Ch. 6
Study Guide Answers
• According to geologists, the
Earth is approximately
________________. (how old)
–4.6 billion years
• Organisms can be preserved
by ______________, a process
in which minerals fill in pore
spaces of an organism's
tissues.
–Permineralization
• The principle of
__________________ states that the
same geologic processes shaping the
Earth today have been at work
throughout Earth's history.
–Uniformitarianism
• A(n) _______________ exists
where sedimentary rock layers lie
on top of an eroded surface of
non-layered igneous or
metamorphic rock.
–Non-conformity
• Which geologic theory
does modern geology
embrace?
–Both uniformitarianism and
catastrophism
•Eras are divided into
________________.
–Periods
• Suppose you organize photos for an
album covering the time period from
your birth until your second birthday. No
dates have been written on the backs of
the pictures, but you are able to put your
photos in chronological order by looking
at changes in your physical appearance.
This is an example of
____________________________.
• Relative dating
• What is an example of the
superposition principle?
–Tossing clothes into a
laundry hamper
• A(n) ________________ exists
between horizontal rock layers
and rock layers that are tilted
or folded.
• Angular unconformity
• Insects can be preserved in
_______________, or
hardened tree sap.
• Amber
• ____________________ fossil
specimens are some of the
best preserved of all fossils.
• Frozen
• In which eon did the
earliest known rocks on
Earth form?
• Archean eon
• A ________________ provides
valuable information about
the habits and diets of the
animals that left it.
• Coprolite
• Scientists often find rocks that contain
marine fossils on mountaintops. What
could such a discovery allow a scientist to
conclude about how the position of the
rocks changed over time?
• The rocks were once below the surface of
the ocean and were pushed up.
• The largest divisions of
geologic time are called
______________________
__.
–Eon
• A ___________________ is a
cavity in the ground or rock
where a plant or animal was
buried.
–Mold
• The ___________________
is known as the Age of
Reptiles.
–Mesozoic era
•In which eon do we live?
–Phanerozioc eon
• The phrase “younger over
older” can be used to
remember the principle of
___________________.
–Superposition
•In which eon did the first
organisms with welldeveloped cells appear?
–Proterozioc eon
• Which word best describes
the geologic column?
–Ideal
• The principle that states that
all geologic change occurs
suddenly is called
__________________.
–Catastrophism
• What era ended with the
largest mass extinction event
in the Earth’s history?
– The Mesozoic Era
• What processes
disturbed these
rock layers?
–Faulting
• Which rock layers
would have the
same relative age?
– 3 and 10
– 9 and 2
– 8 and 1