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Geology 12

Geologic Time & The Fossil Record


Structural Geology
Provincial Exam Questions

EXTRA PRACTICE TEST #4

KEY
Geology 12 Test #4 - Extra Practice

ANSWER KEY

Geologic Time & The Fossil Record

Refer to your yellow data booklet for tables and charts.

Multiple Choice Answers:


1. B 2. B 3. C 4. D 5. B 6. C 7. A 8. C 9. D 10. D
11. C 12. D 13. D 14. C 15. C 16. B 17. D 18. A 19. B 20. C
21. D 22. D 23. D 24. C 25. B 26. B 27. B 28. B 29. B 30. C
31. D 32. D 33. A 34. B 35. A 36. C 37. C 38. A 39. C

Written Response answers follow the questions.


Use the following diagram of two cliff sections to answer questions 1 and 2.

A KEY
INDEX
G FOSSIL

H
C

D
I

E
J

F
K

1. Which pair of sedimentary rock layers in the cliff sections correlate with each other?

A. B and I
B. F and K
C. E and H
D. A and K

2. Which of the following is the most likely position of an unconformity?

A. between units A and B


B. between units G and H
C. between units A and G
D. between units C and E
Use the following graph to answer questions 3 and 4.

Decay of a radioactive isotope


100

90

80
Percent parent isotope remaining

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
0 50 100 150 200 250

Age (millions of years)

3. What is the half-life of the radioactive isotope shown in the graph above?

A. 50 m.y.
B. 55 m.y.
C. 60 m.y.
D. 125 m.y.

4. A sample is found to have only 40% of the original parent isotope remaining. What is the best
estimate of the age of the sample?

A. 40 m.y.
B. 45 m.y.
C. 65 m.y.
D. 80 m.y.
For questions 5 and 6, refer to the following in the Data Booklet.
REFERENCE Geological Time Scale
DATA BOOKLET
Fossil Samples
Development of Life Through Time

5. Which of the following lists has the events in the correct order?

A. B. C. D.
youngest youngest youngest youngest
start of the formation of
mammals dominated fishes dominated
Mesozoic era coal forests
appearance of fishes dominated first land plants reptiles dominated
flowering plants
Pleistocene start of appearance mammals dominated
glaciation Paleozoic era of humans

Precambrian rocks earliest recorded life Precambrian rocks earliest recorded life

oldest oldest oldest oldest

6. Which of the following is the best estimate of the age of the fossil shown below?

Silurian - 441mya to 418 mya

A. younger than 418 m.y.


B. older than 441 m.y.
C. between 418 m.y. and 441 m.y.
D. between 425 m.y. and 480 m.y.
7. In which of the following environments is an organism most likelyto be preserved as a fossil?

A. sea floor
B. forest floor
C. coastal beach
D. toe of an active glacier

8. Which of the following is an example of a trace fossil?

A. petrified wood
B. silicified ammonite shell
C. preserved worm burrows
D. permineralized dinosaur tooth

9. Which graph best represents the rate of evolution as described by the concept of punctuated
equilibrium?

A. B.
Rate of evolution
Rate of evolution

Time Time

C. D.
Rate of evolution
Rate of evolution

Time Time

10. Which of the following can best determine the absolute age of an igneous rock layer?

A. intrusions into the rock


B. fossils included in the rock
C. its position in a sequence of rock layers
D. radioactive decay of isotopes in the rock
For question 11, refer to the geologic column below,
Reference and to the following references in the Appendix.
Data Pages in
the Appendix Geological Time Scale
Fossil Samples

II

Mississippian

III

IV

11. Where does an unconformity definitely exist?

A. I
B. II
C. III
D. IV
12. Which of the following graphs shows the radioactive decay of an element with a half-life of
1 million years?

A. 100 B. 100

% %
parent parent
material material

0 1 0 1
Time (million years) Time (million years)

C. 100 D. 100

% %
parent parent
material material

0 1 2 0 1 2 3 4
Time (million years) Time (million years)
Use the following diagram of a geologic cross section to answer question 13.

Paleocene bone
60 m.y.

Sandstone

Vesicles
Lava flow
180 m.y.

5m
Mafic dike
100 m.y.

13. What is the most accurate age range for the sandstone layer?

A. less than 60 million years


B. 60100 million years
C. 60180 million years
D. 100180 million years

Reference For question 14, refer to the following reference in the Appendix.
Data Pages in
the Appendix Development of Life Through Time

14. Which of the following events in Earths history is out of order?

Youngest
A. first humans
Rocky Mountains form

B. reptiles dominate
amphibians dominate

C. invertebrates dominate
fish dominate

D. Precambrian era
Oldest
Use the following list of characteristics of organisms to answer question 15.

Characteristic

I large numbers

II lived on land

III moved freely

IV hard parts

V lived in a marine environment

VI remained stationary

15. Which combination of characteristics would give a species the best chance of leaving a fossil?

A. I, II and III
B. II, IV and VI
C. I, IV and V
D. II, III and IV
Use the photograph below of mammal footprints from the
Tertiary to answer questions 16 and 17.

Photo courtesy of JAM Visuals


1m

16. What name is given to the type of fossils shown in the photograph?

A. xenolith
B. trace fossil
C. brachiopod
D. original material

17. What was the most likely method of preservation of the fossils shown above?

A. replacement
B. carbonization
C. permineralization
D. mold and cast formation
For questions 18 and 19, refer to the cross-sectional diagram below
Reference and to the following references in the Appendix.
Data Pages in
the Appendix Geological Time Scale
Fossil Samples

Each rock layer represents a different geological period.

Layer I

Layer II

Layer III

Layer IV

5m

18. Which of the following would be the most likely fossil found in layer II?

A. B.

C. D.

19. The organisms that left the fossils in layers I and III lived in a similar environment.
In which of the following environments did they live?

A. forest
B. ocean
C. desert
D. mountain
20. Which of the following graphs best illustrates the concept of punctuated equilibrium of
organisms U, V and W evolving from an original species T?

A. B.
U V W U V W
Present Present

T T
Past Past
Change in form Change in form

C. D.
W
Present Present
W

V
V
U U

Past T Past
T
Change in form Change in form

21. Which of the following is not evidence for lithospheric plate motion?

A. jigsaw fit of the continents


B. coal deposits in Antarctica
C. matching rock structures in Africa and South America
D. striations on granite bedrock in southern British Columbia

22. At which type of plate boundary will deep focus earthquakes definitely occur?

A. rifting
B. divergent
C. transform
D. subduction
For questions 23 and 24, refer to the cross section below of a portion of the
Reference Earths crust, and to the following references in the Data Pages.
Data Pages Fossil Samples
Geological Time Scale

5
4 6

1
Diagram not drawn to scale.

Siltstone Shale

Limestone Igneous rock

Contact
Conglomerate metamorphism

Sandstone

23. Which of the following is the correct sequence of events (from oldest to youngest) in the
geologic history of this area?

A. deposition of layers from 6 to 1, intrusion of igneous rock, faulting


B. deposition of layers from 1 to 6, intrusion of igneous rock, faulting
C. deposition of layers from 6 to 1, faulting, intrusion of igneous rock
D. deposition of layers from 1 to 6, faulting, intrusion of igneous rock

24. Which of the following is the most likely age of layer 2?

A. 380 million years


B. 400 million years
C. 420 million years (Silurian)
D. 460 million years
Use the following diagram to answer question 25.
The diagram represents the present number of radioactive parent and stable daughter atoms
in a mineral sample. The mineral sample was originally 100% radioactive.

radioactive parent atom stable daughter atom

25. The half-life of the radioactive parent is 1 000 000 years.


Which of the following is the age of the mineral represented by the diagram?

A. 1 000 000 years


B. 2 000 000 years (8/32 = 25% = 2HL)
C. 3 000 000 years
D. 4 000 000 years
Use the following table to answer questions 26 to 29.
A geologist made the table after studying the fossils found in five beds of sedimentary rock.

youngest

Bed 5

Bed 4

Bed 3

Bed 2

Bed 1

oldest

Organism attached crawler attached burrower floater crawler swimmer


lifestyle
bilateral bilateral
Fossil radial bilateral across between none none bilateral
symmetry shells shells

26. What is the name of the fossil shown below?

A. trilobite (arthropoda)
B. brachiopod (brachiopoda)
C. sea urchin (echinodermata)
D. coral (cnidaria/coelenterata)
27. Which of the following is the best index (guide) fossil for bed 2?

A. B.

C. D.

28. Which of the following sedimentary environments is suggested by the collection of fossils
shown below?

A. deep ocean
B. shallow sea
C. desert oasis
D. freshwater swamp

29. The geologist discovered another layer, 10 km away, which contained the following
collection of fossils.

With which of the following beds does the layer correlate?

A. Bed 2
B. Bed 3
C. Bed 4
D. Bed 5
For questions 30 to 33, refer to the geological columns below
Reference and to the following references in the Data Pages.
Data Pages Fossil Samples
Geological Time Scale

Geological columns at widely separated locations.

Note: each layer within a column represents a different unit of geologic time (epoch or period).

Column I Column II Column III

green volcanic
shale lava glacial till

tan conglomerate
limestone volcanic
lava

Y
red green conglomerate
sandstone shale

grey mafic dike


tan
siltstone limestone

green shale
brown red
sandstone sandstone

black grey grey


shale siltstone sandstone

grey brown tan


X limestone sandstone limestone

30. What is the oldest layer shown in any of the Columns I, II or III?

A. glacial till
B. tan limestone
C. grey limestone
D. brown sandstone
31. Which of the following is most likely represented by the wavy line at the base of the
green shale in Column II?

A joint
B. varve
C. thrust fault
D. erosion surface

32. Which of the following statements is definitely true about fault X-Y in Column I?

A. after the Oligocene


B. after the Eocene
C. after the Paleocene
D. after the Cretaceous

33. The following radiometric dates were determined for units in Column III.

Method of Dating Radiometric Age

mafic dike K-40/Ar-40 0.05 million years

glacial till C-14 of tree fragment 0.1 million years

volcanic lava U-235/Pb-207 4.5 million years

Which of the following is the most likely age for the conglomerate in Column III?

A. Miocene (must be between Oligicene fossil and Pliocene volcanic lava flow)
B. Holocene
C. Paleocene
D. Pleistocene
Use the following photograph to answer question 34.

Geocomp Media

34. When this fossil was cut in half, no trace of the original structures within the organism
could be seen. Which of the following is the most likely type of preservation of this
organism?

A. carbonization
B. cast and mold
C. permineralization
D. as original material

Use the following photograph to answer question 36.

Arthur Holmes

35. The photograph shows a Miocene worm trace fossil. Which of the following statements
about the fossil is true?

A. No part of the worm has been preserved.


B. Soft parts were preserved by carbonization.
C. Hard parts were preserved by permineralization.
D. The worm has been preserved in its original form.
For question 36, refer to the fossil diagram below
Reference and to the following references in the Data Pages.
Data Pages Geological Time Scale
Development of Life Through Time

36. Which of the following is the best estimate of the range of time that this type of organism
existed on Earth? 554mya - 251mya

A. 100 m.y.
B. 200 m.y.
C. 300 m.y.
D. 400 m.y.
Use the following chart to answer questions 37 to 39.
The chart shows how the characteristics of the horse have changed
over several epochs of the Cenozoic Era.
Hyracotherium was about 25 cm in height and Equus had an average height of 150 cm.

Epoch Horse Form and Name Leg Skull Teeth


Equus
Recent
and
Pleistocene

Pliohippus

Pliocene

Merychippus

Miocene
Parahippus

Mesohippus

Oligocene

Hyracotherium

Eocene

Geocomp Media
37. Each epoch is represented by a different type of horse. Which geological principle does
this demonstrate?

A. superposition
B. faunal succession
C. original horizontality
D. cross-cutting relations

38. Which of the following is the best term for the apparent changes that have occurred in the
characteristics of the horse during the epochs of the Cenozoic Era?

A. evolution
B. convergence
C. uniformitarianism
D. adaptive metamorphism

39. What process would most likely have produced the changes in the horses characteristics
during the Cenozoic Era?

A. sexual reproduction
B. rapid mass extinctions
C. gradual natural selection
D. adaptation over a single generation
40. a) On the grid below, sketch a radioactive decay curve for an element with a half-life of
3 million years. Your sketch must contain a smooth and clearly drawn decay curve
for four half-lives. (2 marks)

100
90
Percent radioactive parent

80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Time (million years)

Point (3 million years, 50%) 1 mark


Shape of curve for four half-lives 1 mark

b) Describe one problem associated with radiometric dating of a sedimentary conglomerate


that has been heavily weathered. (1 mark)

Any one for 1 mark:


a conglomerate may contain several types of rock, each with its own age
dating of a sedimentary rock will generally just give the age of the constituent rocks
weathering may have removed or added parent or daughter elements thus producing
erroneous dates
cannot usually date sedimentary rocks because they often do not contain radioactive elements

Geology 12 0608 Written-Response Key Page 5


Use the following geologic cross section to answer question 41.

S
I

5m

Geologic event Cross section


(arranged in random order) symbol

Faulting F
Igneous intrusion I
Mafic intrusion M
Deposition of sedimentary unit S

41. In the table below, place these geologic events in the order they occurred, with the oldest at
the bottom and the youngest at the top. (2 marks)

1
2 mark for each correct geological event.

Youngest

I Igneous intrusion

M Mafic intrusion

F Faulting

S Folding of sedimentary unit

Oldest

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Use the following geologic cross section to answer question 42.

Drill hole

Shale
X 125 m.y. Vesicles
Weathered
and altered
lava Y 180 m.y.
Lava flow
100 m.y.
Z

Mafic
intrusion
300 m.y. 1 2 580 m.y.
Conglomerate 460 m.y. 3
4 390 m.y.

10 m

42. The diagram shows a hole drilled through layers of rock to a conglomerate.
The potassium-argon method was used to date a buried lava flow at X, Y and Z.
Each measurement was done accurately, but gave different ages for the same formation.
The true age of the lava flow is 180 million years.

a) Choose the lava at either X or Z and explain why its radiometric age differs from the
age at Y. (1 mark)

Lava location chosen: X


Explanation:
Argon gas may have escaped from the sample causing a younger reading. 1 mark

Lava location chosen: Z


Explanation:
Contact metamorphism adjusted the radiometric date compared to the
samples at Y. 1 mark
or
Argon gas may have escaped from the sample causing a younger reading.

Lava location chosen: Z


Explanation:
A slight error in depth measurement could mean the second reading might 1 mark

have come from the mafic intrusion.

2005 Province of British Columbia. All rights reserved. 058geol12k Page 8


b) Four separate samples of conglomerate were dated using the uranium-lead method.
Their ages were determined to be 300 million years, 390 million years, 460 million years
and 580 million years.

Explain why there are differences in age between the conglomerate samples. (1 mark)

Different clasts/stones in the conglomerate would yield different ages, not the 1 mark

age of the conglomerate layer itself.

2005 Province of British Columbia. All rights reserved. 058geol12k Page 9

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