Geology 102 Final

ungulates

Mammals with hoofs, including horses, cattle, sheep, goats, deer, antelopes, camels, tapirs, and rhinos are known as: a. primates. b. marsupials. c. ungulates. d. edentates. e. creodonts.

A great wedge of sediment that thickens seaward

. Eight major transgressions and regressions in the Gulf of Mexico coastal plain area led to the formation of what kind of sedimentary deposits? a. oil shales b. low sulfur coals c. lacustrine rocks with fish fossils d. a great wedge of sediment that thickens seaward e. glacial tillies and related varved marine sediments

Homo erectus

15. What is the first hominin known to have moved out of Africa and into Eurasia? a. Homo erectus b. Australopithecus africanus c. Australopithecis afarensis d. Homo sapiens e. Ardipithecus ramidus

Brachiopod

7. Which of the following is not a mollusk? a. ammonite b. clam c. octopus d. brachiopod e. gastropod

Cretaceous

A major extinction event occurred at the end of what Mesozoic period, causing the extinction of the dinosaurs, ammonites, plesiosaurs, mosasaurs and many other groups? a. Triassic b. Jurassic c. Cretaceous

Climate changed to cooler and drier; grasslands replaced tropical forests

Adaptive radiation among the primates occurred during Miocene as a result of what plate-tectonic related factor? a. climate changed to warmer and wetter; tropical forests replaced grasslands b. climate changed to cooler and drier; grasslands replaced tropical forests c. continental subsidence and oceanic flooding of large areas of Africa d. glaciation and lowering of sea level, exposing land bridge across e. the Bering Strait f. glaciation-related cold, wet climates across Europe and Africa

bird

Archaeopteryx was an early: a. amphibian. b. insect. c. bird. d. phytosaur. e. dinosaur.

Late Triassic

Around what time did Dinosaurs appear? a. Late Triassic b. Late Jurassic c. Late Cretaceous d. Early Cretaceous e. Early Triassic

Late Triassic

Around what time did Mammals appear? a. Late Triassic b. Late Cretaceous c. Jurassic d. Early Cretaceous e. Early Triassic

Grasslands

As Cenozoic climate became cooler and drier, the tropical forests which had covered parts of North America during Cretaceous began to decline, and were replaced by the expansion of what across the plains of the midwestern part of North America? a. conifer forests b. grasslands c. fern forests d. desert plants e. tundra plants

12,000 years

As indicated by stone tools made by people of the Clovis culture, humans may have arrived in the Americas from Asia (crossing the Bering Strait and arriving in Alaska) at least how long ago? a. 12,000 years b. 30,000 years c. 70,000 years d. 100,000 years e. 1 million years

All of the Above

As the Isthmus of Panama was formed as a result of orogenic and volcanic activity, which of the following was influenced by the presence of the Panamanian land bridge? a. migration of plants and animals b. formation of Gulf Stream c. human travel between Atlantic and Pacific Oceans d. mild climate in northern Europe e. all of the above

Cretaceous

At what time during Mesozoic was the interior of North America was flooded by an epicontinental sea? a. Jurassic b. Triassic c. Cretaceous d. Permian e. Pliocene

Homo habilis

Cro-Magnon people are the same as what species listed below? a. Homo erectus b. Homo sapiens c. Homo habilis d. Australopithecus africanus e. Ardipithecus ramidus

5 to 7 million years

DNA evidence indicates that the Anthropoid apes (gibbons, orangutans, chimpanzees, and gorillas) diverged from the human line about how long ago? a. 50,000 to 70,000 years ago b. 500,000 to 700,000 years ago c. 5 to 7 million years d. 50 to 70 million years ago e. 500 to 700 million years ago

differences in hip bone structure

Dinosaurs are divided into two groups (two orders) on the basis of: a. whether they had horns or not. b. endotherms vs. ectotherms. c. whether they walked on 2 legs or 4 legs. d. differences in hip bone structure. e. carnivores vs. herbivores.

Formation of the San Andreas fault

During Cenozoic, along the west coast of the U.S., the Farallon plate was being subducted at a rate faster than it was growing at its spreading center, and as a result, the North American plate was brought into contact with the Pacific plate, which led to: a. renewed subduction along the coast of California. b. collapse of Mt. Mazama to form Crater Lake. c. uplift of the Sierra Nevada mountains. d. formation of the San Andreas fault. e. formation of the volcanoes of the Cascade range.

Panamanian land bridge

During Cenozoic, many species of South American marsupial were driven to extinction by the migration of competitors from the north across what feature? a. Tethys land bridge b. island chains of the Atlantic Ocean c. Panamanian land bridge d. island chains of the Pacific Ocean e. Bering land bridge

Angiosperms

During Cenozoic, what was the dominant type of land plant? a. ferns b. cycads c. conifers d. angiosperms e. gymnosperms

Pluvial lakes

During Late Cenozoic ice ages, what features formed in areas that were not near the ice sheets, for example, in the northern part of the Basin and Range province? a. stratified drift b. playa lakes c. dune fields d. pluvial lakes e. calderas

Oxygen-18

During glacial intervals, what isotope preferentially accumulates in sea water and thus in the shells of marine invertebrates? a. oxygen-18 b. oxygen-16 c. carbon-12 d. carbon-14 e. uranium-235

Cretaceous

During what Mesozoic time interval were the Atlantic and Gulf coastal plain areas covered by the sea? a. Early Triassic b. Late Triassic-Early Jurassic c. Early-Middle Jurassic d. Late Jurassic e. Cretaceous

Monotremes

Egg-laying mammals are called: a. marsupials. b. ungulates. c. monotremes. d. primates.

Oil Shale

Freshwater lake sediments of the Green River Formation in southwestern Wyoming include what economically valuable rock? a. coal b. uranium-bearing sandstone c. rock salt d. oil shale e. iron ore

Gymnosperm

Ginkgoes are a type of: a. extinct bird. b. gymnosperm. c. angiosperm. d. small 2-legged dinosaur. e. marine phytoplankton.

Primates

Humans belong to which order of mammals? a. carnivora b. proboscidea c. primates d. omnivora e. edentata

Lowering of temperature and glaciation

If Earth's albedo increased, it could cause which of these things? a. lowering of temperature and glaciation b. increase in sea level and flooding of continents c. increase in volcanism d. change in rate of tectonic plate movement e. melting of the polar ice caps

Rift Valleys

In eastern Africa, Late Cenozoic elongate lakes formed in what kind of tectonic feature? a. subduction zones b. rift valleys c. volcanic calderas d. strike-slip fault basins e. fold and thrust belts

Elephants

Mammoths and mastodonts are most closely related to which group listed below? a. elephants b. hippos c. horses d. rhinos e. creodonts

Laramide

Most of the structures of the present-day Rocky Mountains are the result of what orogeny? a. Sevier b. Antler c. Laramide d. Sonoma e. Nevadan

Protection from Predators

Plates on the back of the stegosaurs may have been used for what purpose? a. fighting other dinosaurs b. sails to help them move about in the water c. regulation of body temperature d. gliding through the air e. protection from predators

Tree shrews, lemurs, and tarsiers

Prosimians are: a. orangutans, chimpanzees, and gorillas. b. gibbons. c. monkeys. d. tree shrews, lemurs, and tarsiers. e. humans.

Basalt

The Columbia Plateau in the northwestern US is formed by this type of rock: a. shale. b. cross-bedded sandstone. c. limestone. d. granite. e. basalt.

chalk

The Cretaceous is named for what rock type, a variety of limestone deposited in inland seas in many parts of the world? a. micrite b. claystone c. chalk d. coal e. reef rock

Breakup of Pangea

The Mesozoic was characterized by the: a. assembly of continents into Pangea. b. breakup of Pangea. c. stable positions of continents. d. assembly of continents into Gondwana. e. breakup of Gondwana.

Insects, leaves, and pollen

The Oligocene deposits exposed at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument in Colorado are well known for what type of fossil, which is found buried in volcanic ash that once settled to the bottom of an ancient lake? a. entire skeletons of mammals b. insects, leaves, and pollen c. skeletons of giant turtles d. early human remains e. snakes and lizards

Both B and D

The Pleistocene horses may have experienced extinction as a result of what factor(s)? a. continental rifting b. contagious disease c. global cooling d. human hunters e. both b and d

Mammals

The biota changed rapidly during Cenozoic after an adaptive radiation occurred near the beginning of Cenozoic. After this radiation, which of the following groups increased rapidly in diversity? a. carnivores b. reptiles c. mammals d. corals e. molluscs

Morrison Formation

The bones of more than 70 species of dinosaurs are present in floodplain deposits, exposed near Grand Junction, Colorado. What is the formation? a. Moenkopi Formation b. Kayenta Formation c. Navajo Sandstone d. Morrison Formation e. Chinle Formation

Navajo Sandstone

The cross-bedded formations exposed in the walls of Zion National Park in Utah belong to what formation? a. Moenkopi Formation b. Niobrara Formation c. Navajo Sandstone d. Kayenta Formation e. Chinle Formation

coccolithophorids

The extensive chalk deposits of the Cretaceous were formed from the remains of planktonic foraminifera along with the remains of what type of organism? a. coccolithophorids b. diatoms c. acritarchs d. dinoflagellates e. coralline algae

angiosperm

The flowering plants belong to this group: a. cycad. b. gymnosperms. c. angiosperms. d. seed ferns. e. lycopods.

Australopithecis afarensis

The fossil called "Lucy," which was discovered by Donald Johanson in 1974, was an erect-walking hominid that lived in eastern Africa about 3.5 million years ago that belongs to what species? a. Homo erectus b. Australopithecus africanus c. Australopithecis afarensis d. Homo sapiens e. Ardipithecus ramidus

100,000 years

The graph of variations in global ice volume over the past 500,000 years below shows that successive times of coldest temperatures (marked "cold") and thus episodes of glaciation occur at an interval of approximately how many years apart? a. 26,000 years b. 41,000 years c. 10,000 years d. 100,000 years e. 20,000 years

2.5 million years old

The oldest Homo fossils are about what age? a. 2.5 million years old b. 3.5 million years old c. 28,000 years old d. 5 to 7 milion years old e. 100,000 years old

Navajo Sandstone and Wingate Sandstone

The rocks exposed in the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona are: a. Moenkopi and Shinarump Formations. b. Chinle Formation. c. Navajo Sandstone and Wingate Sandstone. d. Kayenta Formation. e. Niobrara Formation.

Nonmarine red sandstones and shales

These types of sediments were deposited during Late Triassic and Early Jurassic of eastern North America: a. turbidites and submarine fan deposits. b. nonmarine red sandstones and shales. c. shallow water carbonate rocks. d. barrier island and beach sands. e. reef carbonates and associated evaporates.

Hoof-bearing land dwellers related to hippos

Whales are descended from what group listed below? a. freshwater fish b. sharks c. hoof-bearing land dwellers related to hippos d. porpoises e. walruses

Niobrara Formation

What Cretaceous unit listed below has yielded the remains of a variety of marine creatures including a diving bird, marine reptiles, and flying reptiles? a. Newark Supergroup b. Dakota Group c. Niobrara Formation d. Navajo Sandstone e. Morrison Formation

Sevier

What Mesozoic orogeny occurred east of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and caused multiple overlapping, low angle thrust faults that were thrust eastward? a. Antler b. Sevier c. Laramide d. Sonoma e. Nevadan

Neandertals

What hominid species or group did all the following: manufactured a variety of stone tools; used fire (which provided light in caves, gave warmth, and allowed the thawing and cooking of food); constructed shelters of skins, sticks and bones; cared for the sick; and buried artifacts with the dead (suggesting a belief in an afterlife)? a. Homo erectus b. Australopithecis afarensis c. Australopithecus africanus d. Ardipithecus ramidus e. Neandertals

Neandertals

What hominid was present up until about 28,000 years ago in central Europe? a. Homo erectus b. Homo habilis c. Cro-Magnon people d. Neandertals e. Homo sapiens

Jurassic

What is the age of the Solnhofen Limestone which produced Archaeopteryx? a. Late Triassic - Early Jurassic b. Late Cretaceous c. Triassic d. Jurassic e. Early Cretaceous

Australophithecus africanus

What is the name of the South African fossil, about 4 million years old, which was first discovered in 1924 by Raymond Dart in South Africa but since then has been discovered in East Africa, particularly in Olduvai Gorge by the Leakeys? a. Homo erectus b. Proconsul africanus c. Australopithecus africanus d. Ardipithecus ramidus e. Orrorin tugenensis

Astronomical variables

What mechanism did Milutin Milankovitch propose that controls the temperature fluctuations that may have caused Late Cenozoic ice ages? a. atmospheric fluctuations b. geographic changes due to mountain building c. geographic changes due to plate movements d. astronomical variables e. oxygen isotope ratio changes

Nevadan

What orogeny was associated with the formation of a mélange (the Franciscan fold belt of California) and the generation of enormous volumes of granitic rock associated with a subduction zone (the Sierra Nevada, Idaho, Baja California, and Coast Range batholiths)? a. Sevier b. Antler c. Laramide d. Sonoma e. Nevadan

Flightless bird

What type of animal was Diatryma, an Eocene predator that lived in North America, was about 2 m tall and weighed about 300 pounds? a. glyptodont b. flightless bird c. early horse d. mastodon e. ground sloth

Scleractinid coral

What type of coral grew extensively in the warm waters of the Cenozoic oceans? a. rudistids b. tabulate coral c. scleractinid coral d. rugose coral e. tetracoral

Teleost

What type of fish thrived during Cenozoic in marine and freshwater environments as indicated, for example, among the fossils found in the Eocene Green River Formation of Wyoming? a. shark b. cartilaginous fish c. ostracoderm d. coelacanth e. teleost

Nummulitic foraminifera

What type of marine organism resembles a coin in size and shape and is found in the rocks used to make the Egyptian pyramids? a. phytoplankton b. nummulitic foraminifera c. coccolithophorids d. diatoms and radiolarians e. scleractinid corals

foraminifera

What type of pelagic swimming animal is useful in worldwide correlation of Mesozoic rocks because they were abundant, morphologically variable, globally distributed in a variety of marine environments, and had short geologic ranges (they evolved rapidly)? a. crustaceans b. foraminifera c. dinosaurs d. ammonoids e. coccolithophorids

Iridium rich clay

What was the 1977 discovery in the uppermost layer of Cretaceous rocks in Italy that supported the modern hypothesis that comet or asteroid impact caused a mass extinction 65 million years ago? a. tektite-rich layers b. iridium-rich clay c. a giant impact crater d. a giant asteroid in Cretaceous sediments e. a layer of broken shells, bones, and burned wood

Warm and Stable

What was the nature of most of Cretaceous climate? a. cool and dry b. warm and stable c. cold and wet d. hot and dry e. much like today

Mexico

Where is the Chicxulub impact structure located? a. United States b. Mexico c. Canada d. South America e. southern Atlantic

New York and New Jersey Area

Where is the basaltic Palisades sill is located? a. Pacific northwestern U.S. b. western Texas and New Mexico area c. New York and New Jersey area d. Michigan basin e. northern India

Gulf of Mexico Area

Where were thick Jurassic evaporite deposits, which formed salt domes, deposited in North America? a. Michigan basin b. west Texas and New Mexico area c. Gulf of Mexico area d. Great Salt Lake area e. western New York

Elongate head

Which characteristic is most unlike a typical primate? a. elongate head b. flattened face c. unspecialized teeth d. large brain size e. binocular vision

New World Monkeys

Which has a prehensile tail that can be wrapped around branches? a. Old World monkeys b. New World monkeys c. all monkeys d. gibbons e. orangutans

Australopithecines

Which hominid group or species listed below had two morphologic types, a heavy-bodied robust form and a gracile or lighter form? a. Homo erectus b. Homo habilis c. Australopithecines d. Neandertals e. Cro-Magnon people

Mammal

Which of the following is endothermic? a. fish b. reptile c. mammal d. amphibian e. foraminifera

Pleistocene

Widespread glaciations occurred during what Cenozoic epoch? a. Paleocene b. Pleistocene c. Pliocene d. Miocene e. Oligocene

Herbivorous mammals

hanges in the teeth of what group of animals occurred in association with the spread of the grasslands? a. herbivorous mammals b. flightless birds c. amphibians and reptiles d. marine mammals e. carnivorous mammals

rudistids

his type of organism was an important contributor to Cretaceous reefs: a. rugose corals. b. tabulate corals. c. stromatolites. d. rudistids. e. sponges.

Side toes

n the evolution of the horse, what features were gradually lost? a. horns b. teeth c. ribs d. side toes e. cloven hoofs

Oregon

n what state is Crater Lake, a water-filled caldera that was formed from the collapse of the volcanic cone of Mount Mazama about 6000 years ago, after eruptions drained the underlying magma chamber? a. Washington b. California c. Oregon d. Nevada e. Wyoming