Paleontology

Weathering and erosion can cause missing rock layers. What do we call these gaps?

• Strata
• Geologic Column
• Superposition
• Unconformities

In what type of rock do we typically find fossils?

• Metamorphic
• Igneous
• Sedimentary
• Minerals

Younger rock lies above older rock describes what law?

• Strata
• Geologic Column
• Unconformities
• Superposition

Determining a rock's age by comparing it to other rock layers; "older" or "younger"

• Absolute dating
• Relative dating
• Unconformities
• Comparisions

What type of fossils help determine age?

• Molds and casts
• Organic
• Trace fossils
• Index fossils

True/False: Since most organisms never became fossils, the fossil record is incomplete.

• True
• False

Finding a marine fossil on a mountaintop means that

• Fish used to be able to live on land.
• The mountain used to be an underwater volcano.
• The fossils have been moved.
• The mountaintop used to be the ocean floor.

Which era do we currently live in?

• Paleozoic
• Cenozoic
• Proterozoic
• Mesozoic

The idea that earth gradually changes over time is called

• Catastrophism
• Rock Cycle
• Uniformitarianism
• Evolution

The ideal sequence of rock layers that contains all rock layers and fossils is called

• the geologic column
• unconformities
• superposition
• catastrophism