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

Question 1

How did the Earth come to be?

Accepted Answer

It evolved from smaller pieces

Answer

It was made from lava

Answer

It was created by a magic spell

Answer

It was always here

Question 2

Which of these is NOT a way we can learn about animals that lived long ago?

Accepted Answer

By watching them on TV

Answer

By studying their bones

Answer

By looking at their footprints

Answer

By examining their poop

Question 3

How do rocks form from hot, melted rock?

Accepted Answer

Crystallization

Answer

Weathering

Answer

Erosion

Answer

Deposition

Question 4

Where is the land on our planet located?

Accepted Answer

Crust

Answer

Mantle

Answer

Core

Answer

Atmosphere

Question 5

How do plants make their own food?

Accepted Answer

Photosynthesis

Answer

Respiration

Answer

Decomposition

Answer

Evaporation

Question 6

Which of these is made up of layers of sand and other materials that have been pressed together over time?

Accepted Answer

Sandstone

Answer

Granite

Answer

Marble

Answer

Basalt

Question 7

What is the name of the process that forms sedimentary rocks?

Accepted Answer

Compaction

Answer

Erosion

Answer

Weathering

Question 8

Which era came after the Mesozoic Era?

Accepted Answer

The Cenozoic Era

Answer

The Paleozoic Era

Answer

The Precambrian Era

Question 9

What is the name of the layer of Earth's atmosphere that contains the air we breathe?

Accepted Answer

The troposphere

Answer

The stratosphere

Answer

The mesosphere

Question 10

What is the oldest time period in Earth's history?

Accepted Answer

Precambrian Era

Answer

Paleozoic Era

Answer

Mesozoic Era

Answer

Cenozoic Era

Question 11

Why did the dinosaurs become extinct?

Accepted Answer

A large asteroid hitting Earth

Answer

A giant ice age

Answer

A powerful volcanic eruption

Answer

A deadly disease

Question 12

When magma cools, it becomes which type of rock?

Accepted Answer

Igneous rock

Answer

Sedimentary rock

Answer

Metamorphic rock

Answer

Fossil

Question 13

What is the main source of energy for the weather on Earth?

Accepted Answer

Sun

Answer

Moon

Answer

Volcanoes

Answer

Wind

Question 14

Which of the following can be replaced naturally?

Accepted Answer

Wind

Answer

Coal

Answer

Natural gas

Answer

Oil

Question 15

What causes the seasons to change on Earth?

Accepted Answer

The tilt of Earth's axis

Answer

Changes in our distance from the Sun

Answer

Changes in ocean currents

Answer

The rotation of Earth

Question 16

What is the name of the process that creates fossils?

Accepted Answer

Petrification

Answer

Erosion

Answer

Deposition

Answer

Weathering

Question 17

Which era in Earth's history is the oldest?

Accepted Answer

Precambrian

Answer

Paleozoic

Answer

Mesozoic

Answer

Cenozoic

Question 18

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

Accepted Answer

An asteroid impact

Answer

A volcanic eruption

Answer

Climate change

Answer

Overhunting

Question 19

Which of these is a renewable resource?

Accepted Answer

Sunlight

Answer

Oil

Answer

Coal

Answer

Natural gas

Question 20

What is the name of the layer of gases that surrounds our planet?

Accepted Answer

Atmosphere

Answer

Hydrosphere

Answer

Geosphere

Answer

Biosphere

Question 21

Which of these is a type of fossil fuel?

Accepted Answer

Coal

Answer

Iron ore

Answer

Limestone

Answer

Gold

Question 22

What is the name of the force that pulls objects towards the center of the Earth?

Accepted Answer

Gravity

Answer

Magnetism

Answer

Friction

Answer

Electromagnetism

Question 23

Which of these is NOT a hazard associated with earthquakes?

Accepted Answer

Tornadoes

Answer

Ground shaking

Answer

Liquefaction

Answer

Flooding

Question 24

What are two major challenges that people on Earth may face in the future?

Accepted Answer

Pollution and climate change

Accepted Answer

Not enough food and water for everyone

Answer

Asteroid impacts and volcanic eruptions

Answer

Aliens and zombies

Question 25

Which of these is NOT a major geological event that has shaped Earth's surface?

Accepted Answer

Mount Everest's eruption

Answer

The Grand Canyon's formation

Answer

The Dead Sea's formation

Answer

The movement of tectonic plates

Question 26

Which of the following is NOT a major geological event that has shaped the Earth?

Accepted Answer

The invention of the wheel

Answer

Continental drift

Answer

Volcanic eruptions

Answer

Ice ages

Question 27

What is the name of the part of the Earth that we live on?

Accepted Answer

Crust

Answer

Mantle

Answer

Core

Answer

Atmosphere

Question 28

What is the name of the force that keeps us on the ground?

Accepted Answer

Gravity

Answer

Friction

Answer

Magnetism

Answer

Electricity

Question 29

What is the name of the process that breaks down rocks and soil?

Accepted Answer

Weathering

Answer

Erosion

Answer

Deposition

Answer

Compaction

Question 30

Which among these is not a major geological event in the Earth's history?

Accepted Answer

Growth of Plants

Answer

Ice Age

Answer

Continental Drift

Answer

Volcanic Eruptions

Question 31

What was the first type of living creatures to evolve on our planet?

Accepted Answer

Bacteria

Answer

Mammals

Answer

Dinosaurs

Answer

Plants

Question 32

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

Accepted Answer

Pangea

Answer

Gondwana

Answer

Laurasia

Answer

Rodinia

Question 33

Which among these is not a renewable energy source?

Accepted Answer

Fossil Fuels

Answer

Hydropower

Answer

Wind Power

Answer

Solar Energy

Question 34

What is the name of the gaseous layer that surrounds the Earth?

Accepted Answer

Atmosphere

Answer

Troposphere

Answer

Stratosphere

Answer

Mesosphere

Question 35

Which of these is a natural disaster that can be caused by geological events?

Accepted Answer

Earthquake

Answer

Hurricane

Answer

Tornado

Answer

Flood

Question 36

When did dinosaurs live?

Accepted Answer

Mesozoic Era

Answer

Paleozoic Era

Answer

Cenozoic Era

Question 37

What explains how living things change over time?

Accepted Answer

Theory of Evolution

Answer

Theory of Relativity

Answer

Theory of Plate Tectonics

Question 38

What was the name of the giant landmass that existed long ago?

Accepted Answer

Pangaea

Answer

Gondwana

Answer

Laurasia

Question 39

Which part of the Earth is the warmest?

Accepted Answer

Core

Answer

Crust

Answer

Mantle

Question 40

Which tool do scientists use to measure earthquakes?

Accepted Answer

Seismograph

Answer

Barometer

Answer

Thermometer

Question 41

Which of these events did NOT play a significant role in Earth's geological history?

Accepted Answer

Development of cities

Answer

Formation of the world's oceans

Answer

Ice ages

Answer

Volcanic eruptions

Question 42

Who proposed the theory of evolution by natural selection?

Accepted Answer

Charles Darwin

Answer

Albert Einstein

Answer

Isaac Newton

Answer

Marie Curie

Question 43

Which of these is NOT considered a fossil?

Accepted Answer

Rocks and boulders

Answer

Animal bones

Answer

Footprints of ancient creatures

Answer

Preserved plant leaves

Question 44

When did dinosaurs roam the Earth?

Accepted Answer

Mesozoic Era

Answer

Paleozoic Era

Answer

Cenozoic Era

Answer

Precambrian Era

Question 45

Which of these is NOT a layer of the Earth?

Accepted Answer

Clouds

Answer

Crust

Answer

Mantle

Answer

Core

Question 46

What pulls objects towards each other?

Accepted Answer

Gravity

Answer

Electricity

Answer

Friction

Answer

Wind

Question 47

Which of these is NOT a renewable resource?

Accepted Answer

Oil

Answer

Water

Answer

Wind

Answer

Sunlight

Question 48

What was the name of the supercontinent that existed millions of years ago?

Accepted Answer

Pangea

Answer

Gondwana

Answer

Laurasia

Answer

Eurasia

Question 49

What process involves rocks changing from one type to another?

Accepted Answer

Metamorphism

Answer

Erosion

Answer

Weathering

Answer

Volcanism

Question 50

Which of these is NOT a major geological era?

Accepted Answer

Humanzoic

Answer

Paleozoic

Answer

Mesozoic

Answer

Cenozoic

Question 51

What was the name of the ancient supercontinent that broke apart to form the continents we have today?

Accepted Answer

Pangea

Answer

Gondwana

Answer

Laurasia

Answer

Rodinia

Question 52

What is the name of the theory that explains how the Earth's surface has changed over time?

Accepted Answer

Plate tectonics

Answer

Evolution

Answer

Big Bang

Answer

Relativity

Question 53

What is the name of the scientific study of rocks?

Accepted Answer

Geology

Answer

Paleontology

Answer

Biology

Answer

Astronomy

Question 54

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

Accepted Answer

Anthropogenic

Answer

Precambrian

Answer

Paleozoic

Answer

Mesozoic

Question 55

What is the process where rocks are broken down and moved by natural forces, such as wind and rain?

Accepted Answer

Erosion

Answer

Deposition

Answer

Weathering

Answer

Subduction

Question 56

Which of these is a type of fossil that forms when the remains of an organism are replaced by minerals?

Accepted Answer

Petrified fossil

Answer

Mold

Answer

Cast

Answer

Trace fossil

Question 57

What is the name of the theory that explains how species change over time through natural selection?

Accepted Answer

Theory of Evolution

Answer

Theory of Relativity

Answer

Big Bang Theory

Answer

Germ Theory

Question 58

What is the name of the layer of gases that surrounds the Earth?

Accepted Answer

Atmosphere

Answer

Hydrosphere

Answer

Lithosphere

Answer

Biosphere

Question 59

What is the name of the force that pulls objects toward each other?

Accepted Answer

Gravity

Answer

Friction

Answer

Magnetism

Answer

Electromagnetism

Question 60

What is the theory that explains the movement of Earth's continents over time?

Accepted Answer

Plate tectonics

Answer

Continental drift

Answer

Seafloor spreading

Answer

Glacial theory

Question 61

What was the name of the supercontinent that existed about 200 million years ago?

Accepted Answer

Pangaea

Answer

Gondwana

Answer

Laurasia

Answer

Rodinia

Question 62

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of the Precambrian Era?

Accepted Answer

Abundant fossils of complex animals

Answer

Dominated by single-celled organisms

Answer

No oxygen in the atmosphere

Answer

Formation of the first continents

Question 63

What type of rock is formed when magma cools and hardens?

Accepted Answer

Igneous

Answer

Metamorphic

Answer

Sedimentary

Answer

Foliated

Question 64

What is the process that creates new crust at the ocean ridges?

Accepted Answer

Plate divergence

Answer

Plate convergence

Answer

Subduction

Answer

Erosion