fossils Relative age of rocks Radioactive dating Sedimentary Rocks evidence
Question are the preserved remains or traces of living things.
Answer 1 – 10 fossils
Question Fossils provide evidence of
Answer 1 – 20 how life has changed over time
Question a hollow area in sediment in the shape of or part of an organism.
Answer 1 – 30 mold
Question evidence of the history of life and past environments on Earth is called
Answer 1 – 40 The fossil record
Question When sediments bury an organism releasing some gases leaving carbon behind this is called:
Answer 1 – 50 Carbon film
Question The number of years since the rock formed
Answer 2 – 10 absolute age
Question In horizontal sedimentary rocks, the oldest layer is at the bottom and the newest layer is on the top and determines the relative ages of rocks
Answer 2 – 20 The Law of Superposition
Question the surface where new rock meets up with a much older rock surface.
Answer 2 – 30 Unconformity
Question What is an index fossil?
Answer 2 – 40 A fossil that is widely distributed and represents a type of organism that only existed briefly
Question Index fossils are useful because-
Answer 2 – 50 tell the relative ages of rock layers by how they occur
Question As elements break down over time they release particles and energy in a process called
Answer 3 – 10 radioactive decay
Question How fast or slow the radioactive elements decay is always constant (never changing) and the rate of decay is called
Answer 3 – 20 half-life
Question Very useful in dating rocks because it has a long half-life
Answer 3 – 30 Potassium-Argon Dating
Question When carbon-14 is left in an organism, scientists measure this amount that is left to find absolute age. Is the carbon-14 the radioactive element or the new element formed?
Answer 3 – 40 radioactive
Question Is Carbon-14 good for dating rocks? Why/ Why not?
Answer 3 – 50 No Carbon-14 is only good for dating plants and animals that contain carbon and only dates up to 50,000 years
Question What is sediment?
Answer 4 – 10 Small particles of rock and remains of living things
Question How does sedimentary rock form?
Answer 4 – 20 When sediments build up in layers and harden
Question Why is it hard to determine relative age of sedimentary rock that has a fault in it?
Answer 4 – 30 Movements along the fault cause layers to not line up
Question What are the steps on how fossils typically form in sedimentary rocks?
Answer 4 – 40 Organism dies Organism is buried by sediment Sediment hardens and preserves fossil
Question Why is Radioactive dating is good for igneous rocks but not sedimentary rocks
Answer 4 – 50 Scientists can date particles but not layers in sedimentary rocks. Scientists can only date solid rocks.
Question A fossil that shows an organisms activity, not the actual organism is called:
Answer 5 – 10 Trace fossil
Question If coal is found in Antarctica, this shows evidence of
Answer 5 – 20 Past climates
Question Fossils found in dry plains and plateaus show
Answer 5 – 30 Evidence of past environments
Question Fossils occurring in a particular order such as simple organisms coming before more complex ones is evidence of
Answer 5 – 40 Change in the fossil record
Question Geologists identifying an organism based on structure of shells and based on those differences can identify rock layers which certain fossils are found is evidence of how…
Answer 5 – 50 Scientists use index fossils to date rocks