Fossil Record Flashcards
the theory that changes in the earth’s crust during geological history has resulted from the action of continuous and uniform processes.
uniformitarianism
the theory that changes in the earth’s crust during geological history have resulted chiefly from sudden violent and unusual events.
catastrophism
the branch of science concerned with fossil animals and plants.
paleontology
is the process of determining if one rock or geologic event is older or younger than another, without knowing their specific ages—i.e., how many years ago the object was formed.
relative dating
s the process of determining an age on a specified chronology in archaeology and geology
absolute dating
the action of placing one thing on or above another, especially so that they coincide.
superposition
each of two or more forms of the same element that contain equal numbers of protons but different numbers of neutrons in their nuclei, and hence differ in relative atomic mass but not in chemical properties; in particular, a radioactive form of an element.
isotope
the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is considered radioactive.
radioactive decay
the time needd for haft of a sample of under going liahjsrhduthiu
half-life
the remains or impression of a prehistoric organism preserved in petrified form or as a mold or cast in rock.
fossil
a fossil of a footprint, trail, burrow, or other trace of an animal rather than of the animal itself.
trace fossil
A mold or mould is a fungus that grows in the form of multicellular filaments called hyphae. In contrast, fungi that can adopt a single-celled growth habit are called yeasts
mold
an object made by shaping molten metal or similar material in a mold.
cast
a surface of contact between two groups of unconformable strata.
unconformity
A mass extinction event is when species vanish much faster than they are replaced. This is usually defined as about 75% of the world’s species being lost in a ‘short’ amount of geological time - less than 2.8 million years.
mass extinction
