MC	8^th Grade Integrated Science	Standard: 03
Objective: 03. Describe how rock and fossil evidence is used to infer EarthÕs history.
ILO:

Which of the following is NOT a feature formed by glaciers during the last ice age?

a. sand dunes

b. moraines

c. cirques

d. outwash plains

Correct Answer: a

MC	8^th Grade Integrated Science	Standard: 03
Objective: 03. Describe how rock and fossil evidence is used to infer EarthÕs history.
ILO:

Which rock formation is the youngest?

a. A

b. B

c. C

d. D

Correct Answer: a

MC	8^th Grade Integrated Science	Standard: 03
Objective: 03. Describe how rock and fossil evidence is used to infer EarthÕs history.
ILO:

What is the following: "Most fossils are found in marine sediments"?

a. Theory

b. Law

c. Hypothesis

d. Fact

e. Superstition

Correct Answer: d

MC	8^th Grade Integrated Science	Standard: 03
Objective: 03. Describe how rock and fossil evidence is used to infer EarthÕs history.
ILO:

"Fossils are often found in rocks." This statement is a(n)

a. Theory

b. Hypothesis

c. Assumption

d. Fact

Correct Answer: d

MC	8^th Grade Integrated Science	Standard: 03
Objective: 03. Describe how rock and fossil evidence is used to infer EarthÕs history.
ILO:

Assume you are looking at geologic strata exposed in a road-cut. You have no other data available. Your friend says that, ÒFossils which are found in lower strata usually represent the remains of forms which lived at an earlier age than those of fossils found in upper strata." This is a statement of

a. Data

b. A theory

c. A fact

d. An assumption

Correct Answer: d

MC	8^th Grade Integrated Science	Standard: 03
Objective: 03. Describe how rock and fossil evidence is used to infer EarthÕs history.
ILO:

Why would fossils in newer formations be more likely to resemble living species today than fossils from very old formations?

a. The old formations are from galaxies far away that blew up and became this earth.

b. The old formations were formed when conditions on earth couldnÕt support life.

c. The fossils in old formations are fakes assembled by scientists from lots of different organisms to fool people.

d. The fossils in old formations are usually from extinct species.

Correct Answer: d

I	8^th Grade Integrated Science	Standard: 03
Objective: 03. Describe how rock and fossil evidence is used to infer EarthÕs history.
ILO:

1. Which two of the above samples would most likely help scientists learn about conditions below the surface of the earth as the rocks formed?

a. A and D

b. B and C

c. A and B

d. C and D

2. As you look at rock ÒAÓ above, which of the following methods of determining the relative age of rocks would likely be the easiest for a middle school student to tell approximately how old the rock is?

a. Carbon 14 test

b. Check the half-life of radon

c. Check the chart of index fossils

d. Measure the size of the crystals

Correct Answers:

1. b

2. c

I	8^th Grade Integrated Science	Standard: 03
Objective: 03. Describe how rock and fossil evidence is used to infer EarthÕs history.
ILO:

Igneous rock was imbedded in sedimentary rock, which also contained a fossil fish. The age of the igneous rock was determined to be 350 million years. The igneous rock was deposited there in molten condition.

1. How old is the fossil fish?

a. Less than 350 million years old

b. At least 350 million years old

c. Much older than 350 million years

d. Its age cannot be predicted from this data

2. A necessary assumption for determining the age of the fish is that the:

a. Sedimentary rock can be accurately dated

b. Igneous rock gives the accurate age of the fish

c. Igneous rock gives the maximum age of the fish

d. The fish was in the sedimentary rock before the igneous rock intruded

3. If a fossil starfish were also found in the same layer of sedimentary rock, it would suggest that:

a. The fish and the starfish were alive at about the same time

b. The starfish and the fish were closely related

c. The method used to determine the age of the fish was inaccurate

d. There had been no change in that area since the fossils were deposited

Correct Answers:

1. b

2. d

3. a

I	8^th Grade Integrated Science	Standard: 03
Objective: 03. Describe how rock and fossil evidence is used to infer EarthÕs history.
ILO:

An excavation exposes the side of a hill. Rock layers of different colors, thicknesses, and textures are revealed as shown in the sketch below. Examine the figure and answer the questions that follow.

1. Which one of the following assumptions is made by biologists considering fossils found at various levels?

a. An animal could burrow into any layer and become fossilized.

b. Fossil communities had the same physical environment as the present living community.

c. Each layer contains fossils that are older as you go from layer I to layer VI.

d. Each layer contains fossils that are more recent as you go from layer I to layer VI.

2. Shark teeth, many fossil sand dollars, and starfish are found in layer IV. This is a good indication that:

a. Layer IV was on the shore of a large lake.

b. Layer IV was deposited in an ocean basin.

c. A food chain was established during this period.

d. Considerable shifting of layers occurred as the layers were deposited.

3. Fossil remains found in layer II are almost identical to a species of toad now living on the hillside. The best explanation is that:

a. This species of toad hopped there from a different hillside.

b. Changes occur often in generations of toads.

c. Toads can withstand great changes in the local environment.

d. The evolution of this species of toad has been slow.

Correct Answers:

1. c

2. b

3. d

I	8^th Grade Integrated Science	Standard: 03
Objective: 03. Describe how rock and fossil evidence is used to infer EarthÕs history.
ILO:

The next 3 items refer to the following drawing of a hillside that was excavated for a highway.

1. The six layers of rock show no evidence that they have been disturbed or rearranged by earth movements. Geologist assume that the oldest layer is:

a. I

b. II

c. III

d. IV

e. VI

2. Layer III is coal and layer IV contains fossil starfish and sharks teeth. The clues in these layers suggest that the environment changed in a past age from:

a. freshwater to saltwater

b. saltwater to freshwater

c. saltwater to land

d. land to freshwater

e. freshwater to land

3. To search for fossils of land organisms in the exposed hillside, biologists would examine:

a. each layer

b. the 3 lower layers

c. the 3 upper layers

d. the lower and middle layers

e. the middle and upper layers

Correct Answers:

1. e

2. c

3. e or c

I	8^th Grade Integrated Science	Standard: 03
Objective: 03. Describe how rock and fossil evidence is used to infer EarthÕs history.
ILO:

Use this diagram of a road cut to answer the following questions:

1. Which layer on the diagram is the oldest?

a. A

b. F

c. I

d. J

2. What event happened at the area labeled by the heavy black line?

a. erosion

b. an earthquake

c. folding

d. a volcano

3. What event created the offset of layers J and I?

a. erosion

b. an earthquake

c. folding

d. a volcano

Correct Answers:

1. a

2. a

3. b

I	8^th Grade Integrated Science	Standard: 03
Objective: 03. Describe how rock and fossil evidence is used to infer EarthÕs history.
ILO:

For the next 5 items use the following diagram. This diagram shows sedimentary rock layers and certain organisms found in them. The layers marked I were found in one area and those in II were found a number of miles away. The letters a-d and 1-4 refer to the different strata.

1. What is the evidence that these are sedimentary rocks?

a. they contain shells

b. they are in layers

c. both I and II contain the same formations

d. neither section contains plant fossils

2. Increase of complexity of organisms through time

a. is clearly show here

b. is indicated by position in rock strata

c. cannot be inferred from the picture

d. is not possible

3. Providing no geological shifts have taken place, the organism, in

a. strata a is the simplest

b. strata d is the simplest

c. strata a is the oldest

d. strata d is the oldest

4. What strata in locality II might be continuous with strata d in locality I?

a. strata 2

b. strata 3

c. strata 4

d. none of these

5. If there has been no disturbance of layers, the organism in strata 3 of locality II would be expected to be found in locality I in

a. strata d

b. the strata just above strata d

c. strata c

d. the strata just below strata d

Correct Answers:

1. a

2. c

3. c

4. a

5. b

E	8^th Grade Integrated Science	Standard: 03
Objective: 03. Describe how rock and fossil evidence is used to infer EarthÕs history.
ILO:

Consider some of the problems you encounter that cause you to have to clean your room. Imagine what it would look like if it werenÕt cleaned for one year. How could you relate the accumulated clutter in your room to the layers of the earth and how they formed?

Ideal Answer:

The process of accumulation of materials happens a little bit at a time. However, some major events deposit much more materials than other events.

Some materials could be used to approximate date of deposition (e.g. old tickets, newspapers, etc.). The materials found on the bottom were most likely deposited first, however, times of disruption, when you pawed through stuff trying to find something, may have changed the order of deposition.

E	8^th Grade Integrated Science	Standard: 03
Objective: 03. Describe how rock and fossil evidence is used to infer EarthÕs history.
ILO:

What could you hypothesize about your community's geologic past if the rocks found there were mostly sedimentary?

Ideal Answer: Sedimentary rocks are commonly formed from sediments of lakes, rivers

or streams. The evidence of sedimentary rocks would indicate that the area was probably covered by water sometime in the past, and the rocks formed by cementation and compaction.

Scoring Guide:

Formation from water-40%

Sediments deposited, cemented, compacted-40%

Spelling, punctuation, language usage-20%