vocabulary

Question 1

A principle that states that geologic change occurs suddenly

Answer 1

catastrophism

Question 2

The scientific study of fossils

Answer 2

paleontology

Question 3

any method of determining whether an event or object is older or younger than other events or objects

Answer 3

relative dating

Question 4

A rock that forms from compressed or cemented layers of sediment

Answer 4

sedimentary rock

Question 5

A principle that states that younger rocks lie above older rocks if the layers have not been disturbed

Answer 5

superstition

Question 6

A break in the geologic record created rock layers are eroded or when sediment is not deposited for a long period of time

Answer 6

unconformity

Question 7

the principle that a fault or body of rock is younger than any other body of rock that cuts through it

Answer 7

law of crosscutting relationships

Question 8

any method of measuring the age of an event or object in years

Answer 8

absolute dating

Question 9

the process in which a radioactive isotope tends to break down into a stable isotope of the same element or another element

Answer 9

radioactive decay

Question 10

a method of determining the age of an object by estimating the relative percentages of a radio active(parent) isotope and a stable(daughter) isotope

Answer 10

radiometric dating

Question 11

A principle that geologic processes that occurred in the past can be explained by current geologic processes

Answer 11

uniformitarianism