Fossils
What is the study of fossils?
Paleontology.
What does the word "Super" and "Position" mean?
Super:Above
Position:location relative to a reference point
All matter is made up of tiny particles called _______
atoms
Every organism for all of Earth's history has been apart of a community of living and non-living things. This community is called an __________
Ecosystem
The theory of __________ _______ explains that the continents of Earth were once joined together into single super continent called Pangaea but have since drifted apart driven by the movements of Earths lithospheric plates.
The theory of Continental Drift
Preserved remains of traces of living things.
What are fossils
the age of a rock layer (or the fossils it contains) compared to other layers.
What is relative age
A pure substance made entirely of the same type of atom is called a(n)_________
Element
The living things in an ecosystem that affects the rest of t he ecosystems are called?
Biotic factors
When living things die and are buried by sediments.
How fossils form
What rock layer are fossils most commonly found in?
Sedimentary Rock.
The fossil of a plant or animal that existed over a large area, but only during a short time period.
What is an Index fossil?
The atoms of each element contain unique numbers of 3 particles. ________, _________ and ________
Protons, Neutrons, and Electrons
The non-living things in an ecosystem that affects the rest of t he ecosystems are called?
Abiotic factors.
A hollow area in a sedimentary rock in the shape of the organism or part of the organism.
The Mold.
How is the number of years since the rock formed determined?
radioactive dating.
How does sedimentary rock form
When sediments (Rock, clay, sand, gravel) is deposited in flat layers year after year and is hardened into a rock.
The time it takes for half of the radioactive atoms decay is?
The half-life
The ice forms ________ indicating the yearly seasons similar to rings on a tree
layers
What are the 3 types of rocks?
Sedimentary, Igneous and metamorphic.
What are the 6 basic types of fossils
Mold, cast, petrified, carbon films, trace fossils, and preserved remains
The law of _______________ means the oldest layer is at the bottom and each layer is younger than the one below it.
The law of superposition
What does it mean when isotopes are unstable and \ they lose particles and energy?
Radioactive Decay
When a cylinder of ice drilled out and removed from glaciers and polar ice sheets is called?
Ice core
analyzing percentages of radioactive isotopes withing a rock sample to estimate how old it is
What is radioactive dating?