1. EVOLUTION REVIEW

2. What is a fossil? Any dead organisms
The preserved remains or traces of an organism
A perfect copy of a rock
An unusual type of rock

3. How do most fossils form?
Living things die and their remains are buried by sediments
The hard parts of an organism dry out in the air
The soft parts of an organism change to stone
Freezing preserves the remains of an organism

4. The fossil record shows that life on Earth has changed over time
The fossil record shows that life on Earth has changed over time. For example, paleontologists have found that older rocks contain fossils of
Organisms that are more complex than those alive today
Both simple and complex organisms
Only organisms that are alive today
Organisms that are simpler than those alive today

5. Which of the following is an example of the evolution of communications technology?
Calculators to computers
Mimeograph machines to photocopiers
Fax machines to internet
Slide rule to calculators

6. The process by which all different kinds of living things have changed over long periods of time is called
Sedimentation
Replacement
Deposition
Evolution

7. A fossil formed when minerals replace all or part of an organism is called a
Mold
Petrified fossil
Cast
Trace fossil

8. Which type of fossil can provide clues about the activities of ancient organisms?
Trace fossils
Remains preserved in amber
Carbon films
Molds and casts

9. Which of the following is a sudden event that can change Earth’s surface?
Volcanic eruption
Chemical weathering
Mechanical weathering
Mountain building

10. The relative age of a rock is
Its age compared to the ages of other rocks
Less than the age of the fossils in the rock contains
The number of years since the rock formed
Its age based on how much carbon-14 the rock contains

11. The law of superposition states that, in horizontal layers of sedimentary rock, each layer is
Older than the layer above it and younger than the layer below it
Neither older nor younger than the other layers
Younger than the layer above it and older than the layer below it
Always older than any vertical layers

12. This process happens when rocks break apart without changing their chemical composition.
Chemical weathering
Volcanic eruption
Sedimentation
Mechanical weathering

13. The fossils of organisms that were widely distributed but only lived during a short period of time are called
Trace fossils
Petrified fossils
Index fossils
Carbon film fossils

14. Why are index fossils useful to geologists?
They tell the absolute age of the rock in which they occur
They tell the ages of many different rock layers
They tell the age of the rock at one location only
They tell the relative age of the rock in which they occur

15. How can satellite imagery best be used after a hurricane hits the coast?
A. to check nearby lake depths
B. to identify the amount of beach erosion
C. to determine the location of sea
turtles’ nests
D. to map topography inland of the
coastal region

16. The time it takes for half of the radioactive atoms in a sample of a radioactive element to decay is the element’s
Relative age
Potassium-argon date
Absolute age
Half-life

17. Radioactive dating enables geologists to determine
The age of the atoms in a rock
The half-life of a fossil organism
The relative ages of rocks
The absolute ages of rocks

18. In which type of fossil might you find the remains of an insect preserved with little or no change?
Trace fossil
Replacement fossil
Mold
Fossil in amber

19. A layer of marine fossils is discovered in a desert environment
A layer of marine fossils is discovered in a desert environment. Which hypothesis best explains the
discovery?
A The area was once covered by water.
B Volcanic activity once occurred in
the area.
C A catastrophic event once
occurred in the area.
D Erosion turned most of the
limestone in the area into sand.

20. How did Earth change about 2
How did Earth change about 2.5 billion years ago when some organisms began using photosynthesis to make food?
The amount of oxygen in the atmosphere increased
Mass extinction occurred
The oceans became larger
Rainfall increased

21. About 260 million years ago, Earth’s continents moved together to form the supercontinent called
Antarctica
Cambria
North America
Pangaea