Relative and Absolute Dating pt 1

What is relative dating?

• Determining the exact age of a rock

• Comparing the age of one rock to another

• Studying fossils at the bottom of the ocean

• Using radioactive decay to find an exact age

Which principle states that older rock layers are found below younger rock layers?

• Law of Cross-Cutting Relationships

• Law of Superposition

• Law of Horizontality

• Law of Fossil Succession

What does an unconformity in rock layers represent?

• A time period where no rock was deposited

• A new fossil discovery

• A rapid cooling of lava

• The presence of an asteroid impact

What is absolute dating?

• A method to determine an exact age of a rock or fossil

• A way to compare two rock layers

• Studying modern animal bones

• Measuring the weight of a fossil

Why is Carbon-14 only useful for dating fossils up to about 50,000 years old?

• It turns into gold after that time

• It completely decays and no longer exists in older fossils

• It only exists in non-living things

• It stops decaying when frozen

What type of fossil forms when minerals replace all or part of an organism’s tissues?

• Trace fossil

• Mold fossil

• Cast fossil

• Petrified fossil

What can fossils tell scientists?

• The type of climate in the past

• What animals ate in the past

• How organisms evolved over time

• All of the above

Fill in the blank: Fossils are most commonly found in _______ rocks.

• Igneous

• Metamorphic

• Sedimentary

• Volcanic

Fill in the blank: When minerals replace all or part of an organism’s tissues, a _______ fossil is formed.

• Trace

• Mold

• Cast

• Petrified

Fill in the blank: Fossils can tell scientists about the type of _______ in the past.

• Climate

• Food

• Water

• Soil