Chap 6.

The Ice Ages

Main Idea Paragraph 1 Paragraph 2 Paragraph 3 Paragraph 4 Paragraph 5

Vocabulary

1. The word celebrated in the passage is closest in meaning to a) authorized b) famous c) distributed d) powered 2. According to the paragraph 1, which led Louis Agassiz to believe the theory of glacier ancestry? a) The valleys of mountain areas with horizontal plains had much diversity in their geological structure. b) Many diverse areas were found to have the similar glacial characteristics. c) Field research on Alp mountain glaciers yielded many evidences. d) Glacial erosion showed evidence of regional dissimilarities in the drift. 3. The word gigantic in the passage is closest in meaning to a) Intensive b) Enormous c) Extreme d) Immediate 4. According to the paragraph 2, which of the following is assumed that Agassiz and other scholars of the field had trouble finding with? a) During the first ice age, what particular areas which were blanketed with layers of ice b) During the first ice age, the geological makeup of the glacial residue c) During the last ice age, the fertilization of glaciers d) During the last ice age, the precise dates at which glacial residue was deposited 5. The word this in the paragraph 3 refers to a) The fact that several glacier ages are made b) The fact that there are interglacial stages between glacier stages c) The fact that fossils represent the characteristics of warm climates d) Identifying glacier deposits

The Ice Ages

1 An immigrant Harvard University professor under

the name of Louis Agassiz is one of the most celebrated geological scientists of the world especially in the discipline of glaciers and glacial shifts. He conducted most of his work in these fields in specific areas of North America and Europe, including New England, the American Midwest and Scandinavia. He encountered several instances of glacier disintegration and de-sedimentation in these mountains and hills. Furthermore, in the diverse country plains, Agassiz noticed interesting geological features which were similar to the terminal moraines discovered at the valley glaciers in the Alps. These were known as moraines (a buildup of debris that accumulates at the glaciers perimeters). This discovery further served to self-induce the theory of its glacial ancestry as he examined the assorted materials of sand, clay, and rocks in the drift.

2 The theory that a gigantic monumental glaciation

had extended the polar ice caps which happened in the regions that are no longer areas of freezing cold was finally accepted by Agassiz and his supporters. So huge were the lands blanketed by the materials (sand, clay, and rocks) discovered by Agassiz that the ice responsible for dropping materials was a more massive glacier than Antarctica and Greenland. Furthermore, the soft drift and newly dropped sediments prove that the glaciation must have occurred in the fairly recently. The enormous sand and leftover heaps of drift in the terminal moraines that make Long Island and Cape Cod is testament to the southernmost advancement of this ice block. Using carbon dating by analyzing the rate of carbon released in drift determined the age of glaciation which is during the most recent epochs of geologic time lasting from 1.8 million to 10,000 years ago known as the Pleistocene

6. According to paragraph 3, what did scientists determine with finds of soils and fossils of plants from warm temperatures? a) Only one peak of high temperatures before the Pleistocene period could be identified. b) Multiple ice ages happened following the Pleistocene period c) Several periods with mild temperatures occurred amid glacial periods d) There were previous periods with higher temperatures than the Pleistocene period. 7. The word oscillating in the passage is closest in meaning to a) formidable b) developing c) fluctuating d) neighboring 8. According to paragraphs 3 and 4, scholars belief about ice ages was changed due to which of the following evidences a) sea deposits b) interglacial age c) glacial drifts d) atmosphere 9. The word general in the passage is closest in meaning to a) Typical b) Broad c) Unusual d) Graphic.

3 With warmer interglacial stages, it was evidenced

that several glacial ages are made up during the Pleistocene. In the late 1800s, scientists realized that there were several folds of drift with the lower levels being similar to ones from earlier ice ages after identifying glacial deposits. Between the older layers of glacial materials were well-preserved soils. Fossils of plants from the soil represented higher temperature characteristics. This showed that as temperatures heated up, glaciers thawed. Four specific glaciations were believed to have affected Northern America and Europe during the Pleistocene era by scientists in the early 1900s.

4 However, in the late 1900s after when evidences

from oceans with oscillating in temperature were found in fossils in oceanic sediment, scientists restructured the theory. This is because ocean sediments made possible a more general picture of the geological happenings during the Pleistocene than the continental glacial deposits. Small, monocelled marine organisms that release various forms of elements (such as calcium carbonate, or calcite) were found in fossils buried in Pleistocene. The composition of the shells differs in their proportional makeup of oxygen and heavy oxygen isotope (oxygen-16 and oxygen-18 respectively). The temperature changes of oceans during the Pleistocene epoch were shown because the ratios of the two oxygen isotopes within a marine organism shell are dependent upon the temperature of the surrounding water and different ratios of the shells preserved within the layers of sediment

10. According to paragraph 5, marine fossil shells that had calcite and high levels of molecule oxygen were probably taken in during which of the following times? a) When glacial masses covered areas of ocean and land all the way down to the equator b) Long periods of glaciation was not happening c) Large increases in ocean temperature did not occur d) Large amounts of snow fell on the glacial land masses 11. What can be inferred from the paragraph 5? a) Oxygen with lower numbers is harmful for marine creatures. b) Oxygen with higher numbers is usually left in the ocean. c) Only one explanation suggests the glacier formation. d) The buildup of glaciers increases the temperature of the continents. 12. In paragraph 5, why does the author mention the oxygen particles with the number of molecules? a) b) To show the ability of geologists to know the To show that climates has remained the same quick rate of growing and shrinking of ice masses despite glaciation periods c) To show that heavier oxygen molecules are not as likely to evaporate as lighter ones d) To show that oceanic creatures take in lighter oxygen molecules than others

5 Other glacial happenings could be analyzed

through isotopic examinations of shells, which could follow the changes in size of monumental glaciers. As a large amount of water is depleted by evaporation and become snow, the ratio of oxygen molecules changes significantly. During glaciation, oxygen particles with lower numbers of molecules evaporate quicker due to their lighter structure. As a result, marine creatures absorb more heavy compounds of oxygen, and using this examination of marine sediments, geologists realized that the cycle periods of freezing and melting were not as long and irregular as once thought. This analysis was not possible from only looking at the glacial droppings within the land masses

13. Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provides below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.

Answer Choices
a) Most scientists believed that a massive glacier had reached down toward areas of high temperatures after witnessing certain deposits of glaciers. b) Evidence has been found that there were several folds of ice dropped by glaciers, continually heading in a southern direction. c) It was determined that melting and freezing of glaciers happened to not be as long and irregular as believed based of molecular level examination of ocean sediments d) Eventually, scientists came to agree with the fact that glaciers had passed down in the 1800s; this was more than Agassiz had conjectured. e) It was determined in the 1800s that in the time of the Pleistocene, there had been many ice ages with warm periods in between after looking at deposits left by glacial masses. f) Evidence shows that climates in the ocean areas of the Northern Hemisphere were very different from the Southern Hemisphere

In the areas of North America and Europe, Louis Agassiz first realized evidence of sedimentation and glacial disintegration. .