1. Biological Evolution Vocabulary Dec. 5, 2011
Charles Darwin- a naturalist that proposed that over time, new species
developed from pre-existing
species.
Natural Selection – a theory of Charles Darwin’s that populations of species evolve into new species through adaptation and variation.

2. Geological Evolution Vocabulary Dec. 6, 2011
Alfred Wegener – a German Scientist that
observed that the continents
on Earth appeared to fit together
like a big jigsaw puzzle.
Continental Drift- Wegner’s proposal that the continents had once been a large single landmass (Pangaea) that has split apart and moved.

3. Geologic Evolution Vocabulary Dec. 7, 2011
Plate Tectonics – the theory that Earth’s lithosphere is broken into large sections (tectonic plates) that move and change over time.
Asthenosphere- the molten layer of the Earth on which the tectonic plates float.

4. Geologic Evolution Vocabulary Dec 8, 2011
Convergent Plate Boundary-where crust is destroyed as one plate dives under another.
Divergent Plate Boundary- where new crust is generated as the plates pull away from each other.

5. Geologic Evolution Vocabulary Dec. 9, 2011
Transform Boundaries- plates of the Earth that slide past each other. Earthquakes result from movement at transform boundaries.
Richter Scale- the scale used to measure the intensity of earthquakes.

6. Geologic Evolution Vocabulary Dec. 12, 2011
Eon- A geologic eon is the largest division of time in geology, and is generally considered to be around a billion years.
Era- A division of geologic time marked by new life forms and ending in extinction of the primary species. (millions of years long)

7. Geologic Evolution Vocabulary Dec 13, 2011
Period- A portion of an era, usually thousands of years, that are denoted by the emergence of significant life forms, land movement, and/or extinction.
Epoch- A geologic epoch is a span of time smaller than a "period" and larger than an "age", on the geologic time scale.

8. Geologic Evolution Vocabulary Dec. 14, 2011
Absolute time- Dating fossils using radioactive particles. (Using amount of radioactive material left to approximate age.) ex. Carbon 14
Relative Time- Dating fossils using position underground and “Index fossils” found in the sediment.

9. Geologic Evolution Vocabulary Dec. 15, 2011
Law of superposition- geologist use this law to determine relative rock age. Older rock layers lie under younger rock layers.
Ice Cores- Samples of ice drilled from Antarctica that contains bubbles of air that show the history of Earth’s climate over time.

10. Geologic Evolution Vocabulary Dec. 16, 2011
Geologic Evolution- The change in land forms over Earth’s time.
Biological Evolution- The change in life forms over geologic time.
Technological Evolution – the change in technology in response to societal and business needs.