lunes, 2 de mayo de 2011

Clues to Earth's Past

Fossil Are the remains, imprints, or traces of prehistoric organisms.
Permineralized remains
Are fossils in which the spaces inside are filled with minerals from groundwater.
Carbon film
A silhoutte of the original organism.
Mold
A cavity in the rock.
Cast
A type of body fossil that forms when crystals fill a mold or sediments wash into a mold and harden into rock.
Index fossil
Are the remains of species that existed on Earth for relatively short periods of time, were abundant, and were widespread geographically.
Principle of superposition
States that in undisturbed rock layers, the oldest rocks are on the bottom and the rocks become progressively younger toward the top.
Relative age
The age of something compared with other things.
Unconformity
Gap in the rock layer that is due to erosion or periods without any deposition.
Absolute age
Age, in years, of a rock or other object; can be determined by using properties of the atoms that make up materials.
Radioactive decay
Process in which some isotopes break down into other isotopes and particles.
Half-life
Time it takes for half the atoms of an isotope to decay.
Radiometric dating
Process used to calculate the absolute age of rock by measuring the ratio of parent isotope to daugher product in a mineral and knowing the half-life of the parent.
Uniformitarianism
Principle stating that Earth processes occuring today are similar to those that occured in the past.

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