GEOLOGY 3 HISTORICAL GEOLOGY SPRING 2010 PROF.

AWRAMIK

Name_________________________

Final Exam. Closed book; closed notes. 400 points for this exam. You have until 11 AM for this exam. I. Multiple Choice Questions. Circle the appropriate answer (3 points each; 114 points) 1. The following group(s) went extinct by the end of the Cretaceous: a. all dinosaurs b. ammonoids c. pterosaurs d. marine reptiles 2. The following group(s) appeared in the Eocene a. birds b. marine mammals c. corals d. insects 3. The margins of continents flooded with marine waters are called a. flood plains b. rift valleys c. continental shelves d. epeiric seas 4. The Morrison Formation a. Contains spectacular Jurassic assemblages of fossil dinosaurs. b. Was deposited in a foreland basin. c. Contains the fossil used to delineate the Neoproterozoic-Cambrian boundary. d. Has stable isotopes that are evidence of climate change during the Neogene. 5. The Earths atmosphere 3.5 billion years ago apparently lacked a. H2O b. CO2 c. O2 d. N2 6. 20 Ma would fall within the following time interval a. Eocene b. Cambrian c. Miocene d. Pleistocene 7. 1600 Ma would fall within the following time interval a. Archean b. Ediacaran c. Neoproterozoic d. Proterozoic 8. The earliest multicellular, upright land plants were a. Silurian semi-aquatic, marsh-dwelling, stemmed plants. b. Early Carboniferous vascular plants

c. Ordovician pollen-bearing aquatic plants d. Cambrian lycopods 9. The Green River Formation was deposited during the a. Cretaceous b. Pliocene c. Eocene d. Jurassic 10. The following events did not occur in association with the Permo-Triassic extinction a. extinctions of dinosaurs b. extensive flood basalts c. extinction of reefs d. mammal radiation 11. A greenstone belt commonly accumulated the following rock type(s): a. greywacke b. limestone c. granite d. coal 12. The genus Homo evolved directly from a. Australipthicines (Australopithecus) b. Purgatorius c. Chimpanzees d. Apes 13. The following features/phenomena are known to be associated with a snowball Earth event: a. cyclothems b. banded iron-formation c. rapid seafloor spreading d. cap carbonate e. low latitude glaciation 14. Stagnation of mid-Cretaceous oceans resulted in a. the development of tropical rudistid reefs b. cold waters sinking and spreading along the seafloor toward the equator c. a warm world during Late Cretaceous d. the deposition of organic-rich, dark muds in deep oceans and on shallow shelves 15. The great chalk deposits found in Europe a. were formed by an accumulation of the shells of coccolithophorids. b. were formed by the chemical precipitation of calcium carbonate in the water column. c. were formed in a region of deep ocean waters. d. were common in the Cretaceous 16. As one moves from the base to the top of a transgressive succession, the sediments usually get a. coarser b. dont change c. finer d. more angular

17. Cenozoic climates and temperatures can be determined using the following a. carbon isotopes b. leaf margins c. strontium isotopes d. oxygen isotopes 18. A continent is normally composed of the following a. craton b. spreading center c. shield d. ophiolites 19. A mapable unit is a a. epoch b. member c. formation d. none of the above 20. Natural selection depends on a. variation b. phyletic gradualism c. inheritance of acquired characteristics d. allopatric speciation 21. A snowball Earth was possible during the late Proterozoic because a. the formation of the supercontinent of Rodinia prevented heat transfer from the tropics to the poles. b. the incoming solar insolation was very low in summer due to the obliquity and procession of the planet. c. wind transport of heat across the continent was diminished. d. carbon dioxide was drawn down from the atmosphere by increase activity of cyanobacteria diminishing the natural greenhouse effect. 22. The Gunflint Formation a. is a sedimentary deposit rich in sulfur. b. is a site of banded iron-formation. c. contains many well-preserved unicellular organisms within stromatolites. d. is one of the few sites of early Cambrian microfossils. 23. The Hadean Eon a. was named by a UCSB professor, Preston Cloud. b. begins with the origin of the Earth. c. ends with the evolution of life. d. contains direct evidence in the form of rocks for accurate determination its boundaries. 24. No animal life evolved during the Hadean and Archean Eons because a. prokaryotes were too abundant b. the planet was continuously bombarded by large extraterrestrial bodies. c. there was no oxygen present in the atmosphere. d. continents had not yet formed. 25. In the Linnaeus system of classification, which is the highest (i.e., most inclusive) designation?

a. Phylum b. Order c. Kingdom d. Family 26. Evidence for a crater impact at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary causing a mass extinction comes from a. carbon dating of marine sediments containing index fossils from the K-T boundary. b. a meteor that hit Siberia in the early twentieth century but left no evidence. c. carbon and oxygen isotopes indicating decreased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. d. enhanced iridium abundance found at a large submarine crater. 27. Which of the following are true about Milankovitch cycles? a. They are a combination of three different changes to planetary orbit. b. Precession describes Earth's tilt, which ranges from 21 to 24.5 degrees c. They repeat at regular intervals (have periodicities). d. When combined, they describe the observed changes in Earth's surface temperature II. True/False Questions. Circle the correct answer (4 points each; 92 points). 1. True or False 2. True or False 3. True or False 4. True or False 5. True or False 6. True or False Rudistids were major Triassic reef builders. The Nevadan orogeny occurred during the Jurassic and caused the Rocky Mountains. New phyla appeared after the Permo-Triassic extinction. The first mammals appeared in the Triassic. Continental glaciation in the Northern Hemisphere began in the Oligocene. One of Darwin's greatest contributions to science, which was unknown at the time, was that species can change over geologic time. Clastic wedges are common in flysch deposits. The most recently established period is the Paleogene. Banded iron-formations are known from the Neoproterozoic. Greenstone belts are known from the Hadean. The Sundance Sea formed in a forearc basin during the Jurassic. Carnivorous birds replaced carnivorous mammals in the Paleocene. The Franciscan Formation formed as a result of the Taconic Orogeny. William Smith postulated the law of superposition. Evidence for fossil grasses goes back to the Cretaceous. The Quaternary and Tertiary periods are the old names for the periods of the Mesozoic Era. Cyanobacteria produce oxygen. Amphibians appeared in the Carboniferous. Formations are classified as time-rock units.

7. True or False 8. True or False 9. True or False 10. True or False 11. True or False 12. True or False 13. True or False 14. True or False 15. True or False 16. True or False 17. True or False 18. True or False 19. True or False

20. True or False

21. True or False

22. True or False 23. True or False

Phyletic gradualism describes a slow shift in the species composition of an environment while punctuated equilibrium describes the abrupt decline in species abundance of an ecosystem. The Sepkoski animal diversity curve groups animal species into four categories: Precambrian, Cambrian, Paleozoic, and Modern Fauna. Though the magnetic polarity of the planet can shift, the reversals are not preserved in the sediment record. Eukaryotes have existed on the planet since 1.8 billion years ago.

III. Short answer/definition/questions (5 points each; 30 points). 1. Quaternary

2. Nicholas Steno

3. Salt dome (diapir)

5. Charles Lyell

6. Lagersttten

IV. Cladogram Question (4 points each; 20 points): Using the cladogram below, answer the following questions:

1. What phylum/phyla is/are represented here? Brachiopoda and Bryozoa 2. Who is the closest relative to the Gymnolaemata? Stenolaemata (Tropostomata and Fenestrata) 3. What is an autoapomorphy for the Strophomenata? strophic symmetry 4. Who is a sister group to the Tropostomata? Fenestrata 5. What characteristic(s) do the Strophomenata and Rhynchonellata share? valves present

V. Map questions (29 points).

1a. Which geological period does the above map represent ___Tr or J________(4 points). 2b. Locate (i) Tethys, (ii) Cimmeria, and (iii) Gondwanaland by some means (3 points).

2. On the world map above, indicate where each of the orogenies listed below occurred (use the letter next to the orogeny) (10 points): a. Caledonian b. Alpine-Himalayan c. Uralian d. Antler e. Wopmay

3. On the map of the world above, place the letter for each of the items below on the map indicating the location of the item (12 points). e. Gulf of Mexico f. Madagascar g. Brazil h. Mediterranean Sea i. China j. Chicxulub crater 7

VI. Geological Time Question (45 points). Reproduce the following information of the geological time scale. Oldest at the bottom and everything must be spelled correctly. all the EONS all the ERAS of the youngest eon all the PERIODS of the youngest eon and indicate to which era they belong all the EPOCHS of the youngest era and indicate to which period they belong the radiometric ages (in millions of years) for the start of each of the eons and the start of the eras of the youngest eon.

VII. Essay questions. Answer any two of the following three questions (35 points each; 70 points). Your response must be essay style and not just a listing of facts/features. 1. You are a paleontologist who studies ammonoids. Describe and discuss a test you could conduct to falsify a hypothesis that ammonoids speciated by means of punctuated equilibrium. What are the testable consequences of the hypothesis?

2. Newsflash - Isla Vista, CA: A new radioactive element, Suviflaganium, has just been discovered in volcanic ash from Mount St. Helens. The element chemically behaves like zirconium and has a half life of 100,000 years. Why are geologists excited about this discovery? 3. You are an unlucky field geologist hired by the US Army charged with exploring a geologically poorly-known, mountainous region of Afghanistan. Preliminary field work by the Russians resulted in two opposing views: (1) the mountains are horsts and the valleys are grabens; (2) the mountains formed as a result of the convergence and docking of a microcontinent with Eurasia. Assuming (1) or (2) is correct, discuss the evidence you would seek to determine which one is correct. Begin your responses here and number your answers!

Have A Great Summer!

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