Geologic Time
What is the era we live in? It is also referred to as the "age of the mammals"
Cenozoic Era
This type of fossil is the result of tree sap encapsulating an organism
Resin or amber
This type of fossil dating compares strata in which fossils are found to organisms found in other strata
Relative Dating
The name of the layers of rock fossils are found in.
Strata
The process by which smaller particles accumulate and form into larger bodies
Accretion
The era that is referred to as the "age of the reptiles"
Mesozoic Era
This type of fossilization replaces organic material with stone
Petrification
Radiometric dating gives an accurate age to a fossil. What type of dating is this referred to as?
Absolute Dating
The law referring to the concept that deeper layers of rock are older and shallow layers are newer
Law of Superposition
The name of the planetary object that impacted the earth and led to the formation of the moon
Theia
This is the era that represents the longest period of time on earth
Precambrian
This is the term referring to fossilized feces
Coprolite
This is the length of time required for half of the radioactive atoms in a sample to decay, which helps scientists determine the age of a fossil
Half-life
The era in which there are the fewest fossils found due to lack of lifeforms and age of the earth
Precambrian
The surface of the earth was ___________after the larger impacts during earth's formation.
Molten rock
The earth is approximately__________years old
4.6 billion
These are the oldest organisms found in the fossil record that performed photosynthesis
Cyanobacteria
This type of radiometric dating is the most used form to determine the age of organisms up to 50,000 years old.
Radiocarbon Dating
The idea scientists held onto before continental drift that explained identical prehistoric fossil finds across the Atlantic ocean
Land bridges
The earth has a constant tilt and is regulated by the gravity of Venus and Jupiter, as well as the pull exerted from _________.
The process by which deeper rock strata are revealed by geologic processes.
Uplift
These fossils do not contain actual parts of an organism but are evidence of an organism's presence.
Trace fossils
These fossils help paleontologists classify strata, are easily identified, live during short spans of time, and are found over a large geographic area.
Index fossils
What did the trees that lived in the carboniferous period eventually turn into?
Coal/carbon deposit
The process by which continents drift toward and away from each other over a long period of time
Continental drift