GEOL Quiz 7 – Flashcards
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________ is a technique where the decay rate of radioactive isotopes is measured and used to determine the age of a geologic material.
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Radiometric Dating
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The Principle of ________ states that organisms succeed one another in a definite, determinable order that can be used to recognize a specific time period.
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Fossil Succession
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What does "zoic" in the eras of the Geologic Time Scale refer to?
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Life
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What is the date of the oldest Earth rock yet found?
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3.96 billion years ago
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________ was in important 17th ccntury scholor who deternined a chronology for historic events leading back to the Biblical creation.
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James Ussher
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The Principle of ________ states that sedimentary beds are continuous layers that extend in all directions until they thin out or grade into a different sediment type.
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Lateral Continuity
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________ was in important 18th century scientist who developed the idea of Uniformitarianism to explain the slow, steady changes responsible for shaping the Earth.
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James Hutton
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What is the definition of relative dating?
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Putting events in order from first to last
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What is the definition of a half-life?
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The time it takes for half of the parent isotope to decay to the daughter
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What is an isotope?
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An atom that has more or fewer neutrons than it should
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What is correlation?
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Matching up rocks of similar age in different regions
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What is the definition of absolute or numerical dating?
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Using radioactive materials to determine an an exact age
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Which scientist is credited with being the "Father of Geology"?
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James Hutton
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________ is the scientific study of fossils.
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Paleontology
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A(n) ________ is a type of unconformity with sedimentary beds above and metamorphic or plutonic igneous rocks below the erosional surface.
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Nonconformity
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A(n) ________ is a type of unconformity with parallel beds above but tilted beds below the erosional surface.
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Angular unconformity
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What is the accepted age of the Earth?
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4.6 billion years
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Which era did the dinosaurs live in?
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Mesozoic
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The Principle of ________ states that older sedimentary layers are on the bottom and younger layers are on the top.
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Superposition
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________ is a term used to define almost 88% of Earth's history prior to the start of the Paleozoic Era.
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Precambrian
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What is an index fossil?
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Organisms that were geographically widespread but limited to a short span of geologic time
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Which era are we currently in?
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Cenozoic
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When correlating rock between widely separated areas or between continents, what feature do geologists rely on the most?
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Fossils
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What is a fossil?
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Evidence of past life that can include skeletal as well as trace material
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A(n) ________ is a type of unconformity with parallel beds above and below the erosional surface.
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Disconformity
