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

Which of these is closest in meaning to the word 'swampy' in line 5?

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question that follows.

1. Dinosaurs hatched eggs and the young ones had legs and lungs.
2. The first dinosaurs to develop resembled their reptile ancestors.
3. They were slender and probably no bigger than a turkey.
4. And, like a turkey, they walked on their hind legs.
5. They lived in low, swampy places.
6. Then an enormous and very heavy asteroid hit the earth and blasted a thick layer of dust to block out sunlight for as long as five years.
7. The plants died and the dinosaurs were deprived of food.
8. Eventually they starved to death.

  1. marshy

  2. rainy

  3. wet

  4. slippery
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The meaning is those areas which are 'marshy'.

Multiple choice

Which of these is closest in meaning to the word 'blasted' in line 6?

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question that follows.

1. Dinosaurs hatched eggs and the young ones had legs and lungs.
2. The first dinosaurs to develop resembled their reptile ancestors.
3. They were slender and probably no bigger than a turkey.
4. And, like a turkey, they walked on their hind legs.
5. They lived in low, swampy places.
6. Then an enormous and very heavy asteroid hit the earth and blasted a thick layer of dust to block out sunlight for as long as five years.
7. The plants died and the dinosaurs were deprived of food.
8. Eventually they starved to death.

  1. blamed

  2. blessed

  3. blew

  4. thrown up
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The word here means that the dust was thrown into the atmosphere.

Multiple choice

Which of these is closest in meaning to the word 'hind' as in line 4?

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question that follows.

1. Dinosaurs hatched eggs and the young ones had legs and lungs.
2. The first dinosaurs to develop resembled their reptile ancestors.
3. They were slender and probably no bigger than a turkey.
4. And, like a turkey, they walked on their hind legs.
5. They lived in low, swampy places.
6. Then an enormous and very heavy asteroid hit the earth and blasted a thick layer of dust to block out sunlight for as long as five years.
7. The plants died and the dinosaurs were deprived of food.
8. Eventually they starved to death.

  1. behind

  2. backward

  3. rear

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

In the passage, the reference is to legs on the rear side.

Multiple choice

Which of these is closest in meaning to the words ‘deprived of’ as used in line 7?

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question that follows.

1. Dinosaurs hatched eggs and the young ones had legs and lungs.
2. The first dinosaurs to develop resembled their reptile ancestors.
3. They were slender and probably no bigger than a turkey.
4. And, like a turkey, they walked on their hind legs.
5. They lived in low, swampy places.
6. Then an enormous and very heavy asteroid hit the earth and blasted a thick layer of dust to block out sunlight for as long as five years.
7. The plants died and the dinosaurs were deprived of food.
8. Eventually they starved to death.

  1. dispossessed

  2. bankrupted

  3. lost

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

The contextual meaning is that the dinosaurs did not get proper food.

Multiple choice

Which of these is closest in meaning to the word 'slender' in line 3?

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question that follows.

1. Dinosaurs hatched eggs and the young ones had legs and lungs.
2. The first dinosaurs to develop resembled their reptile ancestors.
3. They were slender and probably no bigger than a turkey.
4. And, like a turkey, they walked on their hind legs.
5. They lived in low, swampy places.
6. Then an enormous and very heavy asteroid hit the earth and blasted a thick layer of dust to block out sunlight for as long as five years.
7. The plants died and the dinosaurs were deprived of food.
8. Eventually they starved to death.

  1. delicate

  2. small

  3. narrow

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

The reference here is to size, not to girth.

Multiple choice

Identify the periods marked a, b, c and d in the given diagram showing evolution of vertebrates.

  1. a - Triassic, b - Carboniferous, c - Tertiary and d - Cretaceous

  2. a - Tertiary, b - Triassic, c - Cretaceous and d - Carboniferous

  3. a - Triassic, b - Carboniferous, c - Cretaceous and d - Tertiary

  4. a - Carboniferous, b - Triassic, c - Cretaceous and d - Tertiary

  5. a - Cretaceous, b - Triassic, c - Carboniferous and d - Tertiary
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

In the diagram a-Carboniferous, b-Triassic, c-Cretaceous and d- Tertiary. Therefore, the given option is correct.

Multiple choice

Regarding the Zone Strata Theory of Taylor, which one of the following statements is not correct ?

  1. Central Asia has been the cradle land of human races.

  2. Oldest human races are farthest away from the cradle land.

  3. Recent human races are nearest to the cradle land.

  4. Caucasoids are the latest human races.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Griffith Taylor's Zone and Strata theory posits that the most primitive races were pushed to the peripheries by later, more advanced races. The theory does not claim Caucasoids are the latest human races; rather, it suggests the most recent races are found near the center of origin.

Multiple choice

The correct descending order of the 'eras of geological time' is

  1. Precambrian, Paleozoic, Cenozoic, Mesozoic

  2. Paleozoic, Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic

  3. Precambrian, Cenozoic, Mesozoic, Paleozoic

  4. Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Cenozoic
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The geological eras in descending order of time (oldest to youngest) are Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic. This represents the correct chronological sequence of Earth's history.

Multiple choice biology food production uses of animals agro-complimentary occupations improvement of crop production

Major radiation of mammals birds and pollinating insects span took place in which epoch span _____________.

  1. Oligocene

  2. Eocene

  3. Pliocene

  4. Paleocene

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

The Paleocene epoch, following the K-Pg extinction, saw the rapid diversification and radiation of mammals, birds, and pollinating insects as they filled ecological niches left vacant by dinosaurs.

Multiple choice

What type of organism makes up the oldest known fossil?

  1. T-Rex from Mexico

  2. Ammonites from England

  3. Trilobites from Spain

  4. Blue-green algae from South Africa
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Stromatolites, which are formed by cyanobacteria (blue-green algae), represent some of the oldest known fossil evidence of life on Earth, dating back billions of years. The other options refer to much younger organisms from the Phanerozoic eon.

Multiple choice evs developmental journey of seed seed to plants germination of seeds life within the seed

Which of the following remained unchanged for last many million years?

  1. Pinus

  2. Rice

  3. Acacia

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

Ginkgo biloba, or maidenhair tree, has been described as a living fossil, because it is the sole survivor of an ancient group of trees older than the dinosaurs. 

The Ginkgo is an oddity in nature because it is a single species with no known living relatives; a living fossil that has been essentially unchanged for more than 200 million years. 
Ginkgo biloba has been used in Chinese traditional medicine for centuries. The leaves are used in herbal remedies for cognitive complaints, such as alzheimers disease, dementia and vertigo. The phytochemistry and bioactivity of it, have been the subject of extensive research.

Multiple choice chemistry nuclear physics types of radioactivity nuclear chemistry and radioactivity radioactivity

The age of fossils can be estimated with the help of which radioisotope?

  1. $ _{6}C^{14}$
  2. $ _{27}Co^{60}$
  3. $ _{6}C^{12}$
  4. $ _{19}K^{40}$
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The age of fossils can be estimated by the study of decay of radioactive carbon atom $ _{6}C^{14}$ in the remains of the dead and decaying material. This process is called carbon dating.