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Relative Age of Rock
Bonnie Branch 6th Grade - 9-2 / Finding the Relative Age of Rocks
Terms | Definition |
---|---|
relative age | A rock's age compared to the ages of other rocks. |
absolute age | The number of years since the rock formed. |
law of superposition | In horizontal sedimentary rock layers, the oldest is on the bottom and each higher layer is younger than the layer beneath it. |
uncomformity | A gap in the geologic record showing where some rock layers have been lost because of erosion. |
fault | A break in Earth's crust. |
intrusion | An igneous rock layer forms when magma pushes into bodies of rock beneath the surface and cools (always younger than the rock layers it pushed into). |
extrusion | Lava that cools and hardens into igneous rock on the surface (always younger than the layers below it). |
index fossil | A fossil that is widely distributed and represents a type of organism that existed only briefly. |