Earth-Sun-Moon System
the movement of one body in space around another
revolution
the tendency of an object to resist change in motion
inertia
a rock with a coating of only the carbon from an ancient organism's body
carbon film
the exact age of something
absolute age
to develop gradually over time, often from a simple to more complex form
evolve
the movement of a body in space on its axis
rotation
a force that pulls an object toward the center of any object that has mass
gravity
a fossil of an organism's activity, such as a footprint, a burrow, or scat
trace fossil
a comparison of the age of one thing to the age of another
relative age
a length or portion of an era
period
a tide that occurs when the Sun, the moon and the Earth are aligned, making tides higher
spring tide
At which location would an object’s weight be the greatest?
A. on Pluto
B. on the Sun
C. on Earth
B. on the Sun
Which is one piece of information that fossils in samples from Earth’s crust reveal about Earth’s history?
A. number of species at a specific time
B. changes in climate
C. age of organisms when they died
B. changes in climate
a geological principle that states that in horizontal rock layers, each layer is younger than the one below it
law of superposition
a scale used to describe the timing of events in Earth's long history
geologic time scale
What occurs when the moon blocks the view of the Sun?
A. neap tide
B. solar eclipse
c. lunar eclipse
b. solar eclipse
Which event occurs during high tide?
A.The moon’s orbit is closer to Earth.
B. The gravity of the Sun and moon cause the Earth’s crust and water to bulge.
C. Earth’s crust and water are being pulled in opposite directions by the Sun and moon.
B. The gravity of the Sun and moon cause the Earth’s crust and water to bulge.
Which feature do amber fossils have that mold fossils do not?
A. organisms turned into rock
B. preserved soft tissue
C. solid copies of the original organism
B. preserved soft tissue
A geologist finds some tilted sedimentary rock layers.
Which conclusion can the geologist draw by looking at the rock layers?
A. They were originally deposited horizontally.
B. The youngest layer was originally deposited as the bottom layer.
C. Their absolute age is 600 million years.
A. They were originally deposited horizontally.
Why is radioactive dating important when approximating the age of Earth?
A. Scientists can identify different life forms using index fossil records.
B. Scientists can determine the order of when rocks formed on Earth.
C. Scientists can analyze changes in chemical concentration of atmospheric gases.
B. Scientists can determine the order of when rocks formed on Earth.
How often do spring and neap tides occur?
a. twice a day
b. every 27.3 days
c. twice a month
C. twice a month
In addition to how much force Earth exerts on the object, which features of an object affect its weight?
A. mass and location of the object
B. shape and location of the object
C. location of the object and how much energy the object has
A. mass and location of the object
Why is still water an ideal environment for the formation of mold and cast fossils?
A. Hard tissue decays under sediment.
B. Sediment turns organisms into rock.
C. Sediment builds up over organisms.
C. Sediment builds up over organisms.
Which phrase describes the absolute age of a rock?
A. does not provide an exact age
B. is the age compared to other rocks around it
C. is the number of years since it formed
C. is the number of years since it formed
Which unit of geologic time began 65.5 million years ago and continues to the present?
A. Permian period
B. Mesozoic era
C. Cenozoic era
C. Cenozoic era