praj-17/QA-MCQ-Open-ended huggingface dataset:
Title: Geological_history_of_Earth
Context: The Paleozoic spanned from roughly 541 to 252 million years ago (Ma) and is subdivided into six geologic periods; from oldest to youngest they are the Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous and Permian. Geologically, the Paleozoic starts shortly after the breakup of a supercontinent called Pannotia and at the end of a global ice age. Throughout the early Paleozoic, the Earth's landmass was broken up into a substantial number of relatively small continents. Toward the end of the era the continents gathered together into a supercontinent called Pangaea, which included most of the Earth's land area.

question: During what period was the Paleozoic era? 

answer: 541 to 252 million years ago

question: How many periods of geology are within the Paleozoic era? 

answer: six

question: The Permian is an example of what? 

answer: geologic periods

question: After what continental event did the Paleozoic begin? 

answer: breakup of a supercontinent called Pannotia

question: What continent was formed at the end of the Paleozoic? 

answer: Pangaea
Title: Geological_history_of_Earth
Context: The Cambrian is a major division of the geologic timescale that begins about 541.0 ± 1.0 Ma. Cambrian continents are thought to have resulted from the breakup of a Neoproterozoic supercontinent called Pannotia. The waters of the Cambrian period appear to have been widespread and shallow. Continental drift rates may have been anomalously high. Laurentia, Baltica and Siberia remained independent continents following the break-up of the supercontinent of Pannotia. Gondwana started to drift toward the South Pole. Panthalassa covered most of the southern hemisphere, and minor oceans included the Proto-Tethys Ocean, Iapetus Ocean and Khanty Ocean.

question: At what rough time did the Cambrian era start? 

answer: 541.0 ± 1.0 Ma.

question: What were the continents of the Cambrian area believed to have formerly been a part of? 

answer: Pannotia

question: What continent moved to the southern-most part of the earth in the Cambrian era? 

answer: Gondwana

question: What continent ranged over the majority of the southern hemisphere of earth in the Cambrian? 

answer: Panthalassa

question: Baltica and Sibera are examples of what thing, during the Cambrian era? 

answer: independent continents
Title: Geological_history_of_Earth
Context: The Ordovician Period started at a major extinction event called the Cambrian-Ordovician extinction events some time about 485.4 ± 1.9 Ma. During the Ordovician the southern continents were collected into a single continent called Gondwana. Gondwana started the period in the equatorial latitudes and, as the period progressed, drifted toward the South Pole. Early in the Ordovician the continents Laurentia, Siberia and Baltica were still independent continents (since the break-up of the supercontinent Pannotia earlier), but Baltica began to move toward Laurentia later in the period, causing the Iapetus Ocean to shrink between them. Also, Avalonia broke free from Gondwana and began to head north toward Laurentia. The Rheic Ocean was formed as a result of this. By the end of the period, Gondwana had neared or approached the pole and was largely glaciated.

question: How long ago did the Ordovician period begin? 

answer: 485.4 ± 1.9 Ma.

question: Which event precipitated the Ordovician period? 

answer: the Cambrian-Ordovician extinction

question: What was the name of the large southernmost continent during the Ordovician? 

answer: Gondwana

question: Which ocean decreased in size with the movement of Baltica in the Ordovician? 

answer: Iapetus Ocean

question: What continent fractured off Gondwana in the direction of Laurentia? 

answer: Avalonia
Title: Geological_history_of_Earth
Context: The most-commonly accepted theory is that these events were triggered by the onset of an ice age, in the Hirnantian faunal stage that ended the long, stable greenhouse conditions typical of the Ordovician. The ice age was probably not as long-lasting as once thought; study of oxygen isotopes in fossil brachiopods shows that it was probably no longer than 0.5 to 1.5 million years. The event was preceded by a fall in atmospheric carbon dioxide (from 7000ppm to 4400ppm) which selectively affected the shallow seas where most organisms lived. As the southern supercontinent Gondwana drifted over the South Pole, ice caps formed on it. Evidence of these ice caps have been detected in Upper Ordovician rock strata of North Africa and then-adjacent northeastern South America, which were south-polar locations at the time.

question: What type of climate was normal in the Ordovician period? 

answer: stable greenhouse conditions

question: What ice age signaled the end of the normal climate in the Ordovician period? 

answer: the Hirnantian faunal stage

question: Oxygen from what kind of fossil were used to date the Hirnantian faunal stage? 

answer: brachiopods

question: How many years is the Hirnantian faunal stage believed to have lasted? 

answer: 0.5 to 1.5 million years

question: What started to develop on Gondwana as it moved over the south pole? 

answer: ice caps
Title: Geological_history_of_Earth
Context: The Silurian is a major division of the geologic timescale that started about 443.8 ± 1.5 Ma. During the Silurian, Gondwana continued a slow southward drift to high southern latitudes, but there is evidence that the Silurian ice caps were less extensive than those of the late Ordovician glaciation. The melting of ice caps and glaciers contributed to a rise in sea levels, recognizable from the fact that Silurian sediments overlie eroded Ordovician sediments, forming an unconformity. Other cratons and continent fragments drifted together near the equator, starting the formation of a second supercontinent known as Euramerica. The vast ocean of Panthalassa covered most of the northern hemisphere. Other minor oceans include Proto-Tethys, Paleo-Tethys, Rheic Ocean, a seaway of Iapetus Ocean (now in between Avalonia and Laurentia), and newly formed Ural Ocean.

question: When was the Silurian period believed to have begun? 

answer: 443.8 ± 1.5 Ma.

question: Compared to the Ordovician glaciation, how big were the ice caps on Gondwana during the Silurian? 

answer: less extensive

question: What did the melting of ice on Gondwana add to? 

answer: a rise in sea levels

question: Which supercontinent formed during the Silurian? 

answer: Euramerica

question: Which ocean ranged the majority of the northern hemisphere in the Silurian period? 

answer: Panthalassa
Title: Geological_history_of_Earth
Context: The Devonian spanned roughly from 419 to 359 Ma. The period was a time of great tectonic activity, as Laurasia and Gondwana drew closer together. The continent Euramerica (or Laurussia) was created in the early Devonian by the collision of Laurentia and Baltica, which rotated into the natural dry zone along the Tropic of Capricorn. In these near-deserts, the Old Red Sandstone sedimentary beds formed, made red by the oxidized iron (hematite) characteristic of drought conditions. Near the equator Pangaea began to consolidate from the plates containing North America and Europe, further raising the northern Appalachian Mountains and forming the Caledonian Mountains in Great Britain and Scandinavia. The southern continents remained tied together in the supercontinent of Gondwana. The remainder of modern Eurasia lay in the Northern Hemisphere. Sea levels were high worldwide, and much of the land lay submerged under shallow seas. The deep, enormous Panthalassa (the "universal ocean") covered the rest of the planet. Other minor oceans were Paleo-Tethys, Proto-Tethys, Rheic Ocean and Ural Ocean (which was closed during the collision with Siberia and Baltica).

question: During what time period was the Devonian era? 

answer: 419 to 359 Ma.

question: Which continent was formed from the meeting of Laurentia and Baltica? 

answer: Euramerica (or Laurussia)

question: Which sedimentary beds were created in the dry areas of Euramerica in the Devonian period? 

answer: Old Red Sandstone

question: What was the largest ocean referred to that existed in the Devonian period? 

answer: Panthalassa

question: Which mountains associated with the USA were formed near the equator on  Pangaea during the Devonian? 

answer: the northern Appalachian Mountains
Title: Geological_history_of_Earth
Context: A global drop in sea level at the end of the Devonian reversed early in the Carboniferous; this created the widespread epicontinental seas and carbonate deposition of the Mississippian. There was also a drop in south polar temperatures; southern Gondwana was glaciated throughout the period, though it is uncertain if the ice sheets were a holdover from the Devonian or not. These conditions apparently had little effect in the deep tropics, where lush coal swamps flourished within 30 degrees of the northernmost glaciers. A mid-Carboniferous drop in sea-level precipitated a major marine extinction, one that hit crinoids and ammonites especially hard. This sea-level drop and the associated unconformity in North America separate the Mississippian Period from the Pennsylvanian period.

question: What occurred to the level of the sea when the Devonian period was finished? 

answer: A global drop

question: During which period were epicontinental seas created? 

answer: Carboniferous

question: What was on the land at 30 degrees latitude north in the carboniferous period? 

answer: lush coal swamps

question: What was the result in the decline in sea level in the middle of the Carboniferous period? 

answer: a major marine extinction

question: The Pennsylvania period is separated by the drop in Carboniferous era sea levels from what other period? 

answer: Mississippian Period
Title: Geological_history_of_Earth
Context: The Carboniferous was a time of active mountain building, as the supercontinent Pangea came together. The southern continents remained tied together in the supercontinent Gondwana, which collided with North America-Europe (Laurussia) along the present line of eastern North America. This continental collision resulted in the Hercynian orogeny in Europe, and the Alleghenian orogeny in North America; it also extended the newly uplifted Appalachians southwestward as the Ouachita Mountains. In the same time frame, much of present eastern Eurasian plate welded itself to Europe along the line of the Ural mountains. There were two major oceans in the Carboniferous the Panthalassa and Paleo-Tethys. Other minor oceans were shrinking and eventually closed the Rheic Ocean (closed by the assembly of South and North America), the small, shallow Ural Ocean (which was closed by the collision of Baltica, and Siberia continents, creating the Ural Mountains) and Proto-Tethys Ocean.

question: What geologic events took place when Pangea combined during the Carboniferous? 

answer: mountain building

question: What was the continent that came to be North America and Europe called during the Carboniferous? 

answer: Laurussia

question: What was the effect of Laurussia impacting Gondwana in North America? 

answer: the Alleghenian orogeny

question: The mountains forming to the southwest of the Appalachians in the Carboniferous are known as what? 

answer: the Ouachita Mountains

question: Which two large oceans existed during the Carboniferous period? 

answer: the Panthalassa and Paleo-Tethys
Title: Geological_history_of_Earth
Context: During the Permian all the Earth's major land masses, except portions of East Asia, were collected into a single supercontinent known as Pangaea. Pangaea straddled the equator and extended toward the poles, with a corresponding effect on ocean currents in the single great ocean (Panthalassa, the universal sea), and the Paleo-Tethys Ocean, a large ocean that was between Asia and Gondwana. The Cimmeria continent rifted away from Gondwana and drifted north to Laurasia, causing the Paleo-Tethys to shrink. A new ocean was growing on its southern end, the Tethys Ocean, an ocean that would dominate much of the Mesozoic Era. Large continental landmasses create climates with extreme variations of heat and cold ("continental climate") and monsoon conditions with highly seasonal rainfall patterns. Deserts seem to have been widespread on Pangaea.

question: What supercontinent prevailed during the Permian era? 

answer: Pangaea

question: What was the largest ocean during the Permian called? 

answer: Panthalassa

question: There was an ocean between Gondwana and Asia in the Permian, what was it? 

answer: Paleo-Tethys Ocean

question: The moving of which continent contributed to the decrease in size of the Paleo-Tethys? 

answer: Cimmeria

question: During which period was the Tehtys Ocean dominant? 

answer: the Mesozoic Era
Title: Geological_history_of_Earth
Context: The remainder was the world-ocean known as Panthalassa ("all the sea"). All the deep-ocean sediments laid down during the Triassic have disappeared through subduction of oceanic plates; thus, very little is known of the Triassic open ocean. The supercontinent Pangaea was rifting during the Triassic—especially late in the period—but had not yet separated. The first nonmarine sediments in the rift that marks the initial break-up of Pangea—which separated New Jersey from Morocco—are of Late Triassic age; in the U.S., these thick sediments comprise the Newark Supergroup. Because of the limited shoreline of one super-continental mass, Triassic marine deposits are globally relatively rare; despite their prominence in Western Europe, where the Triassic was first studied. In North America, for example, marine deposits are limited to a few exposures in the west. Thus Triassic stratigraphy is mostly based on organisms living in lagoons and hypersaline environments, such as Estheria crustaceans and terrestrial vertebrates.

question: Which ocean name is translated to mean "all the sea?" 

answer: Panthalassa

question: What process obscures information aboutt he ocean during the Triassic period from inspection? 

answer: subduction of oceanic plates

question: What was occurring to Pangaea in the late Triassic? 

answer: Pangaea was rifting

question: Which sediements in the US are an indication of the break up of Pangaea? 

answer: Newark Supergroup

question: What type of terrestrial animals are found from the Triassic period? 

answer: terrestrial vertebrates
Title: Geological_history_of_Earth
Context: The Jurassic Period extends from about 201.3 ± 0.2 to 145.0 Ma. During the early Jurassic, the supercontinent Pangaea broke up into the northern supercontinent Laurasia and the southern supercontinent Gondwana; the Gulf of Mexico opened in the new rift between North America and what is now Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. The Jurassic North Atlantic Ocean was relatively narrow, while the South Atlantic did not open until the following Cretaceous Period, when Gondwana itself rifted apart. The Tethys Sea closed, and the Neotethys basin appeared. Climates were warm, with no evidence of glaciation. As in the Triassic, there was apparently no land near either pole, and no extensive ice caps existed. The Jurassic geological record is good in western Europe, where extensive marine sequences indicate a time when much of the continent was submerged under shallow tropical seas; famous locales include the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site and the renowned late Jurassic lagerstätten of Holzmaden and Solnhofen. In contrast, the North American Jurassic record is the poorest of the Mesozoic, with few outcrops at the surface. Though the epicontinental Sundance Sea left marine deposits in parts of the northern plains of the United States and Canada during the late Jurassic, most exposed sediments from this period are continental, such as the alluvial deposits of the Morrison Formation. The first of several massive batholiths were emplaced in the northern Cordillera beginning in the mid-Jurassic, marking the Nevadan orogeny. Important Jurassic exposures are also found in Russia, India, South America, Japan, Australasia and the United Kingdom.

question: During what years was the Jurassic period? 

answer: 201.3 ± 0.2 to 145.0 Ma.

question: Which supercontinent came apart in the Jurassic period? 

answer: Pangaea

question: The Gulf of Mexico formed in the rift between North America and what other land mass? 

answer: Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula

question: At what point did the South Atlantic ocean begin to open? 

answer: Cretaceous Period

question: Which late Jurassic cultural sites are famous in Europe? 

answer: lagerstätten of Holzmaden and Solnhofen
Title: Geological_history_of_Earth
Context: During the Cretaceous, the late Paleozoic-early Mesozoic supercontinent of Pangaea completed its breakup into present day continents, although their positions were substantially different at the time. As the Atlantic Ocean widened, the convergent-margin orogenies that had begun during the Jurassic continued in the North American Cordillera, as the Nevadan orogeny was followed by the Sevier and Laramide orogenies. Though Gondwana was still intact in the beginning of the Cretaceous, Gondwana itself broke up as South America, Antarctica and Australia rifted away from Africa (though India and Madagascar remained attached to each other); thus, the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans were newly formed. Such active rifting lifted great undersea mountain chains along the welts, raising eustatic sea levels worldwide.

question: The current continents were formerly known as what continent? 

answer: Pangaea

question: Which oregenies followed the Nevadan in the Cretaceous? 

answer: Sevier and Laramide

question: South America was formerly which continent? 

answer: Gondwana

question: The rifting in the Cretaceous had what result on the oceans? 

answer: raising eustatic sea levels

question: Antarctica was a part of what supercontinent? 

answer: Gondwana
Title: Geological_history_of_Earth
Context: To the north of Africa the Tethys Sea continued to narrow. Broad shallow seas advanced across central North America (the Western Interior Seaway) and Europe, then receded late in the period, leaving thick marine deposits sandwiched between coal beds. At the peak of the Cretaceous transgression, one-third of Earth's present land area was submerged. The Cretaceous is justly famous for its chalk; indeed, more chalk formed in the Cretaceous than in any other period in the Phanerozoic. Mid-ocean ridge activity—or rather, the circulation of seawater through the enlarged ridges—enriched the oceans in calcium; this made the oceans more saturated, as well as increased the bioavailability of the element for calcareous nanoplankton. These widespread carbonates and other sedimentary deposits make the Cretaceous rock record especially fine. Famous formations from North America include the rich marine fossils of Kansas's Smoky Hill Chalk Member and the terrestrial fauna of the late Cretaceous Hell Creek Formation. Other important Cretaceous exposures occur in Europe and China. In the area that is now India, massive lava beds called the Deccan Traps were laid down in the very late Cretaceous and early Paleocene.

question: During the height of the Cretaceous transgression how much of the earths land mass was under water? 

answer: one-third

question: What type of rock was the Cretaceous notable for forming the most amount of? 

answer: Phanerozoic

question: The Cretaceous is a part of which geologic era? 

answer: Phanerozoic

question: Where can one find the Smoky Hill Chalk Member? 

answer: North America

question: Where are the Deccan Traps? 

answer: India
Title: Geological_history_of_Earth
Context: The Cenozoic Era covers the 66 million years since the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event up to and including the present day. By the end of the Mesozoic era, the continents had rifted into nearly their present form. Laurasia became North America and Eurasia, while Gondwana split into South America, Africa, Australia, Antarctica and the Indian subcontinent, which collided with the Asian plate. This impact gave rise to the Himalayas. The Tethys Sea, which had separated the northern continents from Africa and India, began to close up, forming the Mediterranean sea.

question: How many years long was the Cenozoic Era? 

answer: 66 million years

question: Which extinction marked the beginning of the Cenozoic Era? 

answer: Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event

question: What geologic period are we in currently? 

answer: Cenozoic Era

question: At the end of which era had the continents taken roughly their current shape? 

answer: Mesozoic

question: The collision of the Indian sub continent and the Asian plate created which mountain range? 

answer: the Himalayas
Title: Geological_history_of_Earth
Context: In many ways, the Paleocene continued processes that had begun during the late Cretaceous Period. During the Paleocene, the continents continued to drift toward their present positions. Supercontinent Laurasia had not yet separated into three continents. Europe and Greenland were still connected. North America and Asia were still intermittently joined by a land bridge, while Greenland and North America were beginning to separate. The Laramide orogeny of the late Cretaceous continued to uplift the Rocky Mountains in the American west, which ended in the succeeding epoch. South and North America remained separated by equatorial seas (they joined during the Neogene); the components of the former southern supercontinent Gondwana continued to split apart, with Africa, South America, Antarctica and Australia pulling away from each other. Africa was heading north toward Europe, slowly closing the Tethys Ocean, and India began its migration to Asia that would lead to a tectonic collision and the formation of the Himalayas.

question: How many continents did Laurasia break into? 

answer: three

question: In the Paleocene period Greenland was joined to which continent? 

answer: North America

question: What mountain chain in the Cretaceous was lifted as a result of the Laramide oregeny? 

answer: the Rocky Mountains

question: In which period did North and South america join? 

answer: Neogene

question: Which ocean was closed when Africa moved northward during the Paleocene? 

answer: Tethys
Title: Geological_history_of_Earth
Context: During the Eocene (56 million years ago - 33.9 million years ago), the continents continued to drift toward their present positions. At the beginning of the period, Australia and Antarctica remained connected, and warm equatorial currents mixed with colder Antarctic waters, distributing the heat around the world and keeping global temperatures high. But when Australia split from the southern continent around 45 Ma, the warm equatorial currents were deflected away from Antarctica, and an isolated cold water channel developed between the two continents. The Antarctic region cooled down, and the ocean surrounding Antarctica began to freeze, sending cold water and ice floes north, reinforcing the cooling. The present pattern of ice ages began about 40 million years ago.[citation needed]

question: During what years did the Eocene period take place? 

answer: 56 million years ago - 33.9 million years ago

question: Australia was connected to which other continent at the start of the Eocene? 

answer: Antarctica

question: How long ago did Antarctica and Australia split? 

answer: around 45 Ma

question: Around how many years ago is the current ice age pattern believed to have begun? 

answer: 40 million years

question: The mixing of equatorial currents with Antarctic waters in the Eocene resulted in what? 

answer: keeping global temperatures high