thin residue preserved as a
fossil
a type of body fossil that
forms in rock when an
organism with hard parts is
buried, decays or dissolves,
and leaves a cavity in the
rock
a type of body fossil that
forms when crystals fill a
mold or sediments wash into
a mold and harden into rock
age, in years, of a rock or
other object; determined by
using properties of the
atoms that make up
materials
process in which some
isotopes break down into
other isotopes and particles
time it takes for half the
atoms of an isotope to decay
principle stating that Earth
processes occurring today
are similar to those that
occurred in the past
mechanical or chemical
surface processes that break
rock into smaller and smaller
pieces
physical processes that
break rock apart without
changing its chemical
makeup and can be caused
by ice wedging, animals, and
plant roots
a type of erosion that occurs
when wind-blown sediments
strike rocks and sediments,
polishing and pitting their
surface
process in which surface
materials are worn away and
transported from one place
to another by agents such as
gravity, water, wind, and
glaciers
a type of erosion that occurs
when wind blows over loose
sediments, removes small
particles, and leaves coarser
sediments behind
chemical weathering process
that occurs when some
minerals are exposed to
oxygen and water over time
large, moving masses of ice
and snow that change large
areas of Earth’s surface
through erosion and
deposition
process that adds gravel,
sand, and boulders to a
glacier’s bottom and sides as
water freezes and thaws,
breaking off pieces of
surrounding rock
occurs when chemical
reactions dissolve the
minerals in rocks or change
them into different minerals
the age of something
compared with other things
remains, imprints, or traces
of prehistoric organisms that
can tell when and where
organisms once lived and
how they lived
fossils in which the spaces
inside are filled with
minerals from groundwater
any type of erosion that
occurs as gravity moves
materials down-slope
sedimentary rock-forming
process in which sediment
grains are held together by
natural cements that are
produced when water
moves through rock and soil
a type of mass movement
that occurs when a mass of
material moves down a
curved slope
dropping of sediments that
occurs when an agent of
erosion, such as gravity, a
glacier, wind, or water loses
its energy and can no longer
carry its load
mechanical weathering
process that occurs when
water freezes in the cracks
of rocks and expands,
causing the rock to break
apart
states that in undisturbed
rock layers, the oldest rocks
are on the bottom and the
rocks become progressively
younger toward the top
large ridge of rocks and soil
deposited by a glacier when
it stops moving forward
mixture of different-sized
sediments that is dropped
from the base of a retreating
glacier and can cover huge
areas of land
process that forms
sedimentary rocks when
layers of sediments are
compressed by the weight of
the layers above them
remains of species that
existed on Earth for
relatively short period of
time, were abundant, and
were widespread
geographically and can be
used by geologists to assign
the ages of rock layers
type of mass movement in
which sediments move
down-slope very slowly and
can cause walls, trees, and
fences to lean downhill