science vocabulary quiz

What is the principle that states geologic processes that occurred in the past are still occurring today?

• Uniformitarianism

• Fossilization

• Radiometric dating

• Absolute dating

What are preserved remains or traces of living things called?

• Fossils

• Rocks

• Minerals

• Sediments

What is the term for preserved remains of animal activity?

• Trace fossil

• Geologic column

• Superposition

• Absolute dating

What describes the weather conditions in an area over a long period of time?

• Climate

• Weather

• Erosion

• Sedimentation

What is the principle that states younger rocks lie above older rocks in layers that have not been disturbed?

• Superposition

• Uniformitarianism

• Radiometric dating

• Absolute dating

What is the term for a break in the geologic record created when rock layers are eroded or when sediment is not deposited for a long period of time?

• Unconformity

• Fossilization

• Radiometric decay

• Absolute dating

What is the ordered arrangement of rock layers based on the relative ages of the rocks?

• Geologic column

• Trace fossil

• Superposition

• Uniformitarianism

What is any method of measuring an object in years called?

• Absolute dating

• Relative dating

• Radiometric decay

• Superposition

What is the time it takes for half of a radioactive isotope to decay called?

• Half-life

• Radiometric decay

• Absolute dating

• Superposition

What is the process in which a radioactive isotope breaks down into a stable isotope of the same element or another element?

• Radioactive decay

• Absolute dating

• Superposition

• Uniformitarianism