Biology Ch. 14 Vocabulary

Question 1

Preserved evidence of an organism, often found in sedimentary rock, that provides evidence of past life

Answer 1

Fossil

Question 2

Scientist who studies fossils

Answer 2

Paleontologist

Question 3

Method used to determine the age of rocks by comparing the rocks with younger and older rock layers

Answer 3

Relative dating

Question 4

States that the oldest layers of rock are found at the bottom and the youngest layers of rock are found at the top of a formation if the rock layers have not been disturbed

Answer 4

Law of superposition

Question 5

Method used to determine the age of rocks using the rate of decay of radioactive isotopes

Answer 5

Radiometric dating

Question 6

Amount of time required for half of a radioactive isotope to decay

Answer 6

Half-life

Question 7

Reproductive hyphal structure of zygomycetes that contains a haploid nucleus

Answer 7

Geologic time scale

Question 8

The smallest units of geologic time, which is several million years

Answer 8

Epoch

Question 9

A large division of Earth’s geologic time scale that is further divided into one or more periods

Answer 9

Era

Question 10

Longest unit of time in the geologic time scale and can include billions of years

Answer 10

Eon

Question 11

The ancestors of most major animal groups diversified in this event.

Answer 11

Cambrian explosion

Question 12

A layer of material between the rocks of the Cretaceous period and the rocks of the Paleogene period

Answer 12

K-T boundary

Question 13

Geologic theory that Earth’s surface is broken into several huge plates that move slowly on a partially molten rock layer

Answer 13

Plate tectonics

Question 14

Idea that life arises from nonliving things

Answer 14

Spontaneous generation

Question 15

States that only living organisms can produce other living organisms

Answer 15

Theory of biogenesis

Question 16

Explains that eukaryotic cells may have evolved from prokaryotic cells

Answer 16

Endosymbiont theory