Geologic Time Vocabulary

Surface that can represent a break in the geologic record of hundreds of millions of years

• Relative age

• Cenozoic Era

• Law of superposition

• unconformity

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

Comparing one rock or fossil to another to determine which is older or younger

• relative age

• Cenozoic Era

• unconformity

• absolute age

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

The actual age of a rock or fossil in years

• relative age

• absolute age

• unconformity

• era

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

younger layers of rock sit on top of older layers of rock

• relative age

• law of superposition

• unconformity

• Geologic Time Scale

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

a rock layer is older than the intrusion or fault that disturbs it

• law of superposition

• unconformity

• original horizontality

• cross-cutting relationship

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

layers of rock were originally deposited flat under the force of gravity

• law of superposition

• era

• unconformity

• original horizontality

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

layers of rock are continuous until another solid body blocks their deposition

• unconformity

• lateral continuity

• law of superposition

• era

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

a unit of geologic time

• era

• geologic time scale

• original horizontality

• law of superposition

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

the tool we use to organize Earth's events as they happened

• era

• law of superposition

• geologic time scale

• original horizontality

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

541 million years ago, lots of marine animals

• geologic time scale

• Paleozoic Era

• Mesozoic Era

• Cenozoic Era

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

NGSS.MS-LS4-2