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Rocks & Fossils
Ch. 3 Science Test on: The Rock and Fossil Record
Question | Answer |
---|---|
The branch of Earth Science | Geology |
A principle that states that the same geologic processes shaping the Earth today have been at work throughout Earth's history | Uniformitarianism |
A principal that states that all geologic change occurs suddenly | Catastrophism |
A principal that states that younger rocks lie above older rocks in undisturbed sequences | Superposition |
An ideal sequence of rock layers that contains all known fossils and rock formations on Earth arranged from oldest to youngest | Geologic column |
A break in the Earth's crust along which blocks of the crust slide relative to one another | Fault |
Molten rock from the Earth's interior that squeezes into existing rock and cools | Intrusion |
Occurs when rock layers bend and buckle from Earth's internal forces | Folding |
Occurs when internal forces in the Earth slant rock layers without folding them | Tilting |
A surface that represents a missing part of the geologic column | Unconformity |
Exists where part of a sequence of parallel rock layers is missing | Disconformity |
Exists where sedimentary rock layers lie on top of an eroded surface of non-layered igneous or metamorphic rock | Nonconformity |
Exists between horizontal rock layers and rock layer that have tilted or folded. The tilted or folded layers were eroded before horizontal layers formed above them | Angular unconformity |
A process of establishing the age of an object, such as a fossil or rock layer, by determining the number of years it has existed | Absolute dating |
Radioactive isotopes tend to break down into stable isotopes of other elements in a process called... | Radioactive decay |
Atoms of the same element that have the same number of protons but have different number of neutrons | Isotopes |
Determining the absolute age of a sample based on the ratio of parent material to daughter material is called... | Radiometric Dating |
The time it takes for one-half of a radioactive sample to decay is called a... | Half life |
Three types of radiometric dating include: | Uranium-lead method, potassium-argon method and the carbon-14 method |
Any naturally preserved evidence of life | Fossil |
Fossils in rocks, mineral replacement, fossils in amber, mummification, frozen fossils and fossils tar are all examples of what? | Fossils |
Any naturally preserved evidence of an animal's activity is called a... | Trace fossil |
Preserved feces, or dung, from animals | Coprolites |
A cavity in the ground or rock where a plant or animal was buried | Mold |
An object created when sediment fills a mold and becomes rock | Cast |