1. DETERMINING RELATIVE AGE
12/7/15
DETERMINING RELATIVE AGE
Objective: I will utilize relative aging techniques and then apply the law of superposition to determine fossil history.
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2. UNIFORMITARIANISM
STATES THAT GEOLOGIC PROCESSES IN THE PAST CAN BE EXPLAINED BY CURRENT PROCESSES
FIRST PROPOSED BY JAMES HUTTON IN 1794
BEFORE HIS RESEARCH, PEOPLE THOUGHT EARTH WAS AROUND YEARS OLD
HUTTON REALIZED GEOLOGIC PROCESSES ARE OFTEN SLOW, TAKING MILLIONS OF YEARS
BY STUDYING THE PRESENT, WE COULD LEARN ABOUT EARTH’S PAST

3. RELATIVE AGE AGE OF AN OBJECT IN RELATION TO THE AGES OF OTHER OBJECTS
SCIENTISTS MOSTLY STUDY LAYERS OF SEDIMENTARY ROCK TO DETERMINE RELATIVE AGE OF STRATA
STRATA- ANOTHER NAME FOR LAYERS OF ROCK

5. LAW OF SUPERPOSITION IF LEFT UNDISTURBED, A ROCK LAYER IS:
OLDER THAN THE LAYERS ABOVE IT
YOUNGER THAN THE LAYERS BELOW IT
REMAINS OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS CAN BE TRAPPED IN A ROCK LAYER AND FORM FOSSILS
BY APPLYING THE LAW OF SUPERPOSITION, SCIENTISTS CAN DETERMINE THE RELATIVE AGES OF PREHISTORIC LIFE FORMS

7. YOUNGEST
OLDEST

9. PRINCIPLE OF ORIGINAL HORIZONTALITY
SEDIMENTARY ROCK LEFT UNDISTURBED WILL REMAIN IN HORIZONTAL LAYERS
LAYERS THAT ARE NOT HORIZONTAL HAVE BEEN TILTED OR DEFORMED BY TECTONIC PROCESSES