Earth's History and Evolution & Genetics Vocab - April 2021

Front

Fossils:

Back

remains or traces of organisms that lived in the past.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

Front

Fossils that are abundant, widespread, short-lived, and used for relative age determination (e.g., trilobite)

Back

index fossils

Front

Formed by cementing layers of sediments; fossils are mostly found in this type of rock.

Back

sedimentary rocks

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-3

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

Front

Hard-shelled animal with 3 body sections, lived in shallow ocean waters; used to study geological time due to changing features.

Back

trilobite

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

Front

Record of major events and life forms in Earth's history; Eon -> Era -> Period -> Epoch

Back

geologic time scale

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

Front

Compared age of objects; does not indicate exact age.

Back

Relative age

Front

Older sedimentary rock layers lie beneath younger ones.

Back

law of superposition

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

Front

Break in Earth's crust rocks; younger than layers or intrusions it cuts; caused by tectonic plate movement (e.g., earthquakes).

Back

fault

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS1-5

NGSS.HS-ESS2-1

Front

Igneous rocks that cut through sedimentary rocks are younger than the layers they cut.

Back

igneous intrusion

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

Front

Determining the order of past events (e.g., index fossils, trilobites, law of superposition)

Back

relative dating