Biology · Geography

Fossils and Geological Eras

1,140 Questions

Fossils and geological eras provide a window into the history of the Earth. This topic covers prehistoric life, mass extinctions, and the geological time scale. It is an important part of the general science syllabus for many aptitude tests.

Geological time scaleTypes of fossilsPrehistoric lifeAncient climates

Fossils and Geological Eras Questions

Multiple choice

Gymnosperms were comparatively diverse during the Jurassic period and thus, the Jurassic is often referred to as the age of

  1. cycads

  2. ginkgo

  3. gnetum

  4. conifers

  5. ephedra
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Cycads are an ancient group of seed plants with a crown of large compound leaves and a stout trunk. They are a minor component of the flora in tropical and subtropical regions today, but during the Jurassic period, they were a common sight in many parts of the world. 

Multiple choice

A living fossil is a species that closely resembles its fossil ancestors. Which among the following ferns is a living fossil?

  1. Christensenia aesculifolia

  2. Ophioglossoid fern

  3. Whisk fern

  4. Equisetum

  5. Leptosporangiate fern
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Equisetum is the only living genus in Equisetaceae, a family of vascular plants that reproduce by spores rather than seeds. It is a living fossil as it is the only living genus of the entire class Equisetopsida, which for over one hundred million years was much more diverse and dominated the understory of late Paleozoic forests.

Multiple choice

The oldest microfossil of age 3.6 billion year ago was

  1. the Coacervates

  2. the Vesicle

  3. the Cyanobacteria

  4. the Protocell

  5. the Microspheres
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Cyanobacteria are ubiquitous environmental bacteria that have important roles in geochemical events, such as the early oxygenation of the atmosphere. Microfossils found in Australia show that more than 3.6 billion years ago, cynobacteria thrived on an Earth that had no oxygen.

Multiple choice

A living fossil is an organism which has retained the same form over millions of years. The living fossil considered as the connecting link between pisces and amphibia is ___________.

  1. peripatus

  2. monotremes

  3. seymouria

  4. lungfish

  5. coelacanth
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
E Correct answer
Explanation

The coelacanth is a living fossil. Unlike any other living animal, coelacanths have a hinged joint in the skull, which allows the front part of the head to be lifted whilst feeding. They also have limb-like, lobed pectoral and pelvic fins and a unique tail consisting of three distinct lobes. They are considered as the connecting link between pisces and amphibia.

Multiple choice

Directions: The first and the last sentences of the passage are numbered 1 and 6, respectively. The rest of the passage is split into four parts A, B, C and D. These four parts are not given in their proper order. Read the sentences and find out which of the following combinations is correct.

  1. There are different ways in which volcanoes are classified. A. The difficulty with this is that man has been on the planet for a relatively short period of time and our historical records are rather an inaccurate predictor of volcanic activity as dormant, and even extinct volcanoes have been known to erupt. B. This classification is problematical as there is no clear definition of what makes a volcano active, dormant or extinct. C. Typically, a volcano is said to be extinct if it has not erupted in historical times or at least since written records began, and it is dormant if it is known to have erupted in historical times, but is now quiet. D. Perhaps the most common and certainly the one used by non-specialists is the division of volcanoes into the categories of active, dormant or extinct.
  2. This can be exemplified by one of the most notorious episodes in the annals of vulcanology, the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD.

  1. ABCD

  2. CDAB

  3. DBCA

  4. CABD

  5. DBAC
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

“The most common and certainly the one” is one way of classifying volcanoes referred in sentence 1, so D will be first in order. B will follow this as this classification refers to “the most common” in D and the “active, dormant or extinct” volcanoes are referred again here. Now, the definitions of all these types of volcanoes is given in C (general to more specific detail). “This” in A refers to the extinct or dormant definitions given in C. Another link is the time period talked in A, “man has been on the planet for a relatively short period of time”, which is referred in C as “written records began” and “in historical times”. Hence, the order is DBCA.

Multiple choice

Directions: In the question below, the first and the last (correctly ordered) sentences are numbered 1 and 6. The rest of the passage is split into four parts and named B, C, D and E. These four parts are not given in the proper order. Choose the correct combination among the four alternatives given.

  1. Paleontologists study the different kinds of dinosaurs to find their relationships with other dinosaurs. B. This can tell scientists much about evolution. C. They also tried to find the ancestors of the dinosaurs. D. Dinosaurs that could migrate were similar, but those dinosaurs that were isolated evolved differently. E. It can also tell them some things about the world the dinosaurs lived in.
  2. Today, research on dinosaur relationships uses an approach called cladistics, which uses the presence of shared morphological features to recreate the branching tree of dinosaur evolution.

  1. ECDB

  2. CBED

  3. EBDC

  4. EBCD
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

‘They also tried’ in C refers to ‘Paleontologists’ in 1. ‘This can tell scientists’ in B refers to the activities of the scientists mentioned in 1 and C. ‘This can tell’ in B is followed by ‘It can also tell’ in E. ‘the branching tree of dinosaur evolution’ in 6 and ‘dinosaurs that were isolated evolved differently’ in D are connected.

Multiple choice

The Himalayas started forming during the

  1. Jurassic Age

  2. Holocene Age

  3. Eocene Age

  4. Cretaceous Age
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The Himalayas began forming during the Cretaceous Age (around 70 million years ago) when the Indian plate started colliding with the Eurasian plate. The main uplift continued through the Eocene, but the collision and early mountain-building began in the Cretaceous period.

Multiple choice

The age of earth is believed to be

  1. 10 million years

  2. 100 million years

  3. 1000 million years

  4. 4000 million years
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The Earth's age is approximately 4.54 billion years (about 4540 million years). Option D states 4000 million years, which is the closest approximation among the choices provided. The other options (10, 100, and 1000 million years) are far too young and represent incorrect time scales for Earth's geological history.

Multiple choice

In Palaeozoic era, the plants were predominantly:

  1. terrestrial

  2. aquatic

  3. algae

  4. fungi
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

During the Palaeozoic era (541-252 million years ago), plants were predominantly aquatic before the transition to land. Algae dominated early Palaeozoic seas, and terrestrial colonization began later in this era. Aquatic refers to the water habitat, while algae are specific aquatic organisms.

Multiple choice

In the Geological time line which era comes first?

  1. Cenozoic Era

  2. Mesozoic Era

  3. Paleozoic Era

  4. Pre-Cambrian Era
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The Pre-Cambrian Era (also called Precambrian) is the earliest division of geological time, spanning from Earth's formation about 4.6 billion years ago to about 541 million years ago. The other three eras listed (Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic) all came after it.

Multiple choice

Biogeographical regions are also called

  1. zones

  2. realms

  3. epoch

  4. era
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

In biogeography, the major divisions of the Earth's surface based on flora and fauna distribution are called 'realms' (such as the Palearctic, Nearctic, Indo-Malayan realms). 'Zones,' 'epoch,' and 'era' refer to other classification systems in geology or chronology, not biogeographical regions.

Multiple choice

Which of the following words in the passage aptly mean, “No longer in existence”?

Read the passage and answer the question that follows.

DINOSAURS

The word “dinosaur”, coined by Sir Richard Owen in the year 1842, literally means “terrifying lizard.” Long, long before humans had been on the earth, the world was ruled by dinosaurs. They were gigantic, land dwelling reptiles that lived in the Mesozoic Era or the “Age of Reptiles” around 245 million years ago. For around 165 million years, dinosaurs walked on the earth. Then, around 65 million years ago, the dinosaurs and most of the animals of the era, except some ancestral birds and some fish, died out and became extinct for unknown reasons. What we know of the dinosaurs is only from studying their fossils. The proof of dinosaurs makes us think of a world that was very different from what we see today.

 

  1. Died out

  2. Dwelling

  3. Extinct

  4. Gigantic
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The passage states that dinosaurs 'died out and became extinct for unknown reasons'. The word 'extinct' literally means no longer in existence or having no living members. 'Died out' is the process, but 'extinct' is the state of no longer existing. The question asks for a word meaning 'no longer in existence', which is the definition of extinct.

Multiple choice

The passage is the study of

Read the passage and answer the question that follows.

DINOSAURS

The word “dinosaur”, coined by Sir Richard Owen in the year 1842, literally means “terrifying lizard.” Long, long before humans had been on the earth, the world was ruled by dinosaurs. They were gigantic, land dwelling reptiles that lived in the Mesozoic Era or the “Age of Reptiles” around 245 million years ago. For around 165 million years, dinosaurs walked on the earth. Then, around 65 million years ago, the dinosaurs and most of the animals of the era, except some ancestral birds and some fish, died out and became extinct for unknown reasons. What we know of the dinosaurs is only from studying their fossils. The proof of dinosaurs makes us think of a world that was very different from what we see today.

 

  1. the life cycle of a dinosaur

  2. the evolution of life on Earth

  3. the shapes and sizes of dinosaurs

  4. the age of the dinosaurs
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The passage covers the entire history of dinosaurs - when they lived, how long they existed, what they were, when they became extinct, and what we know about them. This comprehensive overview is about 'the age of the dinosaurs' (the Mesozoic Era when dinosaurs ruled the Earth for 165 million years). The other options are too narrow or incorrect.

Multiple choice

What led to the disappearance of dinosaurs?

Read the passage and answer the question that follows.

DINOSAURS

The word “dinosaur”, coined by Sir Richard Owen in the year 1842, literally means “terrifying lizard.” Long, long before humans had been on the earth, the world was ruled by dinosaurs. They were gigantic, land dwelling reptiles that lived in the Mesozoic Era or the “Age of Reptiles” around 245 million years ago. For around 165 million years, dinosaurs walked on the earth. Then, around 65 million years ago, the dinosaurs and most of the animals of the era, except some ancestral birds and some fish, died out and became extinct for unknown reasons. What we know of the dinosaurs is only from studying their fossils. The proof of dinosaurs makes us think of a world that was very different from what we see today.

 

  1. The ice-age

  2. The endless and bloody fights among them.

  3. Their inability to adapt themselves to changes in the atmosphere.

  4. Not known
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The passage explicitly states: 'around 65 million years ago, the dinosaurs and most of the animals of the era... died out and became extinct for unknown reasons.' This clearly indicates that the cause of their disappearance is not known ('for unknown reasons'). All other options (ice age, fights, inability to adapt) are speculative and not mentioned in the passage.