DETERMINING RELATIVE AGE 12/7/15 DETERMINING RELATIVE AGE Objective: I will utilize relative aging techniques and then apply the law of superposition to determine fossil history. PAGE 45

UNIFORMITARIANISM STATES THAT GEOLOGIC PROCESSES IN THE PAST CAN BE EXPLAINED BY CURRENT PROCESSES FIRST PROPOSED BY JAMES HUTTON IN 1794 BEFORE HIS RESEARCH, PEOPLE THOUGHT EARTH WAS AROUND 6000 YEARS OLD HUTTON REALIZED GEOLOGIC PROCESSES ARE OFTEN SLOW, TAKING MILLIONS OF YEARS BY STUDYING THE PRESENT, WE COULD LEARN ABOUT EARTH’S PAST

RELATIVE AGE AGE OF AN OBJECT IN RELATION TO THE AGES OF OTHER OBJECTS SCIENTISTS MOSTLY STUDY LAYERS OF SEDIMENTARY ROCK TO DETERMINE RELATIVE AGE OF STRATA STRATA- ANOTHER NAME FOR LAYERS OF ROCK

LAW OF SUPERPOSITION IF LEFT UNDISTURBED, A ROCK LAYER IS: OLDER THAN THE LAYERS ABOVE IT YOUNGER THAN THE LAYERS BELOW IT REMAINS OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS CAN BE TRAPPED IN A ROCK LAYER AND FORM FOSSILS BY APPLYING THE LAW OF SUPERPOSITION, SCIENTISTS CAN DETERMINE THE RELATIVE AGES OF PREHISTORIC LIFE FORMS

YOUNGEST OLDEST

PRINCIPLE OF ORIGINAL HORIZONTALITY SEDIMENTARY ROCK LEFT UNDISTURBED WILL REMAIN IN HORIZONTAL LAYERS LAYERS THAT ARE NOT HORIZONTAL HAVE BEEN TILTED OR DEFORMED BY TECTONIC PROCESSES