Q 01/05

The Triassic is the first period of which geological era?

A) Mesozoic

B) Paleozoic

C) Cenozoic

D) Proterozoic

Answer · why

A) Mesozoic

It is also the shortest of the era's three periods, at about 50 million years.

Q 02/05

Which period came immediately after the Triassic?

A) Permian

B) Cretaceous

C) Devonian

D) Jurassic

Answer · why

D) Jurassic

The boundary between them is marked by a mass extinction that cleared the way for the dinosaurs.

Q 03/05

Roughly how many million years did the Triassic last?

A) 75

B) 50

C) 100

D) 150

Answer · why

B) 50

It ran from about 252 to 201 million years ago.

Q 04/05

The name Triassic refers to a 'triad' of what?

A) Extinction events

B) Ancient continents

C) German rock layers

D) Reptile lineages

Answer · why

C) German rock layers

The three are the Buntsandstein, the Muschelkalk and the Keuper.

Q 05/05

Who named the Triassic in 1834?

A) Charles Lyell

B) Roderick Murchison

C) Adam Sedgwick

D) Friedrich Alberti

Answer · why

D) Friedrich Alberti

He was a salt-mining inspector from Rottweil who worked out that three German rock layers formed one system.