Fossils/Geologic Time Test Study Flashcards
Explain how marine fossils have been found at the top of mountains
They were found at the top of mountains due to one of Steno’s Laws called the law of Super positioning
Define Amber
Fossilized Tree Sap
Compare and Contrast relative and Absolute age
Relative: It’s different because it’s an estimated age, it’s the same because it has to do with the age of something such as fossils
Absolute: It’s the actual age of something such as fossils, it’s the same because it’s the age of something such as fossils
State the Law of Super position
It stated how fossils were uplifted from the sea floor into the mountains
Define Trace Fossils
Evidence of the activity of an organism
What are 2 things that make a good index fossil
Fossils that are distinctive, widespread, and lived briefly and Their presence in a rock layer
Define 1/2 life
The amount of time required for half of the atoms of a radioactive substance to decay to the daughter product.
What is Radiocarbon Dating
Something that is used to find the age of once-living materials between 100-50,000 years old
What era do we currently live in
The Cenozoic Era
List 3 reasons why early earth was so intensely hot
- Gravitational Contraction
- Radioactive Decay
- Bombardment
Why did early earth struggle to keep an atmosphere
It struggled because solar winds blew off atmospheric gases it collected.
When did Pangea break up? What have the continents been up to since?
180 million years ago, They are still drifting apart
Describe the Mass Extinction that occurred at the end of the Paleozoic Era.
During the mass extinction there was marine transgressions ( Rising in Sea Level) that wiped out the animals and organisms
What is the approximate age of our earth
4.5 Billion years old
What did volcanic out gassing do for the earth’s early atmosphere
It was a source of water vapor, carbon dioxide, small amounts of nitrogen and other gasses
