1. Be sure to fill in the blanks during class
Unit 3
Looking at fossils, rocks, and single-celled organisms to determine the history of Life
Be sure to fill in the blanks during class

2. CSI: Paleontology Radiocarbon Dating: Relative Dating:
Comparing the ratio of stable carbon isotopes (____________________) to unstable ones (carbon-14) to determine age
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Remember: all things contain carbon
Relative Dating:
Age estimate based on location
____________________ Dating:
Determines absolute age

5. Organism trapped in tree resin
Amber Preserved

6. _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________
Natural Cast

7. Record of activity such as a nest or footprints
Trace Fossil

8. Permineralized Fossil
Minerals surround and _____________ _____________ structure
Permineralized Fossil

9. Organisms become encased in materials such as ice or volcanic ash
Preserved Remains

11. Awesome Vocab!
Epoch- smallest unit of geological time; lasts several million years
Period- _____________________________________________; lasts tens of millions of years
Era- longest unit of geological time; consists of two or more periods
Paleozoic era- ended with the mass extinction of almost___________________________________; life moved onto land; includes the carboniferous period
Cambrian Explosion- earliest part of the Paleozoic era; trilobites
_________________________- divided into Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods; 1st marsupial mammals; dinosaurs roamed the earth
Cenozoic era- continues today; divided into Tertiary and Quaternary periods; ________________________ evolved