Practice Geohistory Questions

1. Rock layers from which of the following Periods would not be found in New York State?

Devonian
Silurian
Ordovician
Permian

2. The chief reason why it is difficult to correlate pre-paleozoic rocks, such as those on the Canadian Shield, is that

The outcrops are very widely distributed.
Pre-paleozoic rocks are distinctly different from those formed later.
Areas where pre-paleozoic rocks occur makes it hard to collect data.
Few, if any, fossils are found in pre-paleozoic rocks.

3. According to the Referance Tables, near which community in New York State would you be least likely to find fossils?

Old Forge
Albany
Elmira
Watertown

4. Which statement about dinosaurs is supported by information provided in the Reference Tables?

Dinosaur fossils first appeared in rocks of the Paleozoic Era.
Dinosaurs did not eat grass.
Dinosaur fossils and trilobite fossils may be found in the same rocks.
Dinosaurs lived only on land.

5. During which time period was the majority of exposed bedrock in New York State deposited?

Precambrian
Mesozoic
Cenozoic
Paleozoic

6. According to the Reference Tables, as one travels eastward from the Tug Hill Plateau into the Adirondack Mountains, the age of the rocks changes from

Devonian to Silurian
Ordovician to Silurian
Precambrian to Cambrian
Ordovician to Precambrian

7. According to the Reference Tables, between which two cities in New York State would the oldest surface bedrock be found?

Plattsburgh and Watertown
Jamestown and Rochester
Utica and Binghamton
Syracuse and Albany

8. According to the Geologic Time Scale in the Reference Tables, what is the estimated age of the Earth as a planet in millions of years?

570
4000
4600
5000

9. Which two forms of life existed together on the Earth during the same time period

Dinosaurs and mastodons.
Trilobites and birds.
Flowering plants and trilobites.
Mastodons and flowering plants.

10. For which period of geologic history is there no rock record in New York State?

Cretaceous
Permian
Quaternary
Jurassic

11. A scientist wishes to search for fossils of the earliest amphibians. Near which city in New York State should she search?

Ithaca
Watertown
Old Forge
Niagra Falls

12. The fossil record indicates that most of the plants and animals that lived on Earth in the past

Appeared during the Cambrian Period.
Became index fossils.
Have become extinct.
Lived on land.

13. Geologic history is divided into units on the basis of

Radioactive dating.
The amount of rock deformation.
The thickness of sedimentary rocks.
The fossil record.

14. The fossil record provides evidence that primitive humans were alive on Earth at the same time as the

Dinosaurs
Armored fish
Earliest birds
Mammoths

15. Which fossils could be found in Silurian limestone?

Reptiles
Eurypterids
Mammals
Flowering plants

16. What caused the Acadian Orogeny?

The spreading of the sea floor beneath the Atlantic ocean
The collision of North America and Avalon and the closing of the remaining part of the Iapetus Ocean
Uplift and faulting along the Pacific - North American plate boundaries
The breakup of Pangea

17. During which period of New York State geohistory did rifting occur?

Jurassic
Permian
Devonian
Ordovician

18. A paleontologist discovers a rock layer containing brachiopod index fossil 'Y'. What other fossils might be found in this rock layer?

First mammal-like reptiles
Mastodonts
Earliest insects
Dinosaurs

19. A geologist is studying the bedrock at 43 degrees 30 minutes north, 75 degrees, 45 minutes west. What kind of fossils should she expect to find at this location?

Corals and echinoderms
Dinosaurs
Earliest reptiles
Earliest placental mammals

20. Which event occurred most recently?

The Alleghenian orogeny
The extinction of the dinosaurs
The advance and retreat of the last continental ice sheet
The appearance of Earth's first forests

 Back to ESRT Pages 8/9