Chapter 8 Study Guide: Earth's History

Question 0

occurs when running water, ice, or wind break down rocks and carry the pieces away

Answer 0

Erosion

Question 1

the study of the structure of planet Earth and the forces that make and shape Earth

Answer 1

Geology

Question 2

states that the geologic processes that operate today also operated in the past

Answer 2

Uniformitarianism

Question 3

form when molten material from beneath Earth’s surface cools and hardens

Answer 3

Igneous Rock

Question 4

made of sediments that have been deposited and then pressed together to form on or below Earth’s surface

Answer 4

Sedimentary Rock

Question 5

forms when an existing rock is changed by heat, pressure, or chemical reactions

Answer 5

Metamorphic Rock

Question 6

a series of processes on and beneath the Earth’s surface that slowly change rocks from one kind to another

Answer 6

Rock Cycle

Question 7

molten material beneath Esrth’s surface

Answer 7

Magma

Question 8

magma that flows on to Earth’s surface

Answer 8

Lava

Question 9

a rock is its age compared to the ages of other rocks

Answer 9

Relative Age

Question 10

a rock is the number of years since the rock formed

Answer 10

Absolute Age

Question 11

determines the relative ages of sedimentary rock layers

Answer 11

Law of Superposition

Question 12

lava that hardens on the surface

Answer 12

Extrusion

Question 13

always younger than the rock layers around and beneath it

Answer 13

Intrusion

Question 14

a break in earths crust

Answer 14

Fault

Question 15

the surface where new rock layers meet a much older rock surface beneath them

Answer 15

Unconformity

Question 16

a piece of rock that is contained in another rock

Answer 16

Inclusion

Question 17

they tell the relative ages of the rock layers in which they occur

Answer 17

Index Fossil

Question 18

all the matter you see, including rocks, is made of tiny particles

Answer 18

Atom

Question 19

when all the atoms in a particular type of matter are all the same, the matter is an element

Answer 19

Element

Question 20

when the atoms of one element break down to form atoms of another element

Answer 20

is the time it takes for half

Question 21

is the time it takes for half

Answer 21

Half-Life

Question 22

the outer layer that is made up of more than a dozen major pieces

Answer 22

Plate

Question 23

states that Earth’s plates move slowly in various directions

Answer 23

Theory of Plate Tectonics

Question 24

the very slow movement of continents

Answer 24

Continental Drift

Question 25

a record of the life forms and geologic events in earth's history

Answer 25

Geologic Time Scale

Question 26

the three long units between Precambrian Time and the present

Answer 26

Era

Question 27

where eras are subdivided into periods

Answer 27

Period

Question 28

Animals without backbones

Answer 28

Invertebrate

Question 29

an animal that has a backbone

Answer 29

Vertebrate

Question 30

An animal that lives part of it's life on land and part of it's life in water

Answer 30

Amphibian

Question 31

have scaly skin and lay eggs with tough leathery shells

Answer 31

Reptile

Question 32

where many types of living things became extinct in the Paleozoic era

Answer 32

Mass Extinction

Question 33

A warm blooded vertebrae that feeds it's young milk

Answer 33

Mammal