Geologic Time Scale
Define Geology
The study of Earth
What is relative dating?
Determining the age of an event compared to other events
Define absolute dating:
Provides specific dates for rock units or events expressed in years before the present
Define a Fossil
remains or traces of once-living organisms
What town was Mr. Hackett originally from?
Holmen, WI
What is the largest unit of time in a geologic time scale?
Eon
Who is considered the "Father of Geology"
James Hutton
Process by which an unstable element spontaneously changes to a different element by emitting or absorbing an atomic particle
Describe the conditions needed for a fossil to form
An organism has to die in a condition were it gets quickly covered up with sediments. The sediments need to be compacted over time.
What is Mr. Hackett's favorite dinosaur?
Velociraptor
What is the name of the largest mass extinction event Earth has experience?
The Permian Extinction or the Great Dying
Define the "Principle of Cross-Cutting Relationships"
an igneous intrusion or a fault must be younger than the rocks it intrudes or cuts across
Parent Isotopes are converted into what?
Daughter Isotopes.
What is a guide fossil?
any easily identified fossil that lived in a large geographic area over a short geologic time range.
What instrument did Mr. Hackett once play in high school?
The alto-saxophone
A prokaryotic cell
Define "Correlation" and how we use a "Key Bed" in that technique.
the process of connecting geologic rock units in two or more locations. Key beds are a distinct layers that can be identified anywhere else to help Geologists correlate geologic history.
You have a sample tested that has 375 daughter isotopes and 25 parent isotopes remaining. the half life is 30 million years. How old is the sample.
120 million years old
Define Uniformitarianism
same processes observed today have operated over vast amounts of time
Mr. Hackett went to state in what sport in high school?
Wrestling
What is the time range of the Paleozoic Era
541 mya - 252 mya
Using the graphic provided by Mr. Hackett, place the order from oldest to youngest.
See Mr. Hackett for answers.
Name the tool that measures radioactive decay.
Geiger Counter
Give one example of a guide fossil
What was Mr. Hackett's Mother's maiden name?
Farber