Fossil Record Vocab

Question 1

uniformitarianism

Answer 1

the theory that changes in the earth’s crust during geological history have resulted from the action of continuous and uniform processes.

Question 2

catastrophism

Answer 2

the theory that changes in the earth’s crust during geological history have resulted chiefly from sudden violent and unusual events.

Question 3

paleontology

Answer 3

Paleontology is the study of the history of life on Earth as based on fossils. Fossils are the remains of plants, animals, fungi, bacteria, and single-celled living things that have been replaced by rock material or impressions of organisms preserved in rock.

Question 4

relative dating

Answer 4

Relative dating is the science of determining the relative order of past events, without necessarily determining their absolute age.

Question 5

absolute dating

Answer 5

Absolute dating is the process of determining an age on a specified chronology in archaeology and geology.

Question 6

superposition

Answer 6

the action of placing one thing on or above another, especially so that they coincide.

Question 7

isotope

Answer 7

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.

Question 8

radioactive decay

Answer 8

Radioactive decay is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is considered radioactive.

Question 9

half-life

Answer 9

the time taken for the radioactivity of a specified isotope to fall to half its original value.

Question 10

fossil

Answer 10

the remains or impression of a prehistoric organism preserved in petrified form or as a mold or cast in rock.

Question 11

trace fossil

Answer 11

a fossil of a footprint, trail, burrow, or other trace of an animal rather than of the animal itself.

Question 12

mold

Answer 12

A mold or mould is a fungus that grows in the form of multicellular filaments called hyphae.

Question 13

cast

Answer 13

cause (light or shadow) to appear on a surface.

Question 14

unconformity

Answer 14

a surface of contact between two groups of unconformable strata.

Question 15

mass extinction

Answer 15

An extinction event is a widespread and rapid decrease in the biodiversity on Earth. Such an event is identified by a sharp change in the diversity and abundance of multicellular organisms.

Question 16

Jurassic period

Answer 16

The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that spanned 56 million years from the end of the Triassic Period 201.3 million years ago to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period 145 Mya.

Question 17

Cretaceous period

Answer 17

The Cretaceous is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago.

Question 18

Devonian period

Answer 18

The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic, spanning 60 million years from the end of the Silurian, 419.2 million years ago

Question 19

Quaternary period

Answer 19

Quaternary is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy.

Question 20

Permian period

Answer 20

The Permian is a geologic period and system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous period 298.9 million years ago, to the beginning of the Triassic period 251.902 Mya.