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Ch 3 -- Inside Earth
Inside Earth -- Ch 3 -- Rocks and Fossil Record
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| uniformitarianism | theory that the Earth is very old because it changes slowly with regular processes |
| catastrophism | theory that the Earth is not very old because it changed quickly with catastrophes |
| James Hutton | Scientist who believed in uniformitarianism |
| invertebrate paleontologist | studies the fossils of animals without backbones |
| vertebrate paleontologist | studies the fossils of animals with backbones |
| paleobotanist | studies the fossils of plants |
| modern geology | a mixture of uniformitarianism and catastrophism |
| relative dating | comparing rock layers to determine which are older |
| superposition | the theory that older rock layers are under younger rock layers |
| geologic column | the "perfect" layers of rocks that help scientists to know how layers should be....It doesn't really exist |
| unconformity | rock layers are missing which means information is missing...They are removed by erosion in most cases |
| 4 examples of disturbed rock layers | fault (break in the layers) Intrusion (magma squeezes in and solidifies) Folding (bending rock) Tilting (lifting rock) |
| absolute dating | determining the "exact" age of objects on earth by looking at the atoms |
| radiometric dating | dating objects by comparing the amount of stable and unstable atoms....a form of absolute dating |
| isotope | atoms with the same name (like carbon or oxygen) but some are stable and others are not |
| radioactive decay | atoms go from being unstable to stable at a consistent rate |
| half-life | the time it takes for half of the amount of atoms to become stable after being unstable |
| carbon-14 --> carbon-12 | 5,730 year half-life ---- Radioactive atoms inside humans (and other objects) |
| fossil | remains or physical evidence of an organism preserved by geological processes |
| 5 places to find fossils | Sedimentary rock, amber, petrification, asphalt (tar), and ice |
| trace fossil | evidence of animal activities in the past (fossilized tracks, burrows, and poop (coprolite)) |
| mold | the hole (cavity) left behind from animal activity or plants |
| cast | material that fills the mold and hardens |
| index fossil | a fossil with known ages which are used to date the layers of rock in which they are found |
| organisms and environment | 2 things that fossils can show change over time |
| geologic time scale | a method of dividing Earth's history into manageable parts to make it easier to study...It's the timeline of the Earth |
| 4 Divisions of Time | Eon (largest), Era, Period, Epoch (smallest) |
| extinction | the death of every member of a species |
| 3 eras discussed in class | paleozoic era (marine), mesozoic era (reptile), cenozoic era (mammal) |
Created by:
browngdavid
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