Assignment 4This covers Unit IV Geologic Time in the textbook (Chapter 8).
Matching (3 points)
1) Match each item with the correct description (there will be one unused description).
catastrophism
amber
uniformitarianism
index fossil
A) a fossil organism that is restricted to a certain brief stretch of geologic time, but was widespread and abundant during its time on Earth
B) the notion that we can understand the geologic past by focusing on present day processes and physical laws; geologic change may be slow or gradual
C) an unconformity in which younger sedimentary layers overlie older metamorphic or intrusive igneous rock (sedimentary layers sit on an erosion surface)
D) the defunct notion that the Earth is only a few thousand years old, and that all geologic change is accomplished rapidly through violent events
E) fossil tree sap
MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question. (3 points each)
Numbers 2, 3, and 4: Examine the figure above that shows the sequence of strata in three Colorado Plateau national parks (page 282 in textbook).
2) Which unit(s) are shared by Grand Canyon National Park and Zion National Park?
A) Moenkopi and Chinle B) Toroweap and Kaibab
C) Kaibab only D) Kaibab and Monekopi
3) If the Wingate Sandstone was deposited in the Triassic period, the Navajo Sandstone in the late Triassic through early Jurassic, and the Carmel Formation in the Jurassic, a visitor to Bryce Canyon National Park shouldn’t expect to find any strata older than the ________ period.
A) Permian B) Triassic C) Tertiary D) Cretaceous
4) Since the Moenkopi Formation was deposited at the end of the Permian period and the very beginning of the Triassic, and the Navajo Sandstone was deposited at the end of the Triassic and into the Jurassic, what is the age of the Chinle Formation?
A) Triassic B) Jurassic C) Permian D) Cambrian
5) “This rock is fifteen million years old,” is an example of ________.
A) the principle of cross-cutting relationships B) superposition
C) a numerical date D) a relative date
6) Which of the following geologic observations would NOT bear directly on working out the sequence of geologic events in an area?
A) a well-exposed dike of basalt in sandstone
B) an unconformity between a granite and sandstone
C) inclusions of sandstone in a granite pluton
D) the feldspar and quartz contents of a granite
7) A worm would stand a poor chance of being fossilized because ________.
A) worms contain no carbon-14 B) worms live in the shallow ocean
C) worms have no hard parts D) worms were very rare during the geologic past
8) Using the known rates of radioactive decay to date the crystallization of certain minerals is known as ________ dating.
A) relative B) fossil assemblage C) conventional D) radiometric
Fill in the blank. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or answers the question. (2 points each)
9) A lava flow includes fragments of limestone in it. Which rock unit is older, the lava flow or the limestone? ________
10) A sandstone is found to overlie a shale. The shale contains a volcanic ash layer that has been radiometrically dated to 84 million years ago. Both the shale and the sandstone are cut by a pluton of gabbro that has been dated to 60 million years old. How old is the sandstone layer? ________
11) The amount of time it takes for half of the remaining radioactive isotopes to decay is the ________ of a isotope system.
12) Would a pigeon or a penguin make a better index fossil for the present day? ________
13) All else being equal, in a horizontal sequence of sedimentary rock layers, each higher bed is younger than the bed below it. This idea is the principle of ________.
14) The process by which geologists identify and match sedimentary strata and other rocks of the same ages in different areas is ________.
15) When radioactive potassium-40 decays, the stable daughter isotope ________ is produced.
16) A(n) ________ is an erosional unconformity with parallel beds or strata above and below.
#9-16 Vocabulary (extra words and/or phrases are included, not all will be used)
