Radiometric Dating
How do you find absolute age of a rock?
radiometric or radiocarbon dating
What marks divisions in the geological time scale?
changes in the fossil record
What does the Law of Superposition state?
in undisturbed, horizontal rock layers, the younger rocks are at the top and the older rocks are at the bottom
Which rock is formed from molten rock cooling?
igneous rock
Which type of plate boundary can cause mountains to form?
convergent
What two things can you use to find the relative age of a rock?
index fossils and the law of superposition
What is the name for the record of life forms and geographical events of Earth's history?
geological time scale
About how old is the Earth?
4.5 billion years old
What type of rock are fossils found in?
sedimentary rock
What causes the movement of plate tectonics?
convection currents in the mantle
What type of matter is used for radiocarbon dating?
organic matter
Finding similar fossils of plants and animals on different continents supported the theory of what?
pangaea
Over time a once large mountain may become smaller. What might cause this to occur?
weathering and erosion
What cases sedimentary rock to transform into metamorphic rock?
heat and pressure
Put the following Earth layers in order from least dense to most dense: mantle, inner core, outer core, crust
What does half life measure?
the amount of radioactive elements left in a sample to determine how long ago it formed
Why might you find fossils of palm ferns in Antarctica?
at one point in time the climate was much warmer in Antarctica
Put the following in order from longest to shortest: Era, Period, Eon
Eon, Era, Period
What type of scientist studies rocks?
geologist
What is the term for when a more dense, older plate slides under a younger, less dense plate?
subduction
What is the difference between radiometric dating and radiocarbon dating?
In radiocarbon dating it is measuring only the carbon left which means the sample must come from a once living creature, or organic matter
Fossils of marine life were found on the top of a mountain. How might they have gotten up there?
What might cause a dinosaur bone to appear on the same layer of a human bone in disturbed rock?
Magma cooled on a mountain range and was then broken into sand and sediment. The sediments were compacted into sandstone. After undergoing heat and pressure the sandstone was transformed into quartzite. State the rock cycle formation sequence.
igneous - sedimentary - metamorphic
In an experiment, which variable is being manipulated? Which one is being measured? Which one is staying the saem?
manipulated = independent
measured = dependent
stays the same = controlled