Earth's History Learning Quizzes: Explore the Planet's Past

Question 1

What is the first period of Earth's history called?

Accepted Answer

Proterozoic Era

Answer

Mesozoic Era

Answer

Paleozoic Era

Answer

Cenozoic Era

Question 2

Which important event took place during the Paleozoic Era, leading to a wide variety of life on Earth?

Accepted Answer

The Cambrian Explosion

Answer

The Great Oxidation Event

Answer

The formation of the supercontinent Pangea

Answer

The extinction of the dinosaurs

Question 3

Which type of fossil helps us learn about soft-bodied creatures from the past?

Accepted Answer

Trace fossils

Answer

Body fossils

Answer

Mineralized fossils

Answer

Chemical fossils

Question 4

What was the name of the giant supercontinent that existed in the Mesozoic Era?

Accepted Answer

Pangea

Answer

Laurasia

Answer

Gondwana

Answer

Eurasia

Question 5

Which type of rock is formed from layers of sediment?

Accepted Answer

Sandstone

Answer

Granite

Answer

Basalt

Answer

Metamorphic rock

Question 6

Which layer of Earth is made up of solid rock?

Accepted Answer

Crust

Answer

Mantle

Answer

Core

Answer

Asthenosphere

Question 7

Which of these is NOT a cause of climate change?

Accepted Answer

The speed at which Earth spins

Answer

Volcanic eruptions

Answer

Burning fossil fuels

Answer

Changes in Earth's orbit

Question 8

What was the first era in Earth's history called?

Accepted Answer

Precambrian Era

Answer

Paleozoic Era

Answer

Mesozoic Era

Answer

Cenozoic Era

Question 9

Which of these did NOT happen during the Paleozoic Era?

Accepted Answer

Dinosaurs became extinct.

Answer

Pangaea formed.

Answer

Reptiles evolved.

Answer

Complex life forms appeared.

Question 10

Which of these processes helps form new rock layers?

Accepted Answer

Deposition

Answer

Erosion

Answer

Metamorphism

Answer

Weathering

Question 11

What is the name of the theory that explains how Earth's continents move?

Accepted Answer

Theory of plate tectonics

Answer

Theory of evolution

Answer

Theory of relativity

Answer

Theory of gravity

Question 12

What is the order of Earth's eras, from oldest to youngest?

Accepted Answer

Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Cenozoic

Answer

Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Cenozoic, Precambrian

Answer

Mesozoic, Paleozoic, Cenozoic, Precambrian

Answer

Cenozoic, Mesozoic, Paleozoic, Precambrian

Question 13

How do scientists tell how old fossils are?

Accepted Answer

By the rock layers they are found in

Answer

By their size

Answer

By the type of animal or plant they are from

Answer

By the amount of carbon-14 they contain

Question 14

What was the name of the supercontinent that existed 250 million years ago?

Accepted Answer

Pangea

Answer

Gondwana

Answer

Laurasia

Answer

Rodinia

Question 15

How are rocks broken down into smaller pieces?

Accepted Answer

Weathering

Answer

Erosion

Answer

Deposition

Answer

Metamorphism

Question 16

Which of these is a renewable resource?

Accepted Answer

Solar energy

Answer

Coal

Answer

Oil

Answer

Natural gas

Question 17

What do we call the layer of gases that surrounds our planet?

Accepted Answer

Atmosphere

Answer

Hydrosphere

Answer

Biosphere

Answer

Lithosphere

Question 18

Which of the following is NOT a major geological era in Earth's history?

Accepted Answer

Anthropocene Era

Answer

Precambrian Era

Answer

Mesozoic Era

Answer

Cenozoic Era

Question 19

Which of these is NOT a major era in Earth's history?

Accepted Answer

Jurassic Period

Answer

Paleozoic Era

Answer

Mesozoic Era

Answer

Cenozoic Era

Question 20

How can we NOT learn about Earth's past?

Accepted Answer

Reading the Bible

Answer

Studying rocks and fossils

Answer

Looking at the stars and planets

Answer

Examining ice cores

Question 21

Which of these is NOT evidence that supports the theory of plate tectonics?

Accepted Answer

The presence of different plants and animals on different continents

Answer

Volcanic activity near the edges of continents

Answer

Matching rock formations on opposite sides of the ocean

Answer

The movement of the continents over time

Question 22

Let's travel back in time! Can you help me arrange these geological eras in the correct order, starting with the oldest one?

Accepted Answer

Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Cenozoic

Answer

Paleozoic, Precambrian, Mesozoic, Cenozoic

Answer

Mesozoic, Paleozoic, Precambrian, Cenozoic

Answer

Cenozoic, Mesozoic, Paleozoic, Precambrian

Question 23

What significant event marked the end of the Paleozoic Era?

Accepted Answer

Mass extinction event

Answer

Continental drift

Answer

Ice age

Answer

Volcanic eruption

Question 24

What is believed to have caused the extinction of dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous Period?

Accepted Answer

Asteroid impact

Answer

Climate change

Answer

Volcanic eruptions

Answer

Disease

Question 25

What is the name of the solid rock layer that forms Earth's outermost shell?

Accepted Answer

Crust

Answer

Mantle

Answer

Core

Answer

Atmosphere

Question 26

What is the geological process by which rocks transform from one type to another?

Accepted Answer

Metamorphism

Answer

Weathering

Answer

Erosion

Answer

Deposition

Question 27

What is the correct order of Earth's main eras, from the oldest to the youngest?

Accepted Answer

Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Cenozoic

Answer

Cenozoic, Mesozoic, Paleozoic

Answer

Mesozoic, Cenozoic, Paleozoic

Answer

Paleozoic, Cenozoic, Mesozoic

Question 28

What event during the Mesozoic Era led to the extinction of many dinosaur species?

Accepted Answer

Asteroid impact

Answer

Volcanic eruptions

Answer

Climate change

Answer

Continental drift

Question 29

What is the primary component of Earth's atmosphere?

Accepted Answer

Nitrogen

Answer

Oxygen

Answer

Carbon dioxide

Answer

Water vapor

Question 30

Which of the following is a nonrenewable resource?

Accepted Answer

Oil

Answer

Wind

Answer

Water

Answer

Sunlight

Question 31

Which ocean is the largest on Earth?

Accepted Answer

Pacific Ocean

Answer

Atlantic Ocean

Answer

Indian Ocean

Answer

Arctic Ocean

Question 32

What is the process by which water turns from a liquid to a gas?

Accepted Answer

Evaporation

Answer

Condensation

Answer

Precipitation

Answer

Sublimation

Question 33

Scientists want to know how old rocks and fossils are. How do they use something called 'radioactive elements' to do this?

Accepted Answer

They count how many radioactive elements are left in the rock or fossil.

Answer

They compare how thick different layers of rock are.

Answer

They look at how big the crystals are inside the rock or fossil.

Answer

They measure the temperature of the rock or fossil.

Question 34

Which of the following is NOT a major era in Earth's history?

Accepted Answer

Neogene

Answer

Archaean

Answer

Proterozoic

Answer

Mesozoic

Question 35

True or False: The Mesozoic era is also known as the 'Age of Dinosaurs'.

Accepted Answer

True

Answer

False

Question 36

What was a major impact of the extinction of the dinosaurs?

Accepted Answer

Allowed mammals to diversify and become dominant

Answer

Caused a decrease in plant life on Earth

Answer

Led to the formation of the Rocky Mountains

Answer

Had no significant impact on Earth's history

Question 37

Which of these natural resources was formed during the Cenozoic era?

Accepted Answer

Natural gas

Answer

Coal

Answer

Gold

Answer

Iron ore

Question 38

Which of these is NOT a time period in Earth's past?

Accepted Answer

Modern

Answer

Precambrian

Answer

Paleozoic

Answer

Mesozoic

Question 39

What is the name of the process that causes changes in the shape of Earth's surface?

Accepted Answer

Plate tectonics

Answer

Erosion

Answer

Weathering

Answer

Volcanism

Question 40

Which of these will never run out?

Accepted Answer

Solar energy

Answer

Coal

Answer

Oil

Answer

Natural gas

Question 41

During the Paleozoic Era, which of these events happened?

Accepted Answer

The first land plants appeared.

Answer

The dinosaurs became extinct.

Answer

Humans began to evolve.

Answer

The supercontinent Pangea broke up.

Question 42

Which of these things is NOT a kind of fossil?

Accepted Answer

Living fossil

Answer

Body fossil

Answer

Trace fossil

Answer

Mineralized fossil

Question 43

What is the name of the process where organic remains are changed into rock?

Accepted Answer

Petrification

Answer

Weathering

Answer

Erosion

Answer

Decomposition

Question 44

During the Paleozoic Era, what was the name of the supercontinent?

Accepted Answer

Pangea

Answer

Gondwana

Answer

Laurasia

Answer

Rodinia

Question 45

What is the difference between a body fossil and a trace fossil?

Accepted Answer

Body fossils are direct proof of an organism, whereas trace fossils are indirect proof.

Answer

Trace fossils are direct proof of an organism, whereas body fossils are indirect proof.

Answer

Body fossils are always found in rock, but trace fossils are always found in soil.

Answer

Trace fossils are always found in rock, but body fossils are always found in soil.

Question 46

Who came up with the theory of evolution by natural selection?

Accepted Answer

Charles Darwin

Answer

Albert Einstein

Answer

Isaac Newton

Answer

Marie Curie

Question 47

What do we call the process where organisms change over time?

Accepted Answer

Evolution

Answer

Natural selection

Answer

Adaptation

Answer

Extinction

Question 48

What was the name of the mass extinction event that happened at the end of the Paleozoic Era?

Accepted Answer

The Permian-Triassic Extinction Event

Answer

The Great Oxygenation Event

Answer

The Cretaceous-Paleogene Extinction Event

Answer

The Cambrian Explosion

Question 49

Which of the following is NOT evidence that supports the theory of continental drift?

Accepted Answer

Increased volcanic activity in the Atlantic Ocean

Answer

Matching rock formations on different continents

Answer

Fossils of the same species found on different continents

Answer

The presence of similar mountain ranges on different continents

Question 50

Which type of fossil provides the clearest evidence of the organisms that inhabited Earth in the past?

Accepted Answer

Body fossils

Answer

Trace fossils

Answer

Mineralized fossils

Answer

Carbonized fossils

Question 51

What name is given to the layer of rock that contains dinosaur fossils?

Accepted Answer

Cretaceous layer

Answer

K-T boundary

Answer

Paleocene layer

Answer

Jurassic layer

Question 52

Which event is believed to have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs?

Accepted Answer

Asteroid impact

Answer

Volcanic eruptions

Answer

Climate change

Answer

Competition from mammals

Question 53

What is the name of the force that pushes tectonic plates around the Earth?

Accepted Answer

Convection

Answer

Erosion

Answer

Gravity

Answer

Wind

Question 54

Which of the following is NOT a type of rock?

Accepted Answer

Magma

Answer

Igneous

Answer

Metamorphic

Answer

Sedimentary

Question 55

Which era came first in Earth's history?

Accepted Answer

Precambrian Era

Answer

Mesozoic Era

Answer

Paleozoic Era

Answer

Cenozoic Era

Question 56

Which era is known as the 'Age of Mammals'?

Accepted Answer

Cenozoic Era

Answer

Paleozoic Era

Answer

Mesozoic Era

Answer

Precambrian Era

Question 57

Which of these is NOT something we know about the Precambrian Era?

Accepted Answer

There were lots of plants.

Answer

There was no oxygen in the air.

Answer

The first continents formed.

Answer

Early life began to appear.

Question 58

How can scientists use the thickness of rock layers to tell how old a rock formation is?

Accepted Answer

Thicker layers are older.

Answer

Thinner layers are older.

Answer

The thickness doesn't help tell the age.

Answer

Layers formed in water are always thinner than layers formed on land.

Question 59

What caused the dinosaurs to die out?

Accepted Answer

An asteroid hit Earth.

Answer

A volcano erupted.

Answer

The climate changed.

Answer

There were too many dinosaurs.

Question 60

How do scientists use index fossils to tell the age of rocks?

Accepted Answer

They know that certain index fossils are found in rocks of a certain age.

Answer

They know that index fossils are only found in certain parts of the world.

Answer

They know that index fossils change a lot over time.

Answer

They know that index fossils are only found in sedimentary rocks.

Question 61

What event caused a mass extinction at the end of the Permian Period?

Accepted Answer

Permian-Triassic Extinction

Answer

Great Oxygenation Event

Answer

Cambrian Explosion

Answer

K-T Extinction

Question 62

What force drives plate tectonics?

Accepted Answer

Convection currents in the Earth's mantle

Answer

Gravitational pull of the sun

Answer

Rotation of the Earth

Answer

Tidal forces from the moon

Question 63

How are igneous rocks formed?

Accepted Answer

From the cooling of molten rock

Answer

From the compression of sediments

Answer

From the chemical alteration of existing rocks

Answer

From the eruption of volcanoes

Question 64

Which animal was NOT a dinosaur?

Accepted Answer

Mammoth

Answer

Triceratops

Answer

Stegosaurus

Answer

Tyrannosaurus rex