
__________The vesicular basalt was formed.
__________The sandstone was deposited.
Page 15
Base your answers to questions 47 through 49 on the cross section provided in your answer booklet.
The cross section represents a portion of Earths crust. Letters A, B, C, and D are rock units.
47. Igneous rock B was formed after rock layer D was deposited but before rock layer A was deposited.
Using the contact metamorphism symbol shown in the key, draw that symbol in the proper locations
on the cross section provided above to indicate those rocks that underwent contact metamorphism
when igneous rock B was molten.
48. In relation to rock units A and B in the cross section, when was igneous rock C formed?
49. Describe one observable characteristic of rock A that indicates that rock A is sedimentary.
Page 16
50. Base your answer to the following question on the information and diagram below. The diagram
represents a cliff of exposed bedrock that was investigated by an Earth science class.
After the students examined the cliff, they made three correct inferences about the geologic history of
the bedrock.
Inference 1: The shale layer is older than the basaltic intrusion.
Inference 2: The shale layer is older than the sandstone layer.
Inference 3: An unconformity exists directly under the shale layer.
Explain how each inference is supported by evidence shown in the diagram.
Page 17
Answer Key
Earth History Unit Exam 2011
1.
36.
50.
2.
37.
3.
38.
4.
39.
5.
40.
6.
41.
7.
8.
9.
10.
42.
100 years
11.
43.
12.
The Cretaceous
Period
13.
44.
14.
15.
16.
17.
Examples: The
basalt is older than
92 million years.
Fossils are not
normally found in
igneous rock.
18.
45.
33.7 to 24 million
years
19.
46.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
47.
48.
examples: C was
formed before both
B and A. C is
older than both B
and A.
49.
Rock A is a
mixture of rounded
rock fragments of
different sizes
connected together.
Rock A is a
horizontal layer.
Page 18
(essay)
Answer Key
Earth History Unit Exam 2011
50.
Inference 1 examples: An igneous intrusion is younger than the bedrock it intrudes. The basalt
metamorphosed the shale.
Inference 2 examples: The shale layer is below the sandstone layer. Younger sedimentary bedrock is
normally found on top of older sedimentary bedrock.
Inference 3 examples: The limestone layers are folded and tilted but the shale layer is not folded and is
horizontal. The shale layer is not metamorphosed by the granite. There is an irregular (erosional)
surface between the shale and the limestone.