Geological Record

Question 1

Paleontology

Answer 1

reconstructing the evolutionary past from fossils

Question 2

Original Horizontality

Answer 2

sediments tend to build up horizontally

Question 3

Superposition

Answer 3

newer layers get deposited on top

Question 4

Cross-Cutting Relationships

Answer 4

a diagonal cross-cutting layer must be younger than the horizontal layers it cuts

Question 5

Faunal Succession

Answer 5

deepest layers have oldest organisms

Question 6

Uniformitarianism

Answer 6

modern geological processes given enough time can explain all modern geological formations

Question 7

Geochronology

Answer 7

dating geological formations based on sediment layers, faunal associations, or geomagnetic polarity

Question 8

Chronometric dating

Answer 8

dating geological formations based on radiometric dating or comparing to other organic materials in the fossil

Question 9

Paleosol soils

Answer 9

soils that form under moist conditions

Question 10

Loess soils

Answer 10

soils that form under dry conditions (wind blown)

Question 11

Pre-Cambrian Eon

Answer 11

before macroscopic life

Question 12

Phanerozoic Eon

Answer 12

eon that contains the Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic eras

Question 13

Paleozoic Era

Answer 13

age before dinosaurs

Question 14

Mesozoic Era

Answer 14

age of dinosaurs

Question 15

Cenozoic Era

Answer 15

after dinosaurs

Question 16

Tertiary period

Answer 16

before glaciers

Question 17

Quaternary period

Answer 17

after glaciers

Question 18

Paleocene

Answer 18

mammals radiate

Question 19

Eocene

Answer 19

true primates evolve

Question 20

Oligocene

Answer 20

anthropoids evolve

Question 21

Miocene

Answer 21

great apes evolve

Question 22

Pliocene

Answer 22

hominins evolve

Question 23

Pleistocene

Answer 23

homosapiens evolve

Question 24

Holocene

Answer 24

after the demise of North American megafauna