Geology Unit Review

The continuous processes of forming and destroying rocks on Earth is known as what? Rock Cycle

What do we call an established amount of time it takes for decaying atoms of a given element to lose half its original mass ? Elemental half-life

Ice Cores give scientists the most information about what kind of changes over time on Earth? Atmosphere or climate

When an organism dies, decays and minerals enter the cavity creating a replica of the fossil, what kind of fossil is produced ? Cast fossil

What do we call the method of determining age of a fossil or rock layer compared to other fossils or rock layers ? Relative Dating

How do scientists determine that species of related organisms have changed over time? The fossil record

What kind of fossils are made from organisms caught in tar, amber or ice – where their true form remains for study ? Preserve fossil

A fossil found only in a narrow geological time period which can be used as a marker for relative dating in a given layer of rock is called what? Index fossil

What would the relative age of an igneous intrusion which runs through two layers of sedimentary rock be compared to the sedimentary rock? The intrusion is younger

What do we call the Scientific Principle which states: “In undisturbed strata of rock, the lower strata are older than the higher strata?” Law of Superposition

Scientists are studying volcanic rocks in Hawaii, what kind of rocks are they most likely to encounter? igneous

A temperature difference which causes hot fluids to rise and cold fluids to sink (fluids ‐ liquids & gases) create what? Convection Current

A disturbance in the geological column, which produces missing layers is known as what? Unconformity

Using radioactive isotopes to determine the approximate age of a fossil in years is known as what ? Absolute Dating

Rocks which have been formed through extensive heat and pressure to form new kinds of rock from the old rock material are classified as what kind of rock? Metamorphic Rock

Marine fossils found on mountain tops are indications that the distribution of the Earth’s what have been changing over time? Oceans

Fossils from organisms that are only found during a narrow range of geologic time make good what? Index fossils

A footprint, burrow, or other evidence of the presence of an organism is known as what kind of fossil? Trace Fossil

The Single Super-continent that included all current land masses which broke apart 200 million years ago is known as what? Pangaea

What type of rock are fossils most likely to be found? Sedimentary

When Tectonic Plates collide or are pushing towards each other, what kind of Tectonic Plate Boundaries is it? Convergent

Formation of new areas of oceanic crust due to magma rising at mid-ocean ridges and moving outward is known as what? Sea Floor Spreading

A theory developed by Alfred Wegener based on fossil plant and animal evidence that states that continents on Earth are in constant, slow motion caused by Plate Tectonics and Convection Currents in the mantle is known as what ? Theory of Continental Drift

The natural process where individuals with the most successful adaptations pass their characteristics on to the next generation in greater numbers is known as what? Natural Selection

What is the most likely explanation for bat wings and whale fins to have similar functioning bone structure? They had a common ancestor

What is the primary method that scientists have used to determine that the Earth has rocks that are more than 4 billion years old? Radiometric or Absolute dating

Material drilled from ice or Earth crustal material to determine historical data is referred to as what? Core Samples

Rock that surrounds a cast and takes on the shape like a clay mold, is what kind of fossil ? Mold Fossil

How are Bird wings and Butterfly wings related? They are analogous structures

What kind of fossil would best help determine the relative age of a particular rock layer? Index Fossil

Rocks which have been formed by the cooling of magma or lava into solid are classified as what kind of rock ? Igneous

A rock sample has only 25% of the original radioactive parent material and that material has an elemental half-life of 100,000 years. Approximately how old is the rock? 200,000 years old

Rocks which have been formed through deposition and cementation. Also included rock formed from living organisms such as limestone and coal are classified as what kind of rock? Sedimentary Rock

What kind of structures of organisms support the idea that organisms have common ancestors? Homologous Structures

The system of chronological measurement by which we retrace the geologic and life history of the Earth from its formation 4.6 billion years ago to the present day using Eons, Eras and Periods is collectively known as what? Geologic Time Scale

What direction did Pangaea first split? North to South

When genetic variability is low, how does that relate to that species’ ability to adapt to changes in the environment? Ability to adapt is also low

Butterflies of a certain species change color over time to look like their poisonous relatives. What kind of adaptation is that? protective

Lava that hardens on the surface of the Earth. The rock layers below this rock layer are always older than this rock layer. What do we call this? Extrusion

Where Tectonic Plates move away from each other are classified as what kind of Tectonic Plate Boundaries? divergent

What might explain why the fossils of an organism that are found at lower layers of rock but not in upper layers of rock? The organism became extinct

When Tectonic Plates are sliding past one another it is what kind of Tectonic Plate Boundary? Transform

What kind of dating is the most accurate method of determining the age of a fossil? Radioactive dating

Where magma pushes into other rock layers and cools beneath the surface. These are always younger than the rock layers around and beneath it are called what Intrusions

Theory explaining the structure of the Earth's crust & resulting interactions between the rigid plates that move slowly over the underlying mantle is known as what? Plate Tectonics

Where would you expect to find the most earthquake activity in the crust of the Earth? Near tectonic plate boundaries

Cracks in rock which allow movement are known as what? Faults

Structures of different organisms which function in the same way but may accomplish different tasks indicating a common path of development are what kind of structures? Homologous