1.
Absolute dating: the process of establishing the age of an object by determining the number of years it has existed
2.
cast: An object created when sediment fills a mold and becomes rock.
3.
Eon: The largest division of geologic time.
4.
Epoch: Subdivisions of periods.
5.
Era: The second largest division of geologic time that includes two or more periods.
6.
Extinction: The death of every member of a species.
7.
Fossil: the remains or physical evidence of an organism preserved by geologic processes
8.
Geologic Column: an arrangement of rock layers in which the oldest rocks are at the bottom
9.
Geologic time scale: A scale that divides Earth`s 4.6 billion-year history into distinct intervals of time.
10.
Index fossil: fossils or organisms that lived during a relatively short, well-defined geologic time span
11.
Mold: A cavity in rock where a plant or animal was buried.
12.
Paleontologist: A person who studies fossils.
13.
Paleontology: The scientific study of fossils.
14.
period: The third largest division of geologic time.
15.
Relative dating: Any method of determining whether an event or object is older or younger than other events or objects.
16.
Superposition: A principle that states that younger rocks lie above older rocks if the layers have not been disturbed.
17.
Trace fossil: any naturally preserved evidence of animal activity (footprints/tracks or animal droppings)
18.
Unconformity: a surface that represents a missing part of the geologic column