The principle that the same natural laws and processes that operate in the present day have operated throughout geologic time.

The naturally preserved remains or traces of animals, plants, or other organisms from the past.

A fossil of a footprint, trail, burrow, or other indirect evidence of an organism's activity rather than of the organism itself.

The long-term weather patterns, conditions, and average temperature in a particular region

A core sample from a glacier or ice sheet that provides historical climate data through trapped air bubbles and layers of ice.

The science of determining the relative order of past events, without necessarily determining their absolute age.

The principle that in an undisturbed sequence of strata, the oldest layer is at the bottom and the youngest layer is at the top.

A break or gap in the geologic record, typically a surface of erosion or non-deposition that separates younger strata from older strata.

A theoretical composite diagram representing the entirety of geologic time, compiled from all known rock sequences and their relationships.

The process of determining an approximate computed age in chronology for a specific geological material or archaeological site.

The spontaneous disintegration of an unstable atomic nucleus, resulting in the emission of radiation and the formation of a more stable nucleus.

The time required for a quantity (such as the amount of a radioactive substance) to fall to half of its initial value.

A technique used to date materials such as rocks or carbon, in which trace radioactive impurities were selectively incorporated when they were formed.

Help

Options

focusNode

Didn't know it?
click below

Knew it?
click below

Don't Know

Remaining cards (0)

Know

retry

shuffle

restart

0:00

Embed Code - If you would like this activity on your web page, copy the script below and paste it into your web page.

Normal Size Small Size show me how

unit 7 Earth History

Vocab

Term	Definition
uniformitarianism	The principle that the same natural laws and processes that operate in the present day have operated throughout geologic time.
fossil	The naturally preserved remains or traces of animals, plants, or other organisms from the past.
trace fossil	A fossil of a footprint, trail, burrow, or other indirect evidence of an organism's activity rather than of the organism itself.
climate	The long-term weather patterns, conditions, and average temperature in a particular region
ice core	A core sample from a glacier or ice sheet that provides historical climate data through trapped air bubbles and layers of ice.
relative dating	The science of determining the relative order of past events, without necessarily determining their absolute age.
superposition	The principle that in an undisturbed sequence of strata, the oldest layer is at the bottom and the youngest layer is at the top.
unconformity	A break or gap in the geologic record, typically a surface of erosion or non-deposition that separates younger strata from older strata.
geologic column	A theoretical composite diagram representing the entirety of geologic time, compiled from all known rock sequences and their relationships.
absolute dating	The process of determining an approximate computed age in chronology for a specific geological material or archaeological site.
radioactive decay	The spontaneous disintegration of an unstable atomic nucleus, resulting in the emission of radiation and the formation of a more stable nucleus.
half-life	The time required for a quantity (such as the amount of a radioactive substance) to fall to half of its initial value.
radiometric dating	A technique used to date materials such as rocks or carbon, in which trace radioactive impurities were selectively incorporated when they were formed.

Created by: Javier velez

"Know" box contains:
Time elapsed:
Retries: