09 25-2013-paleontology review

PAGE 32 – COPY & ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS:1. What is the relative age of a rock

or fossil?2. How is relative age measured?3. What does the geologic time scale

show us?4. How do we determine when new

eras and periods begin?5. How do fossils show us that the

environments and climates of Earth have changed?

PALEONTOLOGY TESTReview Game

QUESTION 1

What is the death of every member of a species called?

ANSWER 1

Extinction

QUESTION 2

What process compares one rock layer with another in sequence to determine age?

ANSWER 2

Relative dating

QUESTION 3

Which era do we live in?

ANSWER 3

Cenozoic Era

QUESTION 4

What principle says that the geologic processes that occur today also occurred in the past?

ANSWER 4

Uniformitarianism

QUESTION 5

What is a missing layer of rock called?

ANSWER 5

Uncomformity

QUESTION 6

What is the study of past life using fossils?

ANSWER 6

Paleontology

QUESTION 7

What principle says that younger rock is on top of older rock?

ANSWER 7

superposition

QUESTION 8

At what rate does geologic change generally occur?

ANSWER 8

Slowly

QUESTION 9

How do we know that the environmental conditions on the Earth have changed?

ANSWER 9

By looking at the fossil record

QUESTION 10

What is the Principle of Original Horizontality?

ANSWER 10

Sediments and sedimentary rock are formed in horizontal layers

QUESTION 11

What is the geologic column?

ANSWER 11

All of the Earth’s layers of rocks together that shows us the Earth’s history

QUESTION 12

If you find the fossil of a fish on the top of the mountain, what can you learn about the history of the mountain?

ANSWER 12

It was once underwater

QUESTION 13

What era is the Age of Reptiles?

ANSWER 13

Mesozoic Era

QUESTION 14

What type of rocks usually contain fossils?

ANSWER 14

Sedimentary

QUESTION 15

How many years ago did dinosaurs become extinct?

ANSWER 15

About 65 million years ago

QUESTION 16

Which layer is the oldest?

ANSWER 16

Layer V

QUESTION 17

James is younger than George. This is an example of what?

ANSWER 17

Relative age

QUESTION 18

What is the difference between an extinction and a mass extinction?

ANSWER 18

An extinction is just one species, and a mass extinction is many species at once.

QUESTION 19

Name a geologic change that would qualify as an example of catastrophism.

ANSWER 19

Volcanic eruption, earthquake, tsunami

QUESTION 20

Name a geologic change that would qualify as uniformitarianism.

ANSWER 20

Mountain building, rock cycle, formation of volcanoes, faults