Relative Dating
the rock layer on top is the youngest
What is the law of superposition?
when sediments undergo compaction and cementation
What is sedimentary rock?
the reason fossils can be found in South America and Africa
What are diverging plates?
landslide
What is an example of small scale of space and time?
drives the weathering of rocks on a hill
What is the sun?
any intrusion (magma/fault) is younger than the layer it cuts through
What is the Law of Intrusion or the law of cross-cutting relationships?
rock being broken down from wind or water
What is weathering?
a supercontinent before Earth's plates diverged and the land was all connected
What is pangea?
locations of continents
What is an example of a large scale of space and time?
the reason earthquakes and volcanoes appear along the edges of continents
What are plate boundaries?
the oldest rock layer is found here
What is the bottom?
a break in a rock
What is a fracture?
a landform created when oceanic plates diverge and new crust near the landform takes its place
What is a ridge?
millions of years ago
What is mya?
plates that move together
What are converging plates?
included rock is older than the rock it is in
What is the law of inclusion?
formed from heat and pressure
What is metamorphic rock?
the reason salt water fish can be found on top of a mountain
What are converging plates?
Graph that shows Earth's history in periods, epochs and eons
What is a geologic time scale?
plates that move apart
What are diverging plates?
found in only one rock layer
What is an index fossil?
What is igneous rock?
a place where two or more plates meet
What is a plate boundary?
a substance added to a model to show how sand can be moved to make embankments
What is water?
plates that slide passed one another
What are transforming plates?