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34 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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fossil
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Preserved remains or traces of living things.
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sedimentary rock
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The type of rock that is made of hardened material removed by erosion.
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mold
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A hollow area in a sediment in the shape of an organism or part of an organism.
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cast
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A solid copy of the shape of an organism.
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petrified fossil
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A fossil in which minerals replace all or part of an organism.
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carbon film
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An extremely thin coating of carbon on rock.
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trace fossil
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Provide evidence of the ACTIVITIES of ancient organisms (ex. a fossilized footprint).
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paleontologist
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Scientists who study fossils.
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scientific theory
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A well-tested concept (idea) that explains a wide variety of observations.
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evolution
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The gradual change in living things over long periods of time.
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extinct
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A type of organism that no longer exists and will never exist again.
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relative age
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A rock's age compared to the ages of other rocks.
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absolute age
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The number of years since the rock originally formed.
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law of superposition
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In horizontal sedimentary rock layers, the oldest layer is at the bottom; each higher layer is younger than the layers below it.
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extrusion
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Lava that hardens on the surface; it is ALWAYS younger than the rocks below it.
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intrusion
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Magma that pushes into bodies of rock that are already there; it is always younger than the rock layers around and beneath it.
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fault
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A break in Earth's crust.
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unconformity
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The surface where new rock layers meet a much older rock surface beneath them (a GAP in the geological record - erosion was the cause).
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index fossil
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A fossil that is widely distributed (all over) and represent an organism that existed for a very short time; used to get relative ages of rock layers.
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atom
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Tiny particles that make up all matter in the universe.
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element
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A type of matter in which all atoms are the same (ex. carbon, oxygen, iron)
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radioactive decay
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The breaking down of elements where they release particles and energy.
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half-life
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Rate of decay of radioactive elements (rate is constant-always the same).
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geologic time scale
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A record of the life forms and geologic events in Earth's history.
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era
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One of three long units of geologic time between the Precambrian and the present.
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period
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One of the units of geologic time into which geologists divide ERAS (ex. Mesozoic Era contains 3 Periods... Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods).
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comet
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A ball of dust and ice that orbits the sun (ice is made up of water and frozen gases like carbon dioxide).
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continental drift
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The slow movement of the continents over Earth's surface caused by forces inside Earth.
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invertebrate
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Animals WITHOUT backbones (ex, jellyfish, worms, sponges).
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amphibian
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An animal that lives part of its life in water and part on land.
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mass extinction
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A period when MANY organisms become extinct at the same time.
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vertebrate
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An animal WITH a backbone (ex. fish, humans)
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reptile
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Animals with scaly skin who lay eggs with tough, leathery shells.
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mammal
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A warm-blooded vertebrate that feeds its young milk.
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