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fossils
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Abiotic/Physical | Non-Living factors such as erosion, wind and sun exposure |
| Benthic | Living in the bottom of the ocean |
| Biological/Biotic Factors | Living factors such as decomposers, scavengers and predators |
| Body Fossil | Body parts of organisms that become fossils, such as bones, teeth, skin, leaves, tree trunks. |
| Cast | Fossils formed when water containing minerals leaks into a mold. The minerals harden to form a copy of the original structure or organism. |
| Compression | Fossils formed when an organism is flattened (compressed) and a thin film of organic material from its body is left in the rock |
| Coprolite | Fossilized feces |
| Decomposer | An organism that breaks down the tissue and/or structures of dead organisms |
| Erosion | Weathering or wearing away of rock and earth (and any fossils they contain) caused by wind, sun, and/or water |
| Fossil | The natural remains or traces of past life. Something is considered to be a fossil if it is at least 10,000 years old |
| Fossil Record | ALL of the fossils that have existed throughout life’s history, whether they have been found or not |
| Geologic Maps | Maps that show the types and ages of rock of an area. These maps are used by paleontologists to find areas that are likely to contain fossils they are interested in |
| Groundwater | Water found underground as a result of rainfall, ice and snow melt, submerged rivers, lakes, and springs. This water often carries minerals. These minerals can accumulate in the remains of buried organisms and eventually cause fossilization. |
| Ichnology | The study of trace fossils. |
| Igneous Rock | Type of rock produced when molten magma (lava) cools and solidifies |
| Impression | Prints or marks made when an organism’s body has been compressed (flattened). Impressions are different from compressions because no thin organic material is left behind |
| Inorganic | Not containing carbon. Not from living things. Ex., minerals, water, oxygen, etc. |
| Intertidal | The coastal zone measuring from the lowest to the highest tide mark. The intertidal zone is subject to alternating periods of flooding and drying. |
| Macroscopic | Objects or organisms that are large enough to be seen with the naked eye |
| Metamorphic Rock | Rock produced when any type of rock is changed by heat, pressure, and chemical activity in the Earth |
| Microscopic | Objects or organisms that are too small to be seen with the naked eye |
| Mineralization | The process of replacing any organism’s original material with a mineral |
| Mold | Fossils formed when the sediment surrounding a buried organism hardens. When the organism decays, its impression is left in the rock and can be seen if the rock is broken open |
| Organic | Containing carbon. Also refers to characteristic features of living things |
| Paleontology | The study of life in the past. Paleontologists are people who study fossils and other types of evidence to learn about life in the past |
| Plate tectonics | The concept that explains the movement of the Earth’s crustal plates, sea floor spreading, and a number of other geologic processes of the Earth’s surface |
| Permineralized | Fossilization process that occurs when minerals, carried by ground water, enter and harden in the pores of an organism’s structures |
| Replacement | Fossilization process that occurs when an organism is completely decomposed and replaced by minerals |
| Rock Cycle | The process through which one type of rock (igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic) is converted into another |
| Scavenger | An organism that feeds upon dead and dying organisms. |
| Sedimentary Rock | Rock that is formed when layers of small particles (sediment) are compressed and cemented together |
| Trace fossil | Evidence left by organisms, such as burrows, imprints, coprolites, or footprints. Trace fossils are not preserved parts of the organism |
| Uplift | The process that causes part of the Earth’s crust to rise above surrounding areas. This can cause layers of rock to become exposed at the surface |
| Relative Age | rocks age compared to other rocks |
| absolute age | years since rock was formed |
| law of superposition | every layer higher the younger the rocks gets |
| extrusion | lava hardens on the suface |
| intrusion | where magma leaks into rocks |
| fault | a break in earth's crust |
| unconformity | where a new rock layer is added |
| inclusion | a rock that contains another rock |
| index fossil | fossil of distributed organisms that lived for a short time. |
| atoms | tiny particles |
| element | substance that can't be broken down |
| radioactive decay | process which elements decay |
| half-life | time it takes for half the elements to decay in a radioactive element |
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