Flashcards in Chapter 23 Deck (14):
1
Paleozoic era
The time of ancient life from about 543 million years ago to 248 million years ago
2
Pangaea
The late Paleozoic supercontinent made up of Gondwanaland and Laurasia
3
Unconformities
Time gaps in the rock record caused by erosion of pre-existing rock or by an interruption in the sequence of deposition
4
Crosscutting relationships
And igneous intrusion or fault that cuts through pre-existing rock is younger than the rock through which cuts
5
Relative dating
The ordering of rocks in sequence by their comparative ages
6
Precambrian time
The time of hidden life which began about 4.5 billion years ago when earth formed, lasted until about 543 million years ago
7
Lateral continuity
Sedimentary layers are deposited in all directions over a large area unless some sort of obstruction or barrier limits their deposition. Faulting, folding, and erosion can separate originally continuous layers into isolated outcrops
8
Superposition
In an undeformed horizontal sequence of sedimentary rocks, each layer is older than the one above and younger than the one below. Like the newspapers in a recycling bin, all the papers are found below newer, more recent papers
9
Radiometric dating
A method for calculating the age of geologic materials based on the nuclear decay of naturally occurring radioactive isotopes
10
Cenozoic era
The time of recent life which began 65 million years ago and his ongoing. Also known as the age of mammals
11
Faunal succession
Fossil organisms follow one another in a definite, irreversible time sequence. Fossil communities change through time at some species become extinct in new ones up here. Such changes are reflected in the rock record. In this way, fossils provide a key to for recognizing the relative ages of rock
12
Mesozoic era
The time of middle life, from about 248 million years ago to 65 million years ago. Also known as the age of the reptiles
13
inclusions
Inclusions are pieces of one rock contained within another. Any inclusion is older than the rock containing it just as small pieces of rock Inc. in a slab of concrete or formed before the concrete was formed
14