Middle & Recent Earth History Quiz

Question 1

Species that survived the mass extinction at the end of the Paleozoic had to

Accepted Answer

adapt to the new environments of the Mesozoic.

Question 2

The earliest mammals were small, mouse-like animals that first appeared in the Triassic period.

Accepted Answer

TRUE

Question 3

The northern landmass (Laurasia) and the southern landmass (Gondwanaland) eventually split to

Accepted Answer

form the five modern-day continents.

Question 4

The first small dinosaurs appeared during the ___ period in the fossil record.

Accepted Answer

Triassic

Question 5

Reptiles became the most abundant species during the early Mesozoic (Triassic) because of their

Accepted Answer

shelled eggs & scaly skin which retained water.

Question 6

Larger & larger species of dinosaurs evolved throughout the ___.

Accepted Answer

Mesozoic

Question 7

Angiosperms (flowering plants) first evolved during the ___ period in the (later) Mesozoic.

Accepted Answer

Cretaceous

Question 8

Regular ice ages first began during the late Cenozoic most likely because of

Accepted Answer

mountain building events that disrupted ocean currents., Antarctica drifted over the south pole disrupting climate.

Question 9

Many mountain ranges formed during the Cenozoic including the Alps in Europe and the

Accepted Answer

Himalayans in Eurasia., Rocky Mountains in North America.

Question 10

Modern humans (homo sapiens ) appeared around 140,000 years ago and

Accepted Answer

thrived due to hunting & superb survival skills., may have caused extinctions of many other mammals.

Question 11

Throughout the Mesozoic, new species of dinosaurs evolved while others

Accepted Answer

went extinct.

Question 12

Expanding grasslands and favorable climate allowed Cenozoic ___ to thrive, grow & diversify.

Accepted Answer

mammals

Question 13

The ___ era started 65 million years ago & continues to this day.

Accepted Answer

Cenozoic

Question 14

The Mesozoic era ended 65 million years ago. What most likely caused this extinction event?

Accepted Answer

impact of a large comet or asteroid

Question 15

Pangaea began to separate into two landmasses during the ___ period of the Mesozoic.

Accepted Answer

Triassic

Question 16

Birds first appeared during the Jurassic period and were very similar to

Accepted Answer

small, meat-eating dinosaurs.

Question 17

Archaeopteryx had wings & feathers but isn't considered to be a direct ancestor of modern birds

Accepted Answer

TRUE

Question 18

Dinosaurs are a separate species from reptiles because

Accepted Answer

fossil evidence shows that they were warm-blooded., fossil evidence shows they were mostly fast-moving animals.

Question 19

Gymnosperms (plants that produce seeds) were predominate in the Paleozoic era.

Accepted Answer

FALSE

Question 20

At the beginning of the Mesozoic era ("Middle life") all of the continents were

Accepted Answer

joined together in a single landmass.

Questions 20