A
What is relative age as it pertains to rocks?
a relative rock age is an age for the rock with respect to other rocks or features above it or below it.
approximate age when compared to other rocks
relative age
Sometimes rock formations break, or ___________
fracture
What is a relative age of a rock?
an approximate age when compared to other rocks
Explain superposition.
It is a geologic principle stating that younger rocks are above older rocks if the rock layers have not been disturbed.
this principle states that in undisturbed rock layers, the oldest rocks are on the bottom
superposition
What is true of any fault?
it is younger than the rocks it cuts
Which principle could be used to date a stack of horizontal rock layers?
superposition
What is lateral continuity?
The principle of lateral continuity states that sedimentary rocks are large, continuous sheets that extend in all directions until they thin out or meet a barrier.
this principle states that most rock-forming materials were deposited in horizontal layers
original horizontality
Which species make good index fossils?
ones that lived for a short period of time, were abundant, and inhabited many locations
Which principle states that sedimentary rocks are deposited as large sheets of sediment?
lateral continuity
Define Inclusion
Inclusions are pieces of rocks that are incorporated into younger rock layers or intrusions.
a contact between sedimentary and other rock types
nonconformity
What do young sedimentary layers that form on top of older, horizontal sedimentary layers that have eroded create?
disconformity
Is this statement true of inclusions? - They are older than the rocks that contain them.
Yes. This statement is true.
How is inclusion used to date rocks?
They are older than the rocks in which they are located.
this principle states that when a geologic feature cuts across another feature, the feature it cuts across is older.
the principle of cross-cutting
What is correlation?
matching rocks and fossils from different locations
A piece of older rock that becomes part of a new rock is called a(n) ___________________.
inclusion