Vocabulary
Strata
Your grandma is older than her sister.
Relative Age
Preserved remains or traces of animals, plants, and other organisms from the remote past
Fossil
How old is the Earth?
4.5 billion years old
Preserved remains of organisms or traces of organisms that lived long ago.
Fossil
Absolute Age
If the same index fossils are found in different rock strata miles apart, what is probably true about the strata?
The are approximately the same age.
How can scientists figure out the history of the Earth?
Rock Strata & the Fossil Record
This type of fossil can be footprint, fecal remains.
Trace Fossil
You are younger than the seniors at the high school.
Relative Age.
What are the three rock types?
Sedimentary, Igneous, Metamorphic
When an organism no longer exists is called?
Extinct
What is the definition of the Law of Superposition?
Geologists assume that the youngest rock layers are above the oldest rocks, unless some type of disturbance occurs.
Fossil A is approximately 5 million years old, while Fossil B is only about 2 million years old.
Absolute Age.
What is the most accurate form of rock dating?
Absolute
This law states layers will always be flat and horizontal.
Horizontality
When lava/magma invade layers and solidify to become this.
Intrusion
In Yellowstone, the region between the Washburn Range and the Red Mountains have lava flows that range from about about 500,000 years to 100,000 years in age.
Absolute Age.
What are the characteristics of Index Fossils?
Recognizable, abundant, wide geographic distribution, live a short time.
This method of dating requires a lab sample to determine the age of the samples.
Absolute Age Dating.