8. Geologic Time
 Essential Question: How do rock layers and fossils provide
a record of Earth’s geologic history & the evolution of life?
 Learning Target: I can analyze how rock layers and fossils
provide evidence of Earth’s history
 Learning Task: I will interpret data and draw conclusions
for rock layers.
 I will correctly sort Geologic Vocab.
 I will understand how fossils show Earth’s continents
movements.
Welcome! Warm Up Wednesday 4/10/13
Week of 4/7 – 4/11

What is an index
fossil?
How are they
important to
relative dating?
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Table Talk



1. What is relative dating?
2. Can it tell us the exact age of a
fossil?
3. Why is it useful?
Title
4th Quarter
Table of Contents
1
Assignment #
Ice Cores
Ice Core Webquest
Fossil Notes
Getting into the Fossil Record
Fossil Vocab
Fossils over Time (Molds vs Casts)
2
3
4
5
6
7
Law of Superposition Vocab
Who’s on First? (Wkst)
Geologic Time VOCAB
8
9
10
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Law of Superposition VOCAB
8 rocks and fossils found in
Law of superposition – the idea that
lower layers are older than the rocks and fossils found in the top
layers
relative dating – a method of dating rocks which can’t give us an
actual age, but can tell us whether a rock layer is older or younger
than another
strata – a certain rock layer
unconformity - gaps in rock layers and/or the fossil record
intrusion - a rock layer that forms when magma hardens beneath
Earth’s surface
extrusion - a rock layer that forms when lava flows onto Earth’s
surface and hardens
radiometric dating – using radioactive elements found naturally in
substances in order to determine how old they are.
absolute age – the actual age of a rock or fossil
Extension:
Google Drive: 8.Finding Clues to
Rock Layers Skills Lab Wkst
Complete the Skills Lab in our book
on page 330, and answer
Site 1 (#2, 3, 4 & 5)
Site 2 (#6, 7, &8)
Geologic Time VOCAB
10
 Obtain a set of vocab cards from your
teacher
 Match the correct definition to each vocab
word
 Check with your teacher that you are
correct
 Record your vocab on page 10 in your Lab
Notebook
Geologic Time Vocab
10
 Geologic Time Scales - a record of the life forms and geologic
events in Earth’s history
 Era - a unit of geologic time that includes two or more periods
 Period - a subdivision of an era
 Continental Drift - the theory that states that the gradual shifting
of Earth’s plates causes continents to move over time
 Pangaea - The name of the big landmass that broke apart into the
current continents
 Plate Tectonics - large pieces of the Earth’s outermost layer
(called tectonic plates) move and change shape
Geologic Time Webquest
 http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/ed
ucation/explorations/tours/stories/
middle/intro.html
http://goo.gl/cfHn3
Exit Ticket
 Which period in Earth’s history
would you most like to time-travel
to? Why?