Geological and Evolutionary Concepts

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Fossil

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Preserved remains or traces of ancient organisms.

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Relative Dating

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Method of determining the age of a fossil by comparing its placement with that of fossils in other layers of rock.

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Law of Superposition

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In any sequence of undisturbed layers of sedimentary rock, the oldest layer is at the bottom and the youngest is at the top.

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Radiometric (Absolute) Dating

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Technique used to date materials such as rocks or carbon, in which trace radioactive impurities were selectively incorporated when they formed.

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Uniformitarianism

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The principle that the processes that alter the Earth are uniform through time.

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Catastrophism

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The theory that Earth's features are mostly accounted for by sudden, short-lived, violent events, such as earthquakes or floods.

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Plate Tectonics

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The theory explaining the structure of the earth's crust result from the interaction of rigid lithospheric (rock like) plates that move slowly over the underlying mantle.

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Evolution

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The process by which different kinds of living organisms are thought to have developed and diversified from earlier forms during the history of the earth. (change over time)

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Natural Selection

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The process whereby organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring.

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Analogous Structures

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Structures in different species having the same function but have evolved separately, thus do not share common ancestor.