The Earth Through Time, 10th Edition
by Harold L. Levin
Chapter 3—Time and Geology
Multiple Choice Questions
Select the best answer.
1. What is the science of determining rock ages called?
a. geochronology
b. relative age dating
c. actual age dating
d. absolute age dating
e. radioactive age dating
2. Relative time does not have _________.
a. Arrangement.
b. Years.
c. Sequences.
d. Order of events.
e. None of the above.
3. Relative time is based on ______ an absolute time is based on _______.
a. Years, fossils.
b. Radiometric dating, principles.
c. Paleozoic, Precambrian.
d. Dates, sequence.
e. Principles, radiometric dating.
4. Which of the following terms is commonly used to name time units?
a. Local geography.
b. Mountain ranges.
c. Ancient Welshmen tribes.
d. Predominant rock types.
e. All the above.
5. What is the name of the youngest eon?
a. Proterozoic.
b. Phanerozoic.
c. Archean.
d. Hadean.
e. Mesozoic.
6. The largest time unit is the ______.
a. Eon.
b. Period.
c. Epoch.
d. Age.
e. Era.
7. The prefix eo is from the Greek for
a. dawn.
b. ancient.
c. middle.
d. recent.
e. new.
8. The Era with the name meaning “recent life” is
a. Proterozoic.
b. Cenozoic.
c. Archean.
d. Mesozoic.
e. Pleistocene.
9. Boundaries in the geologic time chart are based on ______________.
a. Absolute dates determined by radioisotope dating.
b. Impacts by meteorites.
c. Eras.
d. Important changes in plant and animal life.
e. Minor changes in plant and animal life.
10. Which time span contains 87% of the Earth history?
a. Pleistocene Epoch
b. Precambrian
c. Cambrian Period
d. Cenozoic Era
e. Phanerozoic Eon
11. What time unit does not have any rock record?
a. Hadean.
b. Silurian.
c. Cambrian.
d. Miocene.
e. Archean.
12. The Neogene and Paleogene replaced which of the following time periods?
a. Mesozoic.
b. Cretaceous.
c. Tertiary.
d. Paleozoic.
e. Cenozoic.
13. The Cambrian Period was named by ________.
a. James Hutton
b. Adam Sedgwick
c. William Smith
d. Nicolas Steno
e. James Powell
14. What time system was named based on the occurrence of coal?
a. Cambrian.
b. Permian.
c. Jurassic.
d. Carboniferous.
e. Holocene.
15. Which era has the periods named based on a tri-fold division?
a. Mesozoic.
b. Cenozoic.
c. Cambrian.
d. Triassic.
e. Devonian.
16. The Cretaceous name is derived from the _______ formed at that time.
a. Coal
b. Chalk
c. Chert
d. Oil
e. Creeks
17. Early attempts at determining the age of the Earth include which of the following?
a. Biblical.
b. Ocean Salinity.
c. Cooling Rates.
d. Sediment deposition rates.
e. All the above.
18. Why did the age of the Earth as calculated by the salinity of the ocean fail?
a. Salinity of the oceans is too low.
b. Oceans are too hot.
c. Did not account for the recycling of the salt.
d. Salt was added for outer space.
e. Dinosaurs roamed the Earth.
19. Lord Kelvin calculated the age of the Earth at between 20 and 40 million years based on the cooling rate of a sphere. Why was he wrong?
a. The initial heat was lower than estimated.
b. Added heat from radioactivity.
c. Used the wrong material to simulate the Earth.
d. The initial heat of the Earth was higher than estimated.
e. All, but a.
20. What is the center of an atom called that contains the protons and neutrons?
a. Nucleus
b. Electron
c. Element
d. The spot
e. Positron
21. Which constituent of an atom carries a positive charge?
a. Neutron
b. Electron
c. Proton
d. Alpha
e. Bata
22. The number of protons in an atom determines the __________.
a. Number of electrons.
b. Charge it is.
c. Mass it is.
d. Element it is.
e. Angle of the protons.
23. An isotope is formed when a ________ is lost.
a. Neutron
b. Electron
c. Proton
d. Alpha
e. Bata
24. The discharge of alpha particle reduces the number of protons by ____.
a. 1.
b. 2.
c. 3.
d. 4.
e. 5.
25. What is it called when a neutron splits into a proton and an electron?
a. Alpha.
b. Gamma.
c. Bata.
d. Delta.
e. Both a. and c.
26. Why can the radioactive decay of an element be used as a clock?
a. Long time frame that radioactivity takes place in.
b. Short time frame that radioactivity takes place in.
c. Only affected by changes in pressure.
d. Affected by pressure, temperature, and chemical reactions.
e. Unaffected by pressure, temperature, and chemical reactions.
27. In order to measure the number of atoms in a sample, a mass spectrometer is used. How does the mass spectrometer measure the number of atoms?
a. Atoms are spun in a centrifuge and the heavier atoms move towards the center.
b. Charged atoms passed by a powerful magnet and are deflected at angles based on the charge to mass ratio.
c. Atoms are weight on a mass balance.
d. Atoms are combined to form a larger mass.
e. Mass spectrometer does not measure atoms.
28. What rock type provides the best age dates?
a. Metamorphic.
b. Sedimentary.
c. Zircon.
d. Igneous.
e. Halite.
29. What is it called when 50% of the parent decays to the daughter?
a. 1/3 life.
b. 2/3 life.
c. Whole life.
d. 1/2 full.
e. 1/2 life.
30. What radioisotope system would you use to date muscovite mica?
a. 87Rb - 87Sr.
b. 40K - 40Ar.
c. 238U - 207Pb.
d. 235U - 206Pb.
e. 207Pb - 206Pb.
31.
14C –
14N radioisotope system is best for dating ___________.
a. Organic matter.
b. Zircon crystals in volcanic ash.
c. Minerals in an igneous rock that have been reheated and compressed.
d. Minerals in sediments that have been heated by a lava flow.
e. Mica.
32. Radiometric method that uses isochron plots:
a. Rb/Sr
b. 14C
c. K/Ar
d. U-Pb
e. fission track
33. What age date check can be used with the Uranium – Lead system?
a. Pb/Sr
b.
14C/
14N
c. K/Ar
d. Pb/Pb
e. Fission track
34.
The half-life of 14C is
a. 704 x 106 years.
b. 4,468 x 106 years.
c. 1,251 x 106 years.
d. 5,730 years.
e. 4.6 x 106 years.
35. In the Potassium – Argon system, Potassium breaks down into both Argon and calcium. Why not use the Potassium – Calcium system?
a. 40Ca derived from Potassium cannot be distinguished for existing 40Ca.
b. Calcium cannot be measured by a mass spectrometer.
c. Potassium cannot be measured by a mass spectrometer.
d. Calcium is lost by pressure.
e. Calcium is too big.
36.
14C is formed form ______.
a. 87Rb.
b. 40K.
c. 238U.
d. 14N.
e. 207Pb.
37.
14C system works because the Sun imparts _______ continuously to the upper atmosphere.
a. Photons
b. Cosmic rays
c. Fission tracks
d. Heat
e. Both a. and d.
38. Fission tracks are formed when fast moving particles _______________.
a. Collide with each other.
b. Repair preexisting flaws in the crystalline structure.
c. Tear electrons off atoms producing a positive repulsion charge.
d. Fuse atoms together on the crystal lattice.
e. Tear electrons off atoms producing a negative repulsion charge.
39. What type of mineral produced the oldest known age of 4.28 billion years?
a. Mica
b. Augite.
c. Quartz.
d. Feldspar.
e. Zercon.
40. Samples from meteorites have ages of ________.
a. 4.56 billion years.
b. 4.36 billion years.
c. 3.3 billion years.
d. 4.28 million years.
e. 4.0 million years.
Answers to Questions
1. a 11. a 21. c 31. a
2. b 12. c 22. d 32. a
3. e 13. b 23. a 33. d
4. e 14. d 24. b 34. d
5. b 15. a 25. c 35. a
6. a 16. b 26. e 36. d
7. a 17. e 27. b 37. b
8. b 18. c 28. d 38. c
9. d 19. b 29. e 39. e
10. b 20. a 30. a 40. a
