The principle of uniformitarianism States that geologic processes that happened in the past can be explained by current geologic processes

Fossils are the trace or remains of an organism that lived long ago, most commonly preserved in sedimentary rock.

Trace fossil is a fossilized structure that formed in sedimentary rock by animal activity on or in soft sediment.

The climate of an area describes the weather conditions in the area over a long period of time.

Scientists can drill down into icecaps to collect a long cylinder of ice, called an ice core.

Determining whether an object or event is older or younger than other objects or events is called relative dating.

The law of superposition is the principle that states that younger rocks lie above older rocks if the layers have not been disturbed.

An unconformity is 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.

A geologic column is an ordered arrangement of rock layers that is based on the relative ages of the rocks, with the oldest rocks at the bottom of the column.

Determining the actual age of an event or object in years is called absolute dating.

The breakdown of a radioactive isotope into a stable isotope of the same element or of another element is called radioactive decay.

Half-life is the time needed for half of a sample of a radioactive substance to undergo radioactive decay to form daughter isotopes.

Finding the absolute age of a sample by determining the relative percentages of a radioactive parent isotope and a stable daughter isotope is called radiometric dating.

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unit 7 vocab

Earths History

Term	Definition
Uniformitarianism	The principle of uniformitarianism States that geologic processes that happened in the past can be explained by current geologic processes
Fossil	Fossils are the trace or remains of an organism that lived long ago, most commonly preserved in sedimentary rock.
Trace fossil	Trace fossil is a fossilized structure that formed in sedimentary rock by animal activity on or in soft sediment.
Climate	The climate of an area describes the weather conditions in the area over a long period of time.
ice core	Scientists can drill down into icecaps to collect a long cylinder of ice, called an ice core.
Relative Dating	Determining whether an object or event is older or younger than other objects or events is called relative dating.
superposition	The law of superposition is the principle that states that younger rocks lie above older rocks if the layers have not been disturbed.
unconformity	An unconformity is 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.
geologic column	A geologic column is an ordered arrangement of rock layers that is based on the relative ages of the rocks, with the oldest rocks at the bottom of the column.
absolute dating	Determining the actual age of an event or object in years is called absolute dating.
radioactive decay	The breakdown of a radioactive isotope into a stable isotope of the same element or of another element is called radioactive decay.
half life	Half-life is the time needed for half of a sample of a radioactive substance to undergo radioactive decay to form daughter isotopes.
radiometric dating	Finding the absolute age of a sample by determining the relative percentages of a radioactive parent isotope and a stable daughter isotope is called radiometric dating.

Created by: jorge kahwati

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