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NS140 Chapter 4
do you remember 21st night of september
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Which of the following hypotheses proposes the mechanism for how changes in the global ocean during the Permian Period might have triggered a major extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous Period? | Formation of a supercontinent caused ocean water to stagnate, depleting oxygen levels and resulting in the production of hydrogen sulfide. |
| What landmark evidence initially indicated that a meteorite may have caused Earth's major extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous? | a layer of iridium-rich clay from sedimentary rocks |
| In what two primary ways do scientists measure geologic time? | relative age and absolute age |
| In the mid-20th century, geologists exploring absolute ages of rocks determined that widespread unconformities in North America subdivided the rock record into discrete sections called ______________. | stratigraphic sequences |
| Which of the following correctly defines isotopes? | atoms of the same element with different numbers of neutrons |
| The three earliest eons, which make up the Precambrian, constitute what percentage of Earth's history? | nearly 90 |
| Mass extinction hypotheses generally describe substantial changes to which systems or large-scale processes? | biosphere, geosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere |
| The principle of superposition is based upon which observation of rock formation? | In an undeformed rock sequence, the oldest layers are on the bottom and the youngest on the top. |
| Why might an earth scientist regard with suspicion a report detailing the evolutionary history of organisms in a volcanic region that is based on the principle of faunal succession? | The principle of faunal succession is applied to layers of sedimentary rock. |
| What can we infer when fossilized coral is found in mountains far from the ocean? | The rocks were once under the ocean. |
| Disconformities are considered architectural elements of sediment because they determine which characteristics of sediment beds? | thickness and lateral dimensions |
| Which of the following types of evidence are most likely to assist geologists in determining the precise dating and time correlation of rocks over long distances? | index fossils and key beds |
| How old is a rock if a given parent isotope has a half-life of 2 million years and we find a mixture of 25 percent parent isotope and 75 percent daughter isotope? | 4 million years old |
| The process by which a parent isotope changes into a daughter isotope is __________. | radioactive decay |
| Which aspects of the rock record are used to subdivide the Phanerozoic Eon into eras? | the kinds of fossils found only at a specific time in the past |
| Rocks from which geologic time unit contain abundant fossils from the most recent 543 million years of geologic time? | Phanerozoic Eon |
| Suppose the Mississippi River shifts position by changing where the mouth flows into the Gulf of Mexico. This will cause sedimentation to pause in the old location, forming a(n) _____. | disconformity |
| Finding large boulders inside a sandstone formation indicates what about the timing of the formation of these components? | The boulders are older than the sandstone formation. |
| Sulfur dioxide gas that is released into the atmosphere by an erupting volcano can produce which product and effect? | aerosols that cool the climate |
| An extraterrestrial impact on Earth's surface could cause underlying sediment to erode, tilt, and deform. New sediment deposited on top of this deformed impact site would form a(n) _____. | angular unconformity |
Created by:
robynlee
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