Earth's Past Flashcards
Permineralozation
Water flows through a buried organism
Fossil
Preserved remains or evidence of ancient living things
Mineral replacement
Minerals replace the inside of an organism
Carbon film
Fossilized carbon outline of an organism or part of an organism
Index fossil
Represent species that existed on earth for a short length of time, were abundant, and inhabited many locations
Mold/ cast
Mold= impression in a rock left my an ancient organism Cast= fossil copy of an organism made when A mold of the organism is filled w/ sediments
Isotope
Atoms of the same element that have different numbers of neutrons
Radiometric dating
Using radioactive materials to determine the exact age of a rock
Radioactivd decay
Process by which an unstable element naturally changes into another element that isnstable
Correlation of rock layers
Matching rocks and fossils from seperate locations
Absolute age
Numerical age of rocks
Precambrian
Before life
Trace fossil
Preserved evidence of the activity of an organism
Relative age
Age of rocks compared to each other
Unconformity
Surface where rock has eroded away, producing a break, or gap, in the rock record
