Index Fossils
What Time Period?
Relative Age
Absolute Age (& 1 vocab!)
Vocab
100
One of the characteristics of index fossils is that they are _________________. This means that there are LOTS of them around.
abundant
100
In what time period are we currently living?
Cenozoic Era
100
What does relative age tell about rock layers?
How old the rock layers are compared to the rocks around it.
100
Absolute age is also called ________________ dating
radiometric
100
Preserved remains of plant and animals from the remote past are called
fossils
200
One of the characteristics of index fossils is that they are easily ________________. This means you can easily tell what they are by looking at them.
recognizable
200
At which time was the EARLIEST life?
A. Precambrian Time
B. Paleozoic Era
C. Mesozoic Era
D. Cenozoic Era
A. Precambrian Time
200
What is the law that states that the older rocks are on the bottom and the younger rocks are on the top?
Law of Superposition
200
In radiometric dating, scientists use the ________-______ of an element to determine how old the rock is.
Half-life
200
The end of life for a group of organisms, usually a species, is called a(n)
extinction
300
One of the characteristics of index fossils is that they lived for a relatively _____________ period of time.
short
300
When did the supercontinent Pangea form?
A. Precambrian Time
B. Paleozoic Era
C. Mesozoic Era
D. Cenozoic Era
B. Paleozoic Era
300
Which rock layer is the oldest?
D
300
Is saying you are older than your brother an example of relative or absolute dating?
relative
300
A scientist that studies Earth's crust and the processes and history that shaped it is called a
geologist
400
One of the characteristics of index fossils is that they have a _____________ geographic distribution.
large or wide
400
When were there dinosaurs?
A. Precambrian Time
B. Paleozoic Era
C. Mesozoic Era
D. Cenozoic Era
C. Mesozoic Era
400
Which fossil would make the best index fossil?
A - it is in all the outcroppings (so it's abundant), only one layer (so it only lived a short amount of time), and is easily recognizable.
400
Is saying you are 12 years old and your sister is 15 an example of relative or absolute dating?
absolute
400
A branch of geology dealing with the arrangement of rock layers or strata
stratigraphy
500
If the same index fossils are found in different rock strata miles apart, what is probably true about the rock layers?
The rocks are probably the same age.
500
How old is the earth?
About 4.4 billion years
500
Is saying you are older than your sister an example of relative or absolute dating?
relative
500
A scientist that studies fossil remains found on the Earth's surface in order to study primitive life such as plants, animals, fungi and bacteria.
I am a PALENTOLOGIST!
500
All the continents were once joined together in a supercontinent called _____________.
Pangea