Geologic Time Scale Flashcards
What is the name of the scale used to organize Earth’s history?
Geologic time scale
What method is used by scientists to find the EXACT age of a fossil? Carbon dating is an example of this?
Absolute dating example: Radiometric dating
Rock layers are generally found with the oldest layers at the bottom and the youngest layers at the top. This is called the Law of:
Law of superposition
Rock layers and Index fossils are used in the process of ________ to make conclusions about an area’s distant past.
relative dating
Missouri has many fossils that were once water creatures. What does this tell us about the geology of Missouri in the past?
Missouri was one covered in shallow sea
Most life forms appear ______(closer, farther) from human history.
closer
What is an example of a trace fossil?
A dinosaur footprint
What is an index fossil?
Fossils that lived for a short period of time and helps find the age of rock layers
Most fossils are found in _________________ rock.
sedimentary
Fossils found in tree sap are also known as fossils in:
Fossil amber
The appearance of water on Earth by the vapor from volcanoes led to what?
The first forms of life
If organisms such as fish and marine reptiles are found in an area and then fossils of rabbits and deer-like animals are found in same location, what does this say about the fossil record?
A. The area once had many organisms
B. The area was once covered by an ocean and then by land
C. The organisms moved locations
D. The area’s diversity is constant
B. The area was once covered by an ocean and then by land
Faults and magma are _________(younger or older?) than the rock layers they cross.
Younger
Calculating the age of rocks, minerals and fossils that contain certain radioactive isotopes is called…
Radiometric dating
When rock layers are matched with similar rock layers from another region, the ________________________is constructed
Geologic Column
