Fossils And Time Flashcards

1
Q

Fossils

A

The preserved remains of living organisms or the traces of these animals when they were alive

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2
Q

Trace fossils

A

Evidence of behaviour (tracks/burrows)

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3
Q

Body fossils

A

Hard parts either whole or fragments (bones/shell)

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4
Q

How do organisms fossilise

A

1: decay of soft tissues of plant/animals
2: transport and breakdowns of hard tissues
3: burials and modification of the hard tissues

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5
Q

Extant

A

Still alive today

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6
Q

Extinct

A

Organisms no longer alive today

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7
Q

Species

A

A group of organisms that can interbreed to produce fertile offspring

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8
Q

Morphological species

A

A species grouped using morphological similarities (what they look like)

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9
Q

Mode of life

A

Refers to the way an organism lived (typically the way it moved)

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10
Q

Fossil assemblages

A

A group of fossils that tells us about the environment

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11
Q

Death assemblages

A

Collection of organisms found in a different place/position than they occupied in life

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12
Q

Life assemblages

A

Collection of organisms found with sediments in the same position as they would’ve been in life

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13
Q

Derived fossils

A

Weathered out of 1 rock and redeposited in another

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14
Q

Catastrophism

A

The idea that rocks and structures are formed by violent, large scale, short lived events

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15
Q

Gradualism

A

The idea that it take millions of years of gradual change to alter rocks and structures

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16
Q

Statiography

A

The mapping of rock sequences

17
Q

Factors affecting fossilisation

A

Original composition, energy levels, transport distance, amount of oxygen, rapidity of burial, sediment size, diagenesis, compaction

18
Q

Types of preservation

A

Replacement: 1 mineral to another
Carbonisation: organic matter decomposes
Pyritisation: sulphur bacteria respire and bonds with any iron to form iron sulphide
Silicification: percolation of SiO2 in groundwater fills bodies