7TH GRADE NOTES FOR TEST 10 EARTH'S CHANGING SURFACE CHAPTERS 4

SECTIONS 1, 2, 4&6 MAY 2011 A

Multiple Choice Identify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

1. What is a fossil? a. any dead organism b. the preserved remains or traces of an organism c. a perfect copy
of a rock d. an unusual type of rock
2. How do most fossils form? a. Living things die and their remains are buried by sediments. b. The hard parts
of an organism dry out in the air. c. The soft parts of an organism change to stone. d. Freezing preserves the
remains of an organism.
3. The fossil record shows that life on Earth has changed over time. For example, paleontologists have found
that older rocks contain fossils of
a. organisms that are more complex than those alive today. b. both simple and complex organisms. c. only
organisms that are alive today. d. organisms that are simpler than those alive today.
4. The process by which all the different kinds of living things have changed over long periods of time is called
a. sedimentation. b. replacement. c. deposition. d. evolution.
5. A fossil formed when minerals replace all or part of an organism is called a
a. mold. b. petrified fossil. c. cast. d. trace fossil.
6. Which type of fossil can provide clues about the activities of ancient organisms?
a. trace fossils b. remains preserved in amber c. carbon films d. molds and casts
7. The relative age of a rock is
a. its age compared to the ages of other rocks. b. less than the age of the fossils the rock contains. c. the
number of years since the rock formed. d. its age based on how much carbon-14 the rock contains.
8. The law of superposition states that, in horizontal layers of sedimentary rock, each layer is
a. younger than the layer above it and older than the layer below it. b. neither older nor younger than the
other layers. c. older than the layer above it and younger than the layer below it. d. always older than any
vertical layers.
9. The fossils of organisms that were widely distributed but only lived during a short period of time are called
a. trace fossils. b. petrified fossils. c. index fossils. d. carbon film fossils.
10. Why are index fossils useful to geologists? a. They tell the absolute age of the rock in which they occur.
b. They tell the ages of many different rock layers. c. They tell the age of the rock at one location only.
d. They tell the relative age of the rock in which they occur.
11. Originally, the geologic time scale placed Earth’s rocks in order by
a. radioactive dates. b. relative age. c. composition. d. decades and centuries.
12. The geologic time scale is a record of a. the thickness of sedimentary rock layers. b. the rate of fossil
formation. c. the life forms and geologic events in Earth’s history. d. the time since the evolution of
dinosaurs.
13. The Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic are divisions in the geologic time scale called
a. centuries. b. periods. c. layers. d. eras.
14. The Mesozoic Era is divided into the Triassic, the Jurassic, and the Cretaceous. These divisions of the
geologic time scale are called a. periods. b. eras. c. unconformities. d. decades.

15. Precambrian Time, which includes most of Earth’s history, began with
a. an ice age. b. Earth forming from a mass of dust and gas. c. an asteroid impact. d. the formation of thick
deposits of sediment.
16. About 260 million years ago, Earth’s continents moved together to form the supercontinent called
a. Antarctica. b. Cambria. c. North America. d. Pangaea.
17. The Cenozoic era is often called the Age of a. Fishes. b. Reptiles. c. Amphibians. d. Mammals.
18. A type of organism that no longer exists on Earth is said to be a. fossilized. b. sedimentary. c. extinct.
d. petrified.
19. In which type of fossil might you find the remains of an insect preserved with little or no change?
a. trace fossil b. replacement fossil c. mold d. fossil in amber
20. How would Earth be different if its surface had never cooled during early Precambrian Time?
a. There would be no volcanic eruptions. b. Water vapor would never have condensed to form the oceans.
c. The atmosphere would contain no carbon dioxide. d. The second atmosphere would never have formed.
21. What is the age of an intrusion of igneous rock in relation to the sedimentary rock layers through which it
passes?
a. sometimes younger, sometimes older b. always older c. the same age as the other rock layers d. always
younger
22. During the Cambrian Explosion that began the Paleozoic Era, the many new forms of life that evolved
a. lived on land. b. were invertebrates that lived in the sea. c. were vertebrates covered with scales or fur.
d. were single-celled.
23. During the Devonian Period, animals that could live on land began to evolve. These animals still spent part of
their lives in the water. What were these animals called?
a. trilobites b. reptiles c. amphibians d. dinosaurs
24. What do most scientists think caused the mass extinction of dinosaurs and other organisms at the end of the
Cretaceous Period?
a. Volcanic eruptions covered large areas with lava. b. An object from space struck Earth. c. An ice age
covered most of Earth with ice. d. The dinosaurs ate too many other organisms and then starved.
25. Earth’s atmosphere, oceans, and continents began to form during the first several hundred million years of
a. Precambrian Time. b. the Paleozoic Era. c. the Mesozoic Era. d. the Cenozoic Era.

Modified True/False
Indicate whether the sentence or statement is true or false. TRUE=A FALSE=B
26. Fossils usually occur in metamorphic rock. _________________________
27. Footprints and trails are examples of trace fossils. _________________________
28. The law of superposition helps geologists determine the absolute age of a rock layer. ______
29. At the beginning of the Paleozoic Era, a great number of different types of organisms evolved in an event
called the Cambrian Explosion. _________________________
30. Rock layers are always younger than the faults that cut across them. _________________________
31. Geologists divide Earth’s long history into smaller units that make up the geologic time scale. _____
32. On the geologic time scale, the Mesozoic Era is divided into the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. __
33. The era before the Mesozoic Era is the Paleozoic Era. _________________________
34. Life on Earth first appeared during the Cambrian Period. _________________________
35. Generally, only the soft parts of organisms become fossils. _________________________
7TH GRADE TEST 11 EARTH'S CHANGING SURFACE CHAPTERS 4 SECTIONS
1,2,4,6

Answer Section

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. ANS: B DIF: L1
2. ANS: A DIF: L1
3. ANS: D DIF: L3
4. ANS: D DIF: L1
5. ANS: B DIF: L1
6. ANS: A DIF: L1
7. ANS: A DIF: L1
8. ANS: C DIF: L2
9. ANS: C DIF: L2
10. ANS: D DIF: L1
11. ANS: B DIF: L2
12. ANS: C DIF: L1
13. ANS: D DIF: L2
14. ANS: A DIF: L2
15. ANS: B DIF: L2
16. ANS: D DIF: L1
17. ANS: D DIF: L1
18. ANS: C DIF: L1
19. ANS: D DIF: L2
20. ANS: B DIF: L3
21. ANS: D DIF: L2
22. ANS: B DIF: L3
23. ANS: C DIF: L2
24. ANS: B DIF: L2
25. ANS: A DIF: L1

MODIFIED TRUE/FALSE

26. ANS: F, sedimentary DIF: L1

27. ANS: T DIF: L2
28. ANS: F, relative DIF: L1
29. ANS: T DIF: L2
30. ANS: F, older DIF: L2
31. ANS: T DIF: L2
32. ANS: T DIF: L2
33. ANS: T DIF: L2
34. ANS: F, Precambrian Time DIF: L3
35. ANS: F, hard DIF: L1