Geology Review Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards based on Geology lecture notes covering topics like types of geology, atomic structure, rock formations, geologic time scale, fossilization, plate tectonics, and the history of life on Earth.

Physical Geology

The study of Earth's physical structure, properties, and processes.

Historical Geology

The study of the Earth's history and its life forms.

Environmental Geology

The study of the interactions between humans and the geological environment.

Neutron

A subatomic particle with no electric charge.

Proton

A subatomic particle with a positive electric charge.

Covalent Bonding

A type of chemical bond where electrons are shared between atoms.

Igneous Rocks

Rocks formed from the cooling and solidification of magma or lava.

Sedimentary Rocks

Rocks formed from the accumulation and cementation of sediments.

Metamorphic Rocks

Rocks formed by the alteration of pre-existing rocks due to heat and pressure.

Relative Age Dating

Determining the age of rocks or events in relation to other rocks or events.

Absolute Age Dating

Determining the age of rocks or events in specific units of time, often using radiometric dating.

Isotopes

Atoms with the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons.

Alpha Decay

A type of radioactive decay that emits a helium nucleus.

Beta Decay

A type of radioactive decay that emits an electron or positron.

Gamma Decay

A type of electromagnetic radiation emitted during radioactive decay.

Atomic Mass Number

The total number of protons and neutrons in an atom's nucleus.

Half-life

The time it takes for half of a radioactive substance to decay.

Parent Isotope

The original radioactive isotope in a decay series.

Daughter Isotope

The stable isotope that results from the radioactive decay of a parent isotope.

Fossil

The remains or traces of ancient organisms.

Permineralization

A type of fossil preservation where minerals fill the pores of an organism's remains.

Carbonization

A type of fossil preservation where a thin film of carbon remains after the other elements have decayed.

Cast and Mold

A type of fossil preservation where a mold is filled with sediment, creating a replica of the original organism.

Principle of Fossil Succession

The principle that fossil organisms succeed one another in a definite and determinable order.

Index Fossil

A fossil that is useful for dating and correlating the strata in which it is found.

William Strata Smith

The father of historical geology.

Geologic Time Scale

A system of chronological dating that relates geological strata to time.

Precambrian

The informal name for the earliest part of geologic time.

Paleozoic Era

The first era of the Phanerozoic Eon, known as the 'age of invertebrates'.

Mesozoic Era

The second era of the Phanerozoic Eon, known as the 'age of reptiles/dinosaurs'.

Cenozoic Era

The third and most recent era of the Phanerozoic Eon, known as the 'age of mammals'.

Pangaea

The supercontinent that existed approximately 300 million years ago.

Rodenia

One of the earliest known supercontinents.

Laurentia

An ancient continent that made up North America.

Baltica

An ancient continent composed of modern-day Russia.

Laurasia

A supercontinent formed by the collision of Laurentia and Baltica.

Gondwana

The southern part of Pangaea.

Fossilized

Having hard parts increases the likeliness of being…

Animalia

The kingdom humans belong to.

Plante

The classification of plants.

Binomial nomenclature

The two-part naming system that uses the genus and species names.

Cladogram

Diagram showing the evolutionary relationships among a group of organisms.

Monophyletic

Having one ancestor for all species.

James Hutton

The father of all geology, who came up with uniformitarianism.

Uniformitarianism

The principle that the same geological processes operating today operated in the past.

Superposition

The principle that in undisturbed rock layers, the oldest layers are on the bottom.

Unconformities

A break in the geologic record representing a time gap.

Correlation

The process of correlating rock layers from different locations.

Transgression

A rise in sea level.

Regression

A fall in sea level.