Relative Age of Rocks

Front

What is an index fossil?

Back

Fossils of widely distributed organisms that lived during a geologically short period, used to identify and date the layers of rock.

Front

What scientific discovery proved that continents move?

Back

Plate Tectonics.

Front

What was the name of the supercontinent that existed 250 million years ago?

Back

Pangaea.

Front

How does fossil evidence support Wegener's hypothesis of continental drift?

Back

Similar fossils are found along continental margins that appear to join together, and in areas where present-day climate could not have supported the organisms.

Front

What is relative age in geology?

Back

The age of a rock compared to the ages of other rocks.

Front

What is absolute age?

Back

The actual age of a rock or fossil, often determined through radiometric dating.

Front

What is an unconformity?

Back

A gap in the geological record that represents a period of erosion or non-deposition.

Front

What is the significance of the Law of Universal Gravitation in geology?

Back

It explains the gravitational forces that affect the movement of tectonic plates.

Front

What evidence supports the theory of continental drift?

Back

Fossil similarities, geological formations, and the fit of continental margins.

Front

What are tectonic plates?

Back

Massive slabs of Earth's lithosphere that move and interact at their boundaries.