fossils Relative age of rocks Radioactive dating Sedimentary Rocks evidence

Question are the preserved remains or traces of living things.

Answer 1 – 10 fossils

Question Fossils provide evidence of

Answer 1 – 20 how life has changed over time

Question a hollow area in sediment in the shape of or part of an organism.

Answer 1 – 30 mold

Question evidence of the history of life and past environments on Earth is called

Answer 1 – 40 The fossil record

Question When sediments bury an organism releasing some gases leaving carbon behind this is called:

Answer 1 – 50 Carbon film

Question The number of years since the rock formed

Answer 2 – 10 absolute age

Question In horizontal sedimentary rocks, the oldest layer is at the bottom and the newest layer is on the top and determines the relative ages of rocks

Answer 2 – 20 The Law of Superposition

Question the surface where new rock meets up with a much older rock surface.

Answer 2 – 30 Unconformity

Question What is an index fossil?

Answer 2 – 40 A fossil that is widely distributed and represents a type of organism that only existed briefly

Question Index fossils are useful because-

Answer 2 – 50 tell the relative ages of rock layers by how they occur

Question As elements break down over time they release particles and energy in a process called

Answer 3 – 10 radioactive decay

Question How fast or slow the radioactive elements decay is always constant (never changing) and the rate of decay is called

Answer 3 – 20 half-life

Question Very useful in dating rocks because it has a long half-life

Answer 3 – 30 Potassium-Argon Dating

Question When carbon-14 is left in an organism, scientists measure this amount that is left to find absolute age. Is the carbon-14 the radioactive element or the new element formed?

Answer 3 – 40 radioactive

Question Is Carbon-14 good for dating rocks? Why/ Why not?

Answer 3 – 50 No Carbon-14 is only good for dating plants and animals that contain carbon and only dates up to 50,000 years

Question What is sediment?

Answer 4 – 10 Small particles of rock and remains of living things

Question How does sedimentary rock form?

Answer 4 – 20 When sediments build up in layers and harden

Question Why is it hard to determine relative age of sedimentary rock that has a fault in it?

Answer 4 – 30 Movements along the fault cause layers to not line up

Question What are the steps on how fossils typically form in sedimentary rocks?

Answer 4 – 40 Organism dies Organism is buried by sediment Sediment hardens and preserves fossil

Question Why is Radioactive dating is good for igneous rocks but not sedimentary rocks

Answer 4 – 50 Scientists can date particles but not layers in sedimentary rocks. Scientists can only date solid rocks.

Question A fossil that shows an organisms activity, not the actual organism is called:

Answer 5 – 10 Trace fossil

Question If coal is found in Antarctica, this shows evidence of

Answer 5 – 20 Past climates

Question Fossils found in dry plains and plateaus show

Answer 5 – 30 Evidence of past environments

Question Fossils occurring in a particular order such as simple organisms coming before more complex ones is evidence of

Answer 5 – 40 Change in the fossil record

Question Geologists identifying an organism based on structure of shells and based on those differences can identify rock layers which certain fossils are found is evidence of how…

Answer 5 – 50 Scientists use index fossils to date rocks