Glencoe Earth Science

Chapter 13: Clues to Earth's Past

Section 1 Self-Check Quiz-Eng.

1
What does a paleontologist study?
A)dinosaurs
B)fossils
C)plants
D)life
2
What kind of information have fossils provided for scientists?
A)They have helped scientists determine when life first appeared on Earth.
B)all of the above
C)They have helped scientists determine when plants and animals first lived on land.
D)They have helped scientists determine when organisms became extinct.
3
What determines whether or not an organism will become a fossil?
A)how well it is protected from scavengers, decomposers, and physical agents that break things down
B)its chemical makeup
C)the weather conditions at the time of death
D)the type of soil it is buried in
4
What type of process helps scientists find preserved DNA inside fossils?
A)Premineralized remains can have soft material that was once inside the fossil preserved in minerals around the fossil.
B)Plants fossilized around the organism might have soft material that was once inside the fossil preserved around the plant.
C)insects preserved in amber
D)Fossils that are younger and still have living material inside
5
Why do many organisms leave carbonaceous films as evidence of their lives?
A)because the bones of most organisms are made of compounds that contain carbon
B)because the tissues of most organisms are made of compounds that contain nitrogen
C)because the tissues of most organisms are made of compounds that contain carbon
D)because the bones of most organisms are made of compounds that contain nitrogen
6
What is a carbonaceous film?
A)a mold of the original organism made of carbon residue
B)a cast of the original organism made of carbon residue
C)a silhouette of the original organism made of a thin film of nitrogen residue
D)a silhouette of the original organism made of a thin film of carbon residue
7
What do large volumes of plant matter that have become carbonized form?
A)tar
B)dirt
C)mountains
D)coal
8
How is sediment transformed into rock?
A)Compaction and cementation occur.
B)Compaction occurs.
C)Cementation occurs.
D)Compaction and carbonization occurs.
9
What natural preservative have scientists discovered fossils within?
A)amber
B)frozen ground
C)tar
D)all of the above
10
Trace fossils are__________.
A)fossils scientists use to determine the age of rock around it
B)fossilized tracks or other evidence of an organism
C)silhouettes of the original organism made of thin films of carbon residue
D)fossils that are traced in rock
11
Why do trace fossils provide so much information about how an organism lived?
A)because the fossils leave evidence of what the organism ate
B)because the tracks can give scientists hints to an organism's lifestyle
C)because the fossils leave evidence about the shape of the organism's entire body
D)because the tracks can give scientists hints about the size of the organism's foot
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