science Flashcards
What are abiotic/physical factors?
Non-living factors such as erosion, wind and sun exposure.
What does ‘benthic’ refer to?
Living at the bottom of the ocean or on the ocean floor.
What are biological/biotic factors?
Living factors such as decomposers, scavengers and predators.
What is a body fossil?
Body parts of organisms that become fossils, such as bones, teeth, skin, leaves, and tree trunks.
What is a cast in paleontology?
Casts are formed when sediment leaks into a mold and hardens to form a copy of the original structure.
What is compression in relation to fossils?
Fossils formed when an organism is flattened (compressed) leaving a dark stain in the rock.
What is a coprolite?
Fossilized feces.
Define decomposer.
An organism that breaks down the tissue and/or structures of dead organisms.
What is erosion?
Weathering or wearing away of rock and earth caused by wind, sun and water.
What qualifies something to be considered a fossil?
The natural remains or traces of past life that are at least 10,000 years old.
What is the fossil record?
All of the fossils that exist, whether dug up or still in the earth, providing a record of the history of life on Earth.
What are geologic maps?
Maps that depict the rock units that crop out at Earth’s surface.
What is groundwater?
Water found underground as a result of rainfall, ice and snow melt, submerged rivers, lakes and springs.
What is ichnology?
The study of trace fossils.
What type of rock is produced when molten magma cools and solidifies?
Igneous rock.
What is an impression in paleontology?
Fossilized prints or marks made by a living thing.
Fill in the blank: Inorganic means _______.
Not containing carbon. Not from living things.
What does intertidal refer to?
The coastal zone between the low and high tide mark where waves impact the land.
What does macroscopic mean?
Visible to the naked eye; not microscopic.
What is metamorphic rock?
Rock produced when any type of rock is changed by heat, pressure, and chemical activity in the Earth.
What does microscopic mean?
So small as to be visible only with a microscope.
What is mineralization?
The process whereby living material is replaced with minerals.
What is a mold in paleontology?
The impression of an organism left behind in the rock.
Fill in the blank: Organic refers to _______.
Relating to or derived from living matter.
