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Unit 4

Earth's History

QuestionAnswer
absolute dating determining the actual age of an event or object.
catastrophism the principle that states that all geologic change occurs suddenly.
climate describes the weather conditions in an area over a long period of time.
daughter isotope stable isotope
dike vertical igneous rock intrusion.
fossil record all of the fossils that have been discovered on Earth.
fossils trace or remains of an organism that lived long ago.
geologic column an ordered arrangement of rock layers based on relative ages of rock. (younger on top, older toward the bottom)
geologic time scale divisions of Earth's history based on major events or changes on Earth.
geology the scientific study of the origin, history, and structure of Earth and the processes that shape it.
half life the time needed for half of a radioactive substance to decay to form a stable substance.
ice core long cylinders of ice used to study precipitation and atmospheric conditions of an area.
index fossil fossils that are used to estimate the absolute age of the rock layers in which they are found.
intrusion an igneous rock that forms when magma is injected into rock and hardens.
isotope atoms of the same element that have a different number of neutrons.
law of crosscutting law that states that a fault or a body of rock must be younger than any feature or layer of rock that the fault or body cuts through.
parent isotope radioactive isotope (unstable)
radioactive unstable element
radioactive decay the breakdown of a radioactive isotope into a stable isotope of the same element or of another element.
radiometric dating comparing relative percentages of parent to daughter isotopes.
relative dating determining whether an object or event is older or younger than other objects or events.
sill horizontal igneous rock intrusion.
superposition law that states younger rocks lie above older rocks if the layers have not been disturbed.
trace fossil a fossilized structure that formed in sedimentary rock by animal activity on or in soft sediment.
unconformity a break in the geologic record that is made when rock layers are eroded or when sediment is not deposited for a long period of time.
uniformitarianism principle that states that geologic processes that happened in the past, continue to happen and will happen in the future.
Created by: palmer_wwms
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