Paleontology Flashcards

What is Paleontology?

When the Ancient Chinese discovered the first dinosaur fossils so little was our understanding of the world -- the natural conclusion was they were dragon remains.

And in 1676 when a huge thigh bone was dug up in England by a no doubt surprised Reverend Plot; this time the bone was thought to be from a giant!  

The word “Fossils” comes from Latin to mean “dug up” and we have been digging up a treasure trove of animal and plant imprints and remains for thousands of years. Paleontology is the fascinating study of fossils and life from early geologic periods.

Paleontological studies have developed our understanding not just of evolution but also ancient civilizations and cultures.

The subject can be described as a cross between biology and geology and uses techniques gathered from many areas including mathematics, biochemistry, engineering and other sciences.

Careers in Paleontology

If you think a career in paleontology is for you, then you’ll need to study for six to eight years. Undergraduate courses in geology, chemistry, statistics, zoology, paleontology, mineralogy, or biology can all lead onto a postgraduate paleontology doctorate.

Postgraduates can consider the following roles:

Professor

Museum Curator

Science Journalist

Paleontologist

Palynologist

Stratigrapher

Geoscientist

Paleontologists often pursue a career in academia, working in universities or natural history museums. As a paleontologist working in a university, the main duty would be to deliver lectures, as well as carrying out research. If your goal is to get out there in the field, collecting and classifying fossils, then keeping fit is important too! It might even be a prerequisite of the position you are physically strong and can handle challenging terrain as well as excavation work in remote areas.

Alternatively, paleontology students can become geoscientists who specialize in the study of organic matter in sediment, and stratigraphy, the study of rock layers, which are key in the extraction of oil and gas.

Salaries for educational paleontologists tend to be lower than for geoscientists working in the petroleum industry. Median salaries for paleontologists are around $90,000 whilst geoscientists working in oil and gas extraction earn a median salary in excess of $150,000.

If you’re thinking about a career in paleontology, then check out these ten great tips to get ahead. You can also check out this video which follows A Day in the Life of Carthage College Paleontologist Dr. Thomas Carr. The Paleontological Society is a great place to find out more or The Paleontological Research Institution also has a cool site to check out.

Learning Paleontology

There are tons of subjects linked to paleontology and you can “dig in” to them all in Brainscape: Developmental biology, Plant Ecology,  Embryology,  Epigenetics,  Evolutionary biology, Genetics, Genomics, Marine biology, Microbiology, Molecular biology,  Neuroscience, Pathology, Phylogenetics, Taxonomy, and Zoology.

Paleontology is an incredibly scientific study area, and the syllabus consequently contains a large amount of scientific terminology, facts, theories, models, and concepts. Paleontology students must hone practical research skills and techniques and become experts at the analytical recording and interpretation of data.  

Brainscape is an excellent educational tool enabling students to commit essential information to memory leading to excellence in professional practice.

Paleontology in Brainscape

There are thousands of Paleontology flashcards to study from all prepared by top professors and students, with every kind of subject from Molluscs to Dinosaurs.

Studying Paleontology at college means you’ll have to get great SAT scores. Both Brainscape and Next Step Test preparation have worked in partnership to prepare premium course content for both your AP Biology and AP Chemistry exams.

Alternatively, why not write your own notecards from your own coursework and create your own individual learning catalog, to access from your device whenever you like? You can keep your flashcards private or share them with the Brainscape community to become a valued contributor.

Learn faster with Brainscape

Brainscape’s revolutionary learning system known as Confidence-Based Repetition or CBR  is changing the way the world is learning. The remarkable system developed by cognitive scientists allows students to learn twice as fast and remember longer.

Many medical doctors and doctors of academia across America attribute Brainscape as being the difference between success and failure in their studies. So what makes Brainscape so effective?

The Brainscape system is a unique hybrid of three proven learning methods: spaced repetition, active recall, and metacognition.  

The first of these, spaced repetition is a proven method of learning, dating back nearly a century. The flashcard format is a perfect example of spaced repetition in action. In Brainscape, the learner is shown bite-sized pieces of information in a high-quality effortless user-friendly flashcard format.

CBR also uses active recall, the process of retrieving information. In Brainscape, you’ll be working hard to retrieve answers in no set pattern. As you do so, the neural pathways are strengthened and the memory trace is too. Therefore, the next time you need that information, it will be easier for you to retrieve.

The final part of the CBR turbocharged learning engine is the use of the individual learner’s metacognitive response to power the algorithm. Only Brainscape incorporates this key element in the optimal learning technique.

Each time a flashcard is delivered in Brainscape you’ll rate your understanding from 1-5. The algorithm will then shuffle the deck according to your response. The flashcards with the lowest scores will be repeated frequently until you record higher ratings. Notecards that you rate as a “5” will only be shown to recap allowing you the time to focus on your weak areas. Moreover, this technique allows you to learn optimally unlike traditional learning and other computer-aided learning tools.

Another great thing about Brainscape is that you can set aside time and study at your PC and you can also access Brainscape from your iOS device, so you can make use of a spare ten minutes anytime throughout the day.

Brainscape is proving to be the solution for thousands of students. To try it out today, read on.

How to get started

It couldn’t be easier to get started with Brainscape.

We have thousands of decks prepared by top experts and students, just browse the decks below and you’ll see flashcards ranging from the Cretaceous--Paleogene extinction event to the Cretaceous--Tertiary boundary. Just choose any subject to start learning now. The flashcards are free to use and keep on using.

If you have your own individual learning style, then you can make your own flashcards and use Brainscape’s CBR technique. Just click on “make flashcards” now and see how easy it is.

We wish you all the best in your Paleontology studies. Happy learning from the Brainscape team!