Name:



Name: ___________________________________________________ Date: _____________

Earth Science 6/07, 8/07, 1/08, 6/08, 8/08, 1/09 - Part I Period: ___________

REGENTS REVIEW: Earth’s History

1 During which two geologic time periods did most of the surface bedrock of the Taconic Mountains

form?

(1) Cambrian and Ordovician

(2) Silurian and Devonian

(3) Pennsylvanian and Mississippian

(4) Triassic and Jurassic

2 Which geologic event occurred in New York State at approximately the same time that eurypterids

were becoming extinct?

(1) the opening of the Atlantic Ocean

(2) the uplift of the Appalachian Mountains

(3) the formation of the Catskill Delta

(4) the intrusion of the Palisades Sill

3 One reason Tetragraptus is considered a good index fossil is that Tetragraptus

(1) existed during a large part of the Paleozoic Era

(2) has no living relatives found on Earth today

(3) existed over a wide geographic area

(4) has been found in New York State

4 An igneous rock contains 10 grams of radioactive potassium-40 and a total of 10 grams of its decay products. During which geologic time interval was this rock most likely formed?

(1) Middle Archean

(2) Late Archean

(3) Middle Proterozoic

(4) Late Proterozoic

5 The geologic cross section below shows a complex structure containing a granite intrusion.

[pic]

If the granite intrusion occurred 24 million years ago, what are the most probable ages of the schist and shale, in millions of years?

(1) schist – 25; shale – 23 (3) schist – 23; shale – 25

(2) schist – 25; shale – 26 (4) schist – 23; shale – 20

Base your answers to questions 6 through 8 on the passage below.

Fossils and the History of Earth’s Rotation

Data from coral fossils support the hypothesis that Earth’s rotation rate has been

slowing down by about 2.5 seconds per 100,000 years. Scientists believe this is due to

the frictional effects of ocean tides. This slowing rotation rate decreases the number

of days in the year.

Scientists have discovered that corals produce a thin layer of shell every day, resulting

in growth rings. These daily layers are separated by yearly ridges.

The Devonian coral fossil, Pleurodictyum, has approximately 400 growth rings

between each yearly ridge, which suggests that there were about 400 days in a year

during the Devonian Period.

Supporting this hypothesis, scientists have found coral from the Pennsylvanian

Period that have about 390 growth rings per year, while present-day corals have about

365 growth rings per year.

6 Approximately how many fewer Earth days per year are there today than there were during the Devonian Period?

(1) 10 (2) 25 (3) 35 (4) 40

7 What inference can be made about the number of growth rings per year for a coral from the Permian Period and Ordovician Period compared to the number of growth rings per year for the Devonian coral, Pleurodictyum?

(1) Ordovician coral would have fewer, but Permian coral would have more.

(2) Ordovician coral would have more, but Permian coral would have fewer.

(3) Both Ordovician and Permian coral would have fewer.

(4) Both Ordovician and Permian coral would have more.

8 The evidence of the fossil Pleurodictyum found in surface bedrock in the Finger Lakes region of New York State suggests that this region was once

(1) covered by a glacial ice sheet (3) located in a desert area

(2) covered by a warm, shallow sea (4) located in a tropical rain forest

Base your answer to question 9 on the cross section below. Rock units are labeled 1 through 8. The line between A and A′ indicates an unconformity.

[pic]

9 Which event occurred sometime after the formation of the unconformity?

(1) formation of rock unit 3

(2) tilting of rock unit 5

(3) deposition of the sediments that formed rock unit 8

(4) intrusion of rock unit 7

10 The cross section below shows rock layers A, B, C, D, and fault F. The rock layers have not been

overturned.

[pic]

Which sequence places the rock layers and fault in order from oldest to youngest?

(1) D → C → B → A → F (2) A → B → C → D → F

(3) F → D → C → B → A (4) F → A → B → C → D

11 Which two landscape regions in New York State have the oldest surface bedrock?

(1) Allegheny Plateau and Newark Lowlands

(2) Tug Hill Plateau and Erie-Ontario Lowlands

(3) Taconic Mountains and the Catskills

(4) Adirondack Mountains and Hudson Highlands

12 The diagram below represents a sample of a radioactive isotope.

[pic]

Which diagram best represents the percentage of this radioactive isotope sample that will remain after 2 half-lives?

[pic]

Base your answers to questions 13 and 14 on the photograph below, which shows a bedrock outcrop in

northeastern New York State. Line AB is an unconformity between sandstone C and metamorphic rock D.

[pic]

13 The lower layers of sediment found in sandstone C were deposited 520 million years ago. During which period of geologic time did this deposition occur?

(1) Cambrian (3) Silurian

(2) Ordovician (4) Triassic

14 After the metamorphism of rock D, which sequence of events most probably formed unconformity AB?

(1) flooding → deposition → erosion → uplift

(2) uplift → erosion → flooding → deposition

(3) deposition → flooding → uplift → erosion

(4) erosion → flooding → uplift → deposition

Base your answers to questions 15 through 17 on the cross sections below, which represent two bedrock outcrops 15 kilometers apart. The rock layers have been numbered for identification and some contain the index fossil remains shown.

[pic]

15 When these rocks were deposited as sediments, this area was most likely

(1) under the ocean (2) a desert between high mountains

(3) repeatedly covered by lava flows (4) glaciated several times

16 Both organisms that formed the fossils found in rock layers 3 and 4

(1) lived during the same period of geologic time

(2) lived in polar regions

(3) are members of the same group of organisms

(4) are still alive today

17 Evidence best indicates that rock layers 4 and 8 were deposited during the same geologic period because both layers

(1) contain the same index fossil

(2) are composed of glacial sediments

(3) contain index fossils of the same age

(4) are found in the same area

Base your answer to question 18 on the passage and map below. The map shows the generalized landscape regions of Vermont.

Landscape Regions of Vermont

Most of Vermont’s landscape regions consist of ancient, weathered mountains that were covered by several ice sheets during the last ice age. When the ice melted, sand, cobbles, and boulders were deposited throughout the state. Vermont is divided into six landscape regions.

(1) The Vermont Lowlands region has a mild climate, with Lake Champlain moderating its temperature.

(2) The Green Mountains run the length of Vermont and were formed over 400 million years ago. Most of

the bedrock is metamorphic and the region is known for its deposits of talc and asbestos.

(3) The Taconic Mountains extend into New York State. Slate and marble are commonly mined in this

region.

(4) The Valley of Vermont is a narrow valley between two mountain ranges. Most of the bedrock in the

region is limestone and marble.

(5) The Vermont Piedmont covers the largest area of the state. This region consists of rolling hills and

valleys. Granite mining is an important industry.

(6) The Northeast Highlands is a mountainous region composed of granite bedrock.

[pic]

18 During which geologic period did a major orogeny form the Taconic Mountains?

(1) Cretaceous (2) Permian (3) Devonian (4) Ordovician

19 On the map below, the darkened areas represent locations where living corals currently exist. The arrow points to a location where coral fossils have been found in Devonian-age bedrock in New York State.

[pic]

Devonian-age coral fossils found in some New York State bedrock are not located in the same general region that present-day corals are living because during the Devonian Period

(1) corals migrated to New York State

(2) corals lived everywhere on Earth

(3) New York State was closer to the equator

(4) New York State had a colder climate

20 Which index fossil may be found in the surface bedrock near Ithaca, New York?

[pic]

21 The cross sections below represent three widely separated outcrops of exposed bedrock. Letters A, B, C, and D represent fossils found in the rock layers.

[pic]

Which fossil appears to have the best characteristics of an index fossil?

(1) A (2) B (3) C (4) D

Base your answer to question 22 on the block diagram below, which shows a portion of Earth’s crust. Letters A, B, C, and D indicate sedimentary layers.

[pic]

22 Which event occurred most recently?

(1) formation of layer A

(2) formation of layer D

(3) tilting of all four sedimentary rock layers

(4) erosion of the igneous rock exposed at the surface

23 What is the geologic age sequence of the surface bedrock from Ithaca, New York, to Watertown,

New York?

(1) Ordovician, Taconic, Cambrian (2) Ordovician, Tertiary, Pleistocene

(3) Devonian, Silurian, Cambrian (4) Devonian, Silurian, Ordovician

24 A whalebone that originally contained 200 grams of radioactive carbon-14 now contains 25 grams of carbon-14. How many carbon-14 half-lives have passed since this whale was alive?

(1) 1 (2) 2 (3) 3 (4) 4

25 Which geologic event occurred during the same geologic period as the first appearance of modern

corals in Earth’s oceans?

(1) Grenville Orogeny (2) Acadian Orogeny

(3) intrusion of the Palisades Sill (4) formation of the Catskill Delta

26 The presence of eurypterid fossils in New York State bedrock indicates that

(1) eurypterids lived in land environments

(2) eurypterids first appeared on Earth during the Devonian Period

(3) most of New York State was once a mountainous region

(4) areas of New York State were once covered with shallow seas

27 Which sequence of New York State index fossils shows the order in which the organisms appeared on Earth?

[pic]

28 The presence of brachiopod, nautiloid, and coral fossils in the surface bedrock of a certain area

indicates the area was once covered by

(1) tropical vegetation (3) volcanic ash

(2) glacial deposits (4) ocean water

29 The time line below represents the entire geologic history of Earth.

[pic]

Which letter best represents the first appearance of humans on Earth?

(1) A (2) B (3) C (4) D

30 Three extinct organisms are shown in the diagrams below.

[pic]

Which other life-form reached its peak development during the same period in geologic history that these three life-forms first appeared on Earth?

(1) dinosaurs (3) mastodonts

(2) stromatolites (4) eurypterids

31 The graph below shows the radioactive decay of a 50-gram sample of a radioactive isotope.

[pic]

According to the graph, what is the half-life of this isotope?

(1) 100 years (2) 150 years (3) 200 years (4) 300 years

Base your answers to questions 32 through 34 on the cross sections of three rock outcrops, A, B, and C.

Line XY represents a fault. Overturning has not occurred in the rock outcrops.

[pic]

32 The volcanic ash layer is considered a good time marker for correlating rocks because the volcanic ash layer

(1) has a dark color (3) lacks fossils

(2) can be dated using carbon-14 (4) was rapidly deposited over a wide area

33 Which sedimentary rock shown in the outcrops is the youngest?

(1) black shale (3) tan siltstone

(2) conglomerate (4) brown sandstone

34 What is the youngest geologic feature in the three bottom layers of outcrop C?

(1) fault (3) unconformity

(2) igneous intrusion (4) zone of contact metamorphism

35 Based on fossil evidence, most scientists infer that

(1) life has not changed significantly throughout Earth’s history

(2) life has evolved from complex to simple forms

(3) many organisms that lived on Earth have become extinct

(4) mammals developed early in the Precambrian time period

36 The presence of which index fossil in the surface bedrock most likely indicates that a forest environment once existed in the region?

(1) Aneurophyton (2) Cystiphyllum (3) Centroceras (4) Bothriolepis

Base your answers to questions 37 and 38 on the geologic cross section below. Location A is within the

metamorphic rock.

[pic]

37 Which rock is the youngest?

(1) shale (2) sandstone (3) igneous rock (4) rock at location A

38 Which pie graph best represents the percentage of total time for the four major divisions of geologic time?

[pic]

Base your answer to question 39 on the map below, which shows Earth’s Southern Hemisphere and the inferred tectonic movement of the continent of Australia over geologic time. The arrows between the dots

show the relative movement of the center of the continent of Australia. The parallels of latitude from 0° to

90° south are labeled.

[pic]

39 During which geologic time interval did Australia most likely have a warm, tropical climate because of its location?

(1) Cambrian (3) Late Permian

(2) Carboniferous (4) Eocene

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