Geologic Time Jeopardy

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The Dating Game

Mass Extinctions

Time. Period. Fossils Wild Card

FINAL ROUND

$100 Question

This scientific principle states that a rock layer is always younger than all the parallel layers below it.

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ANSWER

$100 Answer

Principle of Superposition

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$200 Question

This is the method of approximating the age of a rock layer in comparison to other layers.

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ANSWER

$200 Answer

Relative Dating

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$300 Question

Which is classified as an unconformity?

a) Rock layers tilted sideways over time due to tectonic activity

b) Rock layers deposited horizontally

c) A rock layer consisting of various sized particles

d) A rock layer with fossils in it

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ANSWER

$300 Answer

a) rock layers tiled sideways due to tectonic activity

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$400 Question

Which layer is the next oldest after Layer 1

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ANSWER

$400 Answer

Layer 6 is the next oldest after Layer 1

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$500 Question

If a sample of rock originally contained 400 grams of a radioactive compound and the half-life of the compound is 100 million years, how much of the compound would be left after the rock aged for 200 million years?

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ANSWER

$500 Answer

200 million years = 2 half-lives

0 half-lives = 400 grams

1 half-life = 200 grams

2 half-lives = 100 grams

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$100 Question

What makes a mass extinction different than “regular” extinctions?

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ANSWER

$100 Answer

Mass extinctions result in large numbers of organisms becoming extinct in a relatively short time span

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$200 Question

Name two phenomena that scientists believe can cause a mass extinction.

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ANSWER

$200 Answer

1. Climate Change

2. Sea level fluctuations

3. Astronomical events (meteor impact, cosmic radiation, etc)

4. Extreme volcanic activity

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$300 Question

The most famous mass extinction was that which wiped out the majority of the dinosaurs at the end of which time period?

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ANSWER

$300 Answer

End of the Cretaceous Period (approx. 65 million years ago)

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$400 Question

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ANSWER

A mass extinction at the end of the Precambrian Eon, would have affected which types of creatures?

a) Dinosaurs

b) Marine Invertebrates

c) Mammals

d) Large Fish and Sharks

$400 Answer

b) marine invertebrates

Aside from some land plants and almost all life lived in the ocean during the Precambrian time, however, fish did not evolve until late in the paleozoic (150 million years later)

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$500 Question

How many significant mass extinctions do scientists currently acknowledge in Earth’s history?

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ANSWER

$500 Answer

5 mass extinctions

1. Ordovician Period

2. Devonian Period

3. Permian Period

4. Triassic

5. CretaceousBACK TO GAME

$100 Question

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ANSWER

This is the only Era in which the dinosaurs lived.

(unless you count birds as dinos!)

$100 Answer

Mesozoic Era

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$200 Question

A rapid evolution and diversification, particularly of animals, occurred during this time period within the Paleozoic Era.

Hint: the 1st period in the Era!BACK TO GAME

ANSWER

$200 Answer

Cambrian Period

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$300 Question

This is the most recent geologic era, the era that includes today’s time.

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ANSWER

$300 Answer

Cenozoic Era

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$400 Question

This time period is sometimes called the “Age of Mammals”

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ANSWER

$400 Answer

Cenozoic Era

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$500 Question

The prequel to Jurassic Park, “Paleozoic Park”, would probably include genetically engineered species such as….

a) Trilobites

b) Mammoths

c) Dinosaurs

d) Small mammalsBACK TO GAME

ANSWER

$500 Answer

a) Trilobites

All other animal choices evolved after the Paleozoic Era

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$100 Question

An organism will fossilize best when….

a) Covered in sediment slowly

b) Covered in sediment quickly

c) Not covered in sediment

d) Submerged in waterBACK TO GAME

ANSWER

$100 Answer

b) Covered in sediment quickly

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$200 Question

This type of fossilization occurs when minerals penetrate the cells of dead organisms, turning them to rock, often preserving the whole organism.

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ANSWER

$200 Answer

Petrification

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$300 Question

What type of fossilization is has preserved this primitive insect?

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ANSWER

Organelles:

$300 Answer

Fossilization in Amber

(fossilized tree sap)

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$400 Question

The best name for this type of fossil would be…

a) Coporolite

b) Gastolith

c) Imprint

d) CastBACK TO GAME

ANSWER

$400 Answer

c) Imprint

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$500 Question

Fossils most useful to geologists, are those that only appear in distinct, often thin layers of rock. What are these fossils called?

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ANSWER

$500 Answer

Index fossils

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$100 Question

The best estimate of the age of the earth is….

a) 4.5 million years

b) 45 million years

c) 4.5 billion years

d) 4.5 trillion yearsBACK TO GAME

ANSWER

$100 Answer

4.5 billion years

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$200 Question

Evidence suggests that life first appeared on Earth approximate how many years ago?

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ANSWER

$200 Answer

3.5 billion years ago

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$300 Question

Which occurred first?

First plants or oxygenation of the atmosphere?

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ANSWER

$300 Answer

First plants (OK first algae)

The algae conducted photosynthesis to create the oxygen in the atmosphere.

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$400 Question

The last ice age ended approximately how many years ago?

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ANSWER

$400 Answer

10,000 years ago

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$500 Question

Which geologic time era is Mr. Johnstone’s favorite?

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ANSWER

$500 Answer

Paleozoic Era

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FINAL ROUND Question

What do scientists believe is the cause for many of the “ice ages” that have occurred in Earth’s history?

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ANSWER

FINAL ROUND Answer

Movement of continents that change how polar and equatorial ocean waters move around the globe

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