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Earth life and science > Geologic Timescale > Flashcards

Geologic Timescale Flashcards

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1
Q

What is the guiding principle in the study of the Earth’s history? It states that the present is the key to the past.

A

Uniformitarianism

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2
Q

Fossils are deposited in the sedimentary layers of rocks. True or False

A

True

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3
Q

New sedimentary rock layers are almost always flat. True or False

A

True

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4
Q

Sedimentary rocks are not formed from fragments of other types of rocks. True or false

A

False

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5
Q

This is used to determine whether an object or event is older or younger than other objects

A

Relative Dating

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6
Q

What kind of principle of relative dating states that sedimentary rocks are originally formed in Horizontal layers.?

A

Law of original horizontality

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7
Q

Horizontality occurs in an area of land that is forced to bend. True or False

A

True

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8
Q

What kind of principle of relative dating states that rock layers above are younger than the ones below it?

A

Law of superposition

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9
Q

What kind of principle of relative dating states that any rock or fault that cuts across other rocks is younger than those it cuts across?

A

Principles of cross-cutting relationship

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10
Q

What kind of principle of relative dating states that new forms in regions of separation?

A

Idea of unconformities

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11
Q

These are surfaces of erosions that separate younger rocks from older ones.

A

Unconformities

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12
Q

The method of measuring the absolute age of an event or object.

A

Absolute dating

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13
Q

To determine the absolute ages of rocks and fossils, what does scientists analyzes?

A

Isotopes of radioactive elements

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14
Q

These are atoms of the same element that have similar number of protons but different numbers of neutrons.

A

Isotopes

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15
Q

What do you call unstable isotopes in which they break down into stable isotopes or other elements?

A

Radioactive

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16
Q

What do you call an unstable radioactive isotope?

A

Parent isotope

17
Q

What do you call a stable isotope produced by the radioactive decay?

A

Daughter isotope

18
Q

The more daughter material there is, the older the rock. True or False

A

True

19
Q

Time needed for half of a sample of a radioactive substance to undergo radioactive decay

A

Half-life

20
Q

A method achieved by determining the absolute age of a sample based on the ratio of parent material to daughter material.

A

Radiometric dating

21
Q

A kind of radiometric that uses potassium-40, which has a half-life of 1.25 billion years

A

potassium-argon

22
Q

A kind of radiometric that uses uranium-238, which has a half-life of 4.5 billion years

A

uranium-lead

23
Q

A kind of radiometric that uses rubidium-87, which has a half-life of 49 billion years

A

rubidium-strontium

24
Q

A kind of radiometric that is used mainly for dating things that lived within the last 50,000 years, which has a half-life of 5,730 years.

A

carbon-14

25
Q

The remnant of any ancient animal or plant that has been preserved in crystallize rocks

A

fossils

26
Q

The age of the fossil is not equal to the age of the rock from where it is found. True or False

A

False

27
Q

The system used to related stratigraphy and time to any geologic events

A

Geologic Timescale

28
Q

Who was given a title as “the Father of Stratigraphy”?

A

Nicholas Steno

29
Q

What eon did the vast bulk of the Earth’s history occurred?

A

Precambrian

30
Q

What eon is considered as the “chaotic eon”?

A

Hadean

31
Q

The eon or period when Earth became warm but the atmosphere contained only methane

A

Archean

32
Q

The eon when the atmosphere began to have oxygen

A

Proterozoic

33
Q

An era where fossils of marine invertebrates were formed in sedimentary rocks

A

Paleozoic

34
Q

An era where marine life forms developed shells

A

Middle Paleozoic

35
Q

The period where animals began to breathe air as amphibians came out of the sea

A

Devonian

36
Q

An era where reptiles started to appear like dinosaurs

A

Late Paleozoic

37
Q

The era that was marked by the breakup of the major landmasses

A

Mesozoic

38
Q

The era where mountains are uplifted and new life forms appeared

A

Cenozoic

Earth life and science (4 decks)

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