Fossils and geology

What is the term for the new layer of wood that is added to a tree trunk every year?

• Tree layers
• Tree rings
• Tree growth
• Tree bands

What is the term for a break in the geologic record caused by erosion or lack of sediment deposition?

• Unconformity
• Disconformity
• Nonconformity
• Inconformity

What is the term for the ordered arrangement of rock layers based on their relative ages?

• Geologic record
• Geologic column
• Geologic timeline
• Geologic sequence

What is the principle that states that geologic processes in the past can be explained by current processes?

• Law of original horizontality
• Principle of uniformitarianism
• Law of cross-cutting relationships
• Law of superposition

What is the term for the process of determining the age of an object or event using the decay of radioactive elements?

• Absolute dating
• Radiometric dating
• Carbon dating
• Relative dating

What is the term for determining whether an object or event is older or younger than other objects or events?

• Radiometric dating
• Relative dating
• Carbon dating
• Absolute dating

What is an unconformity?

• A type of rock layer
• A type of fossil
• A type of dating method
• A break in the geologic record

What can disturb rock layers and make it difficult to determine their relative ages?

• Deposition
• Erosion
• Weathering
• All of the above

What does the principle of uniformitarianism state?

• Geologic processes in the past can be explained by current processes
• Geologic processes in the past were completely different from current processes
• Geologic processes in the past were more intense than current processes
• Geologic processes in the past were less intense than current processes

What is the term for the process of determining the age of an object or event using the decay of carbon-14?

• Absolute dating
• Carbon dating
• Relative dating
• Radiometric dating