forming fossils
These are the evidence of prehistoric remains, often preserved in rock
Fossil
Preserved dinosaur tracks are this type of fossil
Trace fossil
Explain the Law of Superposition
Oldest materials are on the bottom and youngest materials are on the top
Put these time divisions in order from longest to shortest:
epoch, era, period, eon
eon, era, period, epoch
Besides luster, name 3 other properties that can be used to identify an unknown mineral
Color/appearance
Streak
Hardness
Density
Breakage pattern
Magnetic
Fluorescence
If this happens quickly to a dead organism, the chances of it becoming a fossil increases.
burial
Fingerprints are similar to the way this type of fossil forms
Carbon film
The time it takes for half of a parent isotope to break down into its daughter material, carbon-14’s is 5,730 years
Half-life
According to scientific evidence, Earth is how old?
About 4.6 billion years
Name 3 of the 4 main agents of erosion
(hint: 2 begin with “w” and 2 begin with “g”
Wind, water, glaciers and gravity
Why is studying fossils important?
To learn about ancient life forms, climates, or changes to earth's surface.
Give a specific example of a preserved/original remains fossil
organism preserved in amber
organism preserved in ice
organism preserved in tar
Fossil evidence shows dinosaurs became extinct about this many million years ago
About 65 million years
Explain why putting your life on a timeline of Earth’s history would be virtually impossible
A human lifespan is too short to accurately plot on Earth’s billion-year timeline (or to accurately do so would mean the timeline would have to be many miles long)
What are the 3 types/shapes of volcanoes
Shield, cinder cone, and composite
Give 2 specific reasons why most dead organisms will not become a fossil
* eaten by scavengers
* destroyed by weathering
* rot/decay
* no hard parts
When minerals dissolved in water slowly replace cells and turn the original object to stone, you would have this type of fossil
permineralized (petrified) remains
Explain the difference between relative and absolute age/dating
Relative age/dating is a comparison of the age of things. Absolute age/dating says something is ### years old
Fossil records show that humans first appeared on Earth during this era
Cenozoic
What are the 3 main families of rock
Igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic
Explain why metamorphic and igneous rocks usually do not contain fossils
The heat and pressure involved in making metamorphic and igneous rock will destroy and potential fossil material.
what fossil is gone but leaves a cast
Mold/Cast
Explain why carbon-14 would not be a good isotope to use in finding the absolute age of a dinosaur fossil
Carbon-14’s half life is too short to accurately measure the age of anything older than about 70,000 years
A century is 100 years, a millennium is 1000 years and an era is this long
It varies - geologic time spans are not a set period of time - they are based on changes in the fossil record
What is the ultimate cause of earthquakes, volcanoes, and mountains
Movement of Earth’s lithosphere (plate tectonics)