Fossil Record Vocabulary

The principle or assumption that the same natural laws and processes that operate in the universe now have always operated in the universe in the past and apply everywhere in the universe.

The theory that the Earth has been affected in the past by sudden, short-lived, violent events, possibly worldwide in scope.

The study of fossils.

The science of determining the relative order of past events

The process of determining an age on a specified time scale in archaeology and geology.

A principle of quantum theory that describes a challenging concept about the nature and behavior of matter and forces at the sub-atomic level.

An atom of a given element may have a wide range in its number of neutrons.

The process by which a nucleus of an unstable atom loses energy by emitting radiation.

The time taken for the radioactivity of a specified isotope to fall to half its original value.

The remains or impression of a prehistoric organism preserved in petrified form or as a mold or cast in rock.

Provide us with indirect evidence of life in the past, such as the footprints, tracks, burrows, borings, and feces left behind by animals, rather than the preserved remains of the body of the actual animal itself.

A mold or mould is a fungus that grows in the form of multicellular filaments called hyphae. In contrast, fungi that can adopt a single-celled growth habit are called yeasts.