1. The Rock and Fossil Record Review Game
Inside the Restless Earth Chapter 3
6th Grade
Mrs. Boguslaw

2. What is the name of the principle that states that geologic processes that happened in the past are still going on today?
uniformitarianism

3. What is the name of the principle that states that geologic change happens suddenly?
catastrophism

4. the scientific study of fossils
What is paleontology?
the scientific study of fossils

5. What do scientists think killed off the dinosaurs?
asteroid strike

6. I have a stack of 7 makeup tests to grade
I have a stack of 7 makeup tests to grade. The bottom test was taken two weeks ago. The top test was taken today. Based on this, I determined that the 4th test was taken about one week ago. What type of dating did I use?
relative dating

7. What is the name of this principle
What is the name of this principle? If rock layers have not been disturbed, younger layers are on top of older layers.
superposition

8. What is the two-word term for the ideal sequence of rock layers that contains all known fossils and rock formations on Earth, arranged from oldest to youngest?
the geologic column

9. Where on Earth does the geologic column exist?
Nowhere! It’s an ideal sequence, it doesn’t exist in real life.

10. Name two types of events that can disturb rock layers.
folding, tilting, faults, or intrusions

11. What is the term for a break in the geologic record created when rock layers are eroded or when sediment is not deposited for a long time?
unconformity

12. What are the three types of unconformities we learned about?
disconformities, nonconformities, angular unconformities

13. Which type of unconformity is this?
Angular unconformity

14. Which type of unconformity do we have if a rock layer is missing?
disconformity

15. Any method of measuring the age of an event or object in years is called __________ dating.
absolute

16. Atoms of the same element that have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons are called _________.
isotopes

17. The two-word process in which radioactive isotopes break down into something more stable is called __________________.
radioactive decay

18. What is a half-life?
the time needed for half of a sample of a radioactive substance to decay into something more stable

19. You start with a radioactive substance
You start with a radioactive substance. After three half-lives, what fraction of the sample is stil radioactive?
1/8

20. You start with 800g of carbon-14
You start with 800g of carbon-14. After 4 half-lives, how much of the radioactive parent material will be left?
50g

21. Hardened tree sap that can preserve a fossil
What is amber?
Hardened tree sap that can preserve a fossil

22. Which part of an organism can be preserved better, hard tissue or soft tissue?

23. Organisms decay slower in ______ temperatures.
cold

24. __________ is when minerals replace an organism’s tissues.
petrification

25. A _______ fossil is a fossilized mark that is formed by the movement of an animal.
trace

26. What are index fossils?
Fossils of organisms that only lived for a short time that can help us determine the age of rock layers

27. Put these in order, from longest to shortest: epoch, eon, era, period
eon, era, period, epoch

28. The death of every member of a species is called what?
extinction

29. Which era was called the “Age of Reptiles?
Mesozoic era

30. Using the chart on p. 82, the Silurian period started about how many years ago?
444 million

31. Using the chart on p. 82, which era included the Permian period?
Paleozoic

32. Using the chart on p. 82, what eon are we in now?
Phanerozoic eon