8th Grade Science     Geological Time                  Name:

 

Matching:  Match the first occurrence of each event/life form in the fossil record to the geological time when it first appears.  Note that geological times are in correct order!

 

___ 1. Pleistocene           A. First primitive fish

___ 2. Pliocene               B. Rise of dinosaurs

___ 3. Miocene               C. Oldest known rocks, but without fossils

___ 4. Oligocene             D. First primitive mammals, toothed birds

___ 5. Eocene                 E. First life: bacteria and single cells

___ 6. Paleocene             F. Early man; last ice age

___ 7. Cretaceous           G. Whales, apes, grazing animals

___ 8. Jurassic                H. Primitive reptiles

___ 9. Triassic                I. First placental mammals

___ 10. Permian              J. Many shelled animals

___ 11. Pennsylvanian     K. First sharks

___ 12. Mississippian      L. Nothing is left from this time

___ 13. Devonian            M. Large mammal carnivores

___ 14. Silurian               N. Appearance of flowering plants

___ 15. Ordovician         O. Rise of modern plants.

___ 16. Cambrian           P. First land plants; giant scorpions

___ 17. Proterozoic        Q. Largest coal forests.

___ 18. Archean             R. Earliest ferns and amphibians

___ 19. Hadean               S. Large browsing mammals.

 

20. Our current epoch is the (a) Pleistocene      (b) Holocene   (c) Cenozoic

 

21. The “Age of the Dinosaurs” was which era?

                                    (a) Paleozoic                (b) Mesozoic                (c) Cenozoic

 

22. Trilobites would be found in rocks of which era?

                                    (a) Paleozoic                (b) Mesozoic                (c) Cenozoic

 

23. Mammals are the dominant fossils in which era?

                                    (a) Paleozoic                (b) Mesozoic                (c) Cenozoic

 

24. An asteroid hitting just off the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico is thought to have brought about mass extinctions and ended which era?

                                    (a) Paleozoic                (b) Mesozoic                (c) Cenozoic

 

25. During the last ice age, the glaciers covering North America stopped at the present:

                        (a) Canadian border                 (b) Mexican border

                        (c) Ohio River                          (d) Gulf of Mexico

 

26. During the Cretaceous Period, what was Mississippi like?

            (a) Mostly covered by the Gulf of Mexico         (b) Tropical jungle

            (c) Mountainous                                               (d) Desert

 

27. Limestone near the surface in the Okolona area mostly dates from:

                                    (a) Paleozoic                (b) Mesozoic                (c) Cenozoic

 

28. Mississippi was covered by glaciers in the last ice age.       TRUE  or  FALSE

 

29. The supercontinent that included all earth’s land masses at the start of the Mesozoic era is called:

                        (a) Rhodonia        (b) Pangaea         (c) Gondwana    (d) Laurasia

 

30. The land mass including North America, Europe, and Asia is called:

                        (a) Rhodonia        (b) Pangaea         (c) Gondwana    (d) Laurasia

 

31. When South America split from Africa, this broke up:

                        (a) Rhodonia        (b) Pangaea         (c) Gondwana    (d) Laurasia

 

32. For the last few million years, North America and Europe have been

            (a) moving farther apart   (b) moving closer together    (c) not moving

 

33. The Appalachian Mountains once ran through Mississippi to Texas.

 TRUE  or  FALSE

 

34. Plate tectonics are powered by:

            (a) the sun                    (b) radioactive decay                (c) dead dinosaurs

 

35. Wooly mammoths can be found frozen in glaciers.    TRUE  or  FALSE

 

36.  Which appear first?           (a) large herbivores                   (b) large carnivores

 

37. Long fangs helped the saber-toothed tiger to better hunt  (a) rabbits   (b) mammoths

 

38. The Appalachian Mountains were raised when North America collided with:

                        (a) Africa          (b) Europe        (c) Asia            (d) itself

 

39. India formed the Himalayans when it hit (a) Africa    (b) Europe    (c) Asia

 

40. Given the current motion of the continents, in another 250 million years, what will separate North America from Africa?

 (a) A mountain range               (b) A flat desert            (c) The Atlantic Ocean

 

41. Coal is formed when plant remains are not eaten by animals.  TRUE or FALSE

 

42. Give one reason some scientists think birds are the same as dinosaurs:

43. Earth has always had polar ice caps.  TRUE  or  FALSE

 

44. How does Earth’s temperature today compare with that of the Age of the Dinosaurs?

            (a) Colder        (b) Hotter         (c) Same

 

45.  Because the Pangaean land mass isolated most areas far from the ocean, the Triassic  Period stands out for having the most:

            (a) mountains                (b) deserts        (c) polar ice caps

 

46. Which appeared first in the fossil record?

            (a) birds           (b) reptiles        (c)amphibians

 

47.   Which appeared first in the fossil record?

            (a) ferns            (b) pine trees                (c) flowering plants

 

48.  We know dinosaurs laid eggs due to:

            (a) similarities with birds            (b) fossil eggs               (c) cloned dinosaurs

 

49. Modern cloning projects are aiming at restoring extinct species such as:

(a)    Mammoths

(b)   Saber-toothed tigers

(c)    Both of the above

 

50.  The Great Lakes are one geographic feature left behind by receding Pleistocene glaciers in North America.

                                                TRUE  or  FALSE

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bonus: Which country is taking the lead in the project to clone the wooly mammoth?

            (a) United States                       (b) Japan

            (c) Russia                                 (d) England