Chapter 6

Question 1

the remains or physical evidence of an organism preserved by geological processes

Answer 1

fossil

Question 2

any method of determining whether an event or object is older or younger than other events or objects

Answer 2

relative dating

Question 3

any method of measuring the age of an object or event in years

Answer 3

absolute dating

Question 4

the standard method used to divide the Earth’s long natural history into manageable parts

Answer 4

geologic time scale

Question 5

describes a species that has died out completely

Answer 5

extinct

Question 6

the theory that explains how large pieces of the Earth’s outermost layer, called tectonic plates, move and change shape

Answer 6

plate tectonics

Question 7

the period in the geologic time scale from the formation of the Earth to the beginning of the Paleozoic era, from about 4.6 billion to 543 million years ago

Answer 7

Precambrian time

Question 8

the geologic era that followed Precambrian time and that lasted from 543 million to 248 million years ago

Answer 8

Paleozoic era

Question 9

the most recent geologic era, beginning 65 million years ago; also called the Age of Mammals

Answer 9

Cenozoic era

Question 10

a type pf mammal characterized by opposable thumbs and binocular vision

Answer 10

primate

Question 11

a type of primate characterized by bipedalism, relatively long lower limbs, and lack of a tail

Answer 11

hominid

Question 12

the species of hominids that includes modern humans and their closest ancestors and that first appeared about 100,000 to 160,000 years ago

Answer 12

Homo sapiens