Fossils are the preserved remains or evidence of ancient living things.

Catastrophism is the idea that conditions and organisms on Earth change in quick, violent
events.

Uniformitarianism states that geologic process that occur today are similar to those that have
occurred in the past.

Carbon film is the fossilized carbon outline of an organism or part of an organism.

Mold is the impression in a rock left by an ancient organisms.

Cast is a fossil copy of an organism made when a mold of the organism is filled with sediment
or mineral deposits.

Trace fossil is the preserved evidence of the activity of an organism.

Paleontologist scientists who study fossils.

Relative age is the age of rocks and geologic features compared with other rocks and features
nearby.

Superposition is the principle that in undisturbed rock layers, the oldest rocks are on the
bottom.

Inclusion a piece of an older rock that becomes part of a new rock.

Unconformity is a surface where rock has eroded away, producing a break, or gap, in the rock
record.

Correlation matching rocks and fossils from separate location.

Index fossils represent species that existed on Earth for a short length of time, were abundant,
and inhabited many locations.

Absolute age to mean the numerical age, in years, of a rock or object.

Radioactive decay is the process by which an unstable element naturally changes into another
element that is stables.

Isotopes are atoms of the same element that have different numbers of neutrons.

Half-life is the time required for half of the parent isotopes to decay into daughter isotopes.

Chapter 10, Clues to Earth’s Past

1 Which is a copy of a dead organism formed when its impression fills with mineral deposits
or sediments?

A carbon film

B cast

C mold

D trace fossil

2 In the diagram above, which rock layer typically is youngest?

A1

B2

C3

D4

3 Which characteristic of rocks does radioactive decay measure?

A absolute age

B lateral continuity

C relative age

D unconformity
4 Which increases the likelihood that a dead organism will be fossilized?

A fast decay of bones

B presence of few hard body parts

C quick burial after death

D vast amounts of skin

5 Which fossilized ancient organism is pictured in the diagram above?

A clam

B mammoth

C mastodon

D trilobite

6 Which explains most of Earth's geological features as a result of short periods of

earthquakes, volcanoes, and meteorite impacts?

A catastrophism

B evolution

C supernaturalism

D uniformitarianism

7 Which fossil type helps geologists infer that rock layers in different geographic locations
are similar in age?

A carbon film

B index fossil

C preserved remains

D trace fossil

8 Which pie chart shows the ratio of parent to daughter atoms after four half-lives?