Physical Geology 14th Edition Plummer Test Bank Visit to download the full and correct content document: https://testbankdeal.com/download/physical-geology-14th-edition-plummer-test-bank/
Chapter 08 - Time and Geology
Chapter 08 Time and Geology True / False Questions
1. Relative time refers to the time sequence in which events take place rather than the number of years involved. TRUE
Bloom's Level: 1. Remember Topic: Geologic Time
2. Uniformitarianism reflects the belief among geologists that the Earth remains uniform and unchanging through time. FALSE
Bloom's Level: 1. Remember Topic: Geologic Time
3. The principle of superposition states that within a sequence of undisturbed sedimentary rocks, the layers get younger going from bottom to top. TRUE
Bloom's Level: 1. Remember Topic: Geologic Time
4. The principle of crosscutting relationships states that a disrupted pattern is older than the cause of disruption. TRUE
Bloom's Level: 1. Remember Topic: Geologic Time
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Chapter 08 - Time and Geology
5. The principle of original horizontality states that beds of sediment are nearly always deposited as nearly horizontal layers. TRUE
Bloom's Level: 1. Remember Topic: Geologic Time
6. In an unconformity the contact represents a gap in the geologic record. TRUE
Bloom's Level: 2. Understand Topic: Geologic Time
7. Under some circumstances, correlation between two regions can be made by assuming that similar rock types in the two regions formed at the same time. TRUE
Bloom's Level: 2. Understand Topic: Geologic Time
8. An index fossil is a fossil from a very short-lived, geographically widespread species known to exist during a specific interval of geologic time. TRUE
Bloom's Level: 1. Remember Topic: Geologic Time
9. Earth is between 1 and 2 billion years old. FALSE
Bloom's Level: 1. Remember Topic: Geologic Time
8-2
Chapter 08 - Time and Geology
10. Geologists use fossils in sedimentary rocks to assign their correct place in geologic history. TRUE
Bloom's Level: 2. Understand Topic: Geologic Time
11. The Mesozoic Era precedes (is older than) the Paleozoic Era. FALSE
Bloom's Level: 1. Remember Topic: Geologic Time
12. So far, the oldest mineral found on Earth is approximately 4.4 billion years old. TRUE
Bloom's Level: 1. Remember Topic: Geologic Time
13. A formation is the process by which sedimentary rocks come into existence. FALSE
Bloom's Level: 1. Remember Topic: Geologic Time
14. Isotopes of the same element have different numbers of neutrons. TRUE
Bloom's Level: 1. Remember Topic: Geologic Time
8-3
Chapter 08 - Time and Geology
15. The proportional amount of atoms that decay with time is only influenced by pressure and temperature. FALSE
Bloom's Level: 2. Understand Topic: Geologic Time
16. Half life is the time it takes for a given amount of a radioactive isotope to decay to half its original amount. TRUE
Bloom's Level: 1. Remember Topic: Geologic Time
17. Radon is an intermediate product of uranium-238 decay. TRUE
Bloom's Level: 2. Understand Topic: Geologic Time
18. Isotopic dates from volcanic ash or lava flows layered between fossiliferous sedimentary rocks have been used to assign numerical ages to the geologic time scale. TRUE
Bloom's Level: 2. Understand Topic: Geologic Time
19. Another term for cosmogenic isotope dating is surface exposure dating. TRUE
Bloom's Level: 1. Remember Topic: Geologic Time
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Chapter 08 - Time and Geology
20. An angular unconformity is an erosion surface that is tilted from the horizontal. FALSE
Bloom's Level: 1. Remember Topic: Geologic Time
Multiple Choice Questions
21. The Earth is approximately _____ years old. A. 4,500 to 4600 B. 450,000 to 460,000 C. 4,500,000 to 4,600,00 D. 4,500,000,000 to 4,600,000,000 E. 4,500,000,000,000 to 4,600,000,000,000
Bloom's Level: 1. Remember Topic: Geologic Time
22. Our ability to assign an age to geological and archaeological materials is based on our ability to measure the relative abundance of radioactive ___ and their stable decay products. A. ions B. protons C. isotopes D. neutrons E. fallout
Bloom's Level: 2. Understand Topic: Geologic Time
8-5
Chapter 08 - Time and Geology
23. In geology, _____ usually means determining time equivalency of rock units. A. physical continuity B. unconformity C. lateral continuity D. correlation E. superposition
Bloom's Level: 1. Remember Topic: Geologic Time
24. The ___ of a radioactive material is the time it takes for a given amount of radioactive isotope to be reduced by half. A. atomic life B. atomic mass life C. atomic spin life D. nuclear magnetic life E. half life
Bloom's Level: 1. Remember Topic: Geologic Time
25. The _____ is the principle says that the same processes and natural laws that operated in the past are those we can actually observe or infer from observation as operating at present. A. Uniformitarianism B. Numericalism C. Relativism age D. Actualism E. Absolutism
Bloom's Level: 1. Remember Topic: Geologic Time
8-6
Chapter 08 - Time and Geology
26. _____ are subdivisions of eras. A. Ages B. Intervals C. Periods D. Formations E. Eons
Bloom's Level: 1. Remember Topic: Geologic Time
27. When the ____ came to a close, dinosaurs became extinct. A. Holocene Epoch B. Cenozoic Era C. Mesozoic Era D. Precambrian E. Paleozoic Era
Bloom's Level: 1. Remember Topic: Geologic Time
28. Alvarez and others proposed a hypothesis that dinosaur extinction occurred because __. A. they sickened and died because of a cross-species epidemic B. the continents were flooded with seawater and they drowned C. all their eggs were eaten by birds and mammals D. the climate changed as the Ice Age began E. one or more asteroids impacted Earth, resulting in environmental change
Bloom's Level: 2. Understand Topic: Geologic Time
8-7
Chapter 08 - Time and Geology
29. The principle of ___ states that an original sedimentary layer extends laterally until it tapers or thins at is edges. A. superposition B. lateral continuity C. cross-cutting relationships D. original horizontality E. actualism
Bloom's Level: 1. Remember Topic: Geologic Time
30. ______ first pointed out that fossil species succeed one another through successive layers of sediment in a predictable order. A. D. McGeary B. W.S. Smith C. N. Copernicus D. N. Steno E. I. Newton
Bloom's Level: 1. Remember Topic: Geologic Time
31. ______ denotes the vast amount of time that precedes the Paleozoic Era. A. Mesozoic B. Paleozoic C. Quaternary D. Precambrian E. Cenozoic
Bloom's Level: 1. Remember Topic: Geologic Time
8-8
Chapter 08 - Time and Geology
32. Isotopic dating has shown that the Precambrian took up ______% of all geologic time. A. 15 B. 46 C. 87 D. 95 E. 62
Bloom's Level: 2. Understand Topic: Geologic Time
33. The ___ Era began with the appearance of complex life, as indicated by fossils like trilobites. A. Quaternary B. Cenozoic C. Mesozoic D. Paleozoic E. Precambrian
Bloom's Level: 1. Remember Topic: Geologic Time
34. The _______ Era is the Age of Mammals. A. Archean B. Cenozoic C. Mesozoic D. Paleozoic E. Precambrian
Bloom's Level: 1. Remember Topic: Geologic Time
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Chapter 08 - Time and Geology
35. The _____ ended with the greatest mass extinction ever to occur on Earth. A. Tertiary Period B. Jurassic Period C. Paleozoic Era D. Precambrian interval E. Cenozoic Era
Bloom's Level: 1. Remember Topic: Geologic Time
36. The ____ is based upon the observation that fossil species succeed one another through layers in a predictable order. A. principle of lateral continuity B. principle of faunal succession C. principle of original horizontality D. principle of unconformities E. principle of radioactivity
Bloom's Level: 1. Remember Topic: Geologic Time
37. The relative-dating principle of __ states that fragments included in a host rock are older than the host rock. A. inclusion B. exclusion C. intuition D. supposition E. superposition
Bloom's Level: 1. Remember Topic: Geologic Time
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Chapter 08 - Time and Geology
38. The half-life of the carbon 14 isotope is 5730 years. If there were 4 billion atoms of C-14 in a particular organism at the time it died, how many atoms of C-14 would there be in the remains of that organism 11,460 years after it died? A. 1 billion B. 2 billion C. 3 billion D. 4 billion E. 8 billion
Bloom's Level: 3. Apply Topic: Geologic Time
39. The Earth's largest mass extinction coincides with _____ in Siberia. A. a massive meteorite impact B. massive volcanism C. a significant climate change D. flooding of continental areas E. expansion of glaciers
Bloom's Level: 2. Understand Topic: Geologic Time
40. When marine geologists collects a core of undeformed ocean-floor sediment, they know that the youngest layer is on the top of the core and the oldest is at the bottom because of the principle of __. A. supposition B. suspension C. superposition D. inclusion E. cross-cutting relationships
Bloom's Level: 2. Understand Topic: Geologic Time
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Chapter 08 - Time and Geology
41. By the principle of __, the surface feature known as the Grand Canyon is ___ than the sedimentary formations that are exposed in the side walls of the Grand Canyon. A. superposition; younger B. inclusion; older C. superposition; older D. cross-cutting relationships; younger E. cross-cutting relationships; older
Bloom's Level: 2. Understand Topic: Geologic Time
42. The truncation of bedding where sedimentary rock layers abut a granite pluton suggests a(n) ______. A. angular unconformity B. intrusive contact C. erosional surface D. fault E. metamorphic aureole
Bloom's Level: 2. Understand Topic: Geologic Time
43. The principle of ______ states that fragments included in a host rock must be _______ than the host rock. A. intrusion; older than B. inclusion; older than C. intrusion; younger than D. inclusion; younger than E. inclusion; the same age as
Bloom's Level: 2. Understand Topic: Geologic Time
8-12
Chapter 08 - Time and Geology
44. _______ is the spontaneous nuclear change of isotopes with unstable nuclei. A. Structural geology B. Petrology C. Radioactive decay D. Fission E. Isotopic dating
Bloom's Level: 1. Remember Topic: Geologic Time
45. In radioactive decay a(n) _______ emission is the emission of two neutrons and two protons from a nucleus. A. beta B. gamma C. omega D. alpha E. psi
Bloom's Level: 2. Understand Topic: Geologic Time
46. In the radioactive decay process of __ decay, an electron is emitted from the nucleus of the parent isotope. A. omega B. gamma C. beta D. alpha E. delta
Bloom's Level: 1. Remember Topic: Geologic Time
8-13
Chapter 08 - Time and Geology
47. In the radioactive decay process of electron capture a(n) ___ in the nucleus captures an orbiting electron. A. neutrino B. neutron C. alpha particle D. proton E. positron
Bloom's Level: 1. Remember Topic: Geologic Time
48. The proportional amount of atoms that decay with time _____ by the high pressures and temperature of Earth's interior. A. can be slightly accelerated B. can be slightly decelerated C. can be greatly accelerated D. can be greatly decelerated E. is not changed at all
Bloom's Level: 2. Understand Topic: Geologic Time
49. Radiocarbon dating is useful in dating an event that occurred in the past ________ years. A. 4 thousand B. 40 thousand C. 400 thousand D. 4 million E. 40 million
Bloom's Level: 1. Remember Topic: Geologic Time
8-14
Chapter 08 - Time and Geology
50. The carbon-14 isotope disintegrates radioactively with a half-life of ______ years. A. 4.5 billion B. 710 million C. 15 billion D. 24,000 E. 5730
Bloom's Level: 3. Apply Topic: Geologic Time
51. Carbon-14 is created in the atmosphere by the nuclear reaction of neutron from the cosmic rays and _______ in the atmosphere. A. hydrogen B. water vapor C. nitrogen D. oxygen E. dust
Bloom's Level: 2. Understand Topic: Geologic Time
52. Uranium-238 ultimately decays to _____ -206. A. lead B. argon C. potassium D. uranium E. carbon
Bloom's Level: 2. Understand Topic: Geologic Time
8-15
Chapter 08 - Time and Geology
53. ____ dating uses the effect of neutron radiation coming from deep space to date material at Earth's surface. A. Cosmogenic B. Electron spin resonance C. Amino acid racemization D. Fission track E. Potassium-argon
Bloom's Level: 1. Remember Topic: Geologic Time
54. The _____ includes most of geologic time (87%). A. Quaternary Period B. Cenozoic Era C. Mesozoic Era D. Paleozoic Era E. Precambrian
Bloom's Level: 1. Remember Topic: Geologic Time
55. A(n) _______ is an erosional surface that represents a gap in the geologic record. A. basal conglomerate B. unconformity C. boundary layer D. lamination E. marker horizon
Bloom's Level: 1. Remember Topic: Geologic Time
8-16
Chapter 08 - Time and Geology
56. A(n) _________ is a contact in which an erosional surface on a pluton or metamorphic rock has been covered by sedimentary (or volcanic) rock. A. disconformity B. basal conglomerate C. nonconformity D. boundary layer E. angular unconformity
Bloom's Level: 1. Remember Topic: Geologic Time
57. In a(n) __________ the erosional contact represents missing rock strata and separates sedimentary beds that are parallel. A. disconformity B. basal conglomerate C. nonconformity D. boundary layer E. angular unconformity
Bloom's Level: 2. Understand Topic: Geologic Time
58. Fossils are common in __. A. all rock types B. plutonic rocks C. sedimentary rocks D. metamorphic rocks E. volcanic rocks
Bloom's Level: 2. Understand Topic: Geologic Time
8-17
Chapter 08 - Time and Geology
59. The principle of _____ allows rock layers in different places to be correlated on the basis of their fossils. A. lateral continuity B. faunal succession C. radioactive decay D. original horizontality E. magnetostratigraphy
Bloom's Level: 1. Remember Topic: Geologic Time
60. A(n) _______ fossil is a fossil from a very short-lived, geographically widespread species that existed during a specific interval of geologic time. A. assemblage B. range C. age D. interval E. index
Bloom's Level: 1. Remember Topic: Geologic Time
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