Question 1

How are radioactive elements different from stable elements?

Accepted Answer

Radioactive elements spontaneously decay to other more stable isotopes,releasing energy in the process.

Question 2

What is the principle of uniformitarianism? Why does the principle of uniformitarianism lead to the conclusion that Earth's age is great?

Accepted Answer

Present-day processes have operated throughout geologic time;the laws of physics,chemistry,and biology have operated throughout geologic time.Geologists can observe that the processes that are currently shaping,and thus previously shaped Earth,occur very slowly or infrequently and cannot be accommodated by a historic time scale.

Question 3

In order to correlate age-equivalent rock units of dissimilar composition or to correlate rock units over a large area,____________________ and the principle of ____________________ must be used.

Accepted Answer

fossils,fossil succession

Question 4

A surface of discontinuity representing a break in the depositional record;a discontinuity representing erosion or nondeposition is a(n)____________________.

Accepted Answer

The answer of A surface of discontinuity representing a break...

Question 5

The loss of an electron from a neutron in the nucleus is called:

Accepted Answer

A) alpha decay. 
B) beta decay. 
C) electron decay. 
D) electron capture. 
E) half-life decay. 
A) alpha decay. 
B) beta decay. 
C) electron decay. 
D) electron capture. 
E) half-life decay.

Question 6

All radioactive elements decay in only one decay step.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 7

What were some of the ways early scholars tried to determine the age of Earth?

Accepted Answer

One melted iron balls of various diamete

Question 8

What is the geologic time scale based on today?

Accepted Answer

The original geologic time sca

Question 9

The length of time preserved in Grand Canyon rocks is about:

Accepted Answer

A) 10,000 years. 
B) 100,000 years. 
C) 1 million years. 
D) 1 billion years. 
E) 10 billion years. 
A) 10,000 years. 
B) 100,000 years. 
C) 1 million years. 
D) 1 billion years. 
E) 10 billion years.

Question 10

Fragments of a rock that are contained in a layer of another rock must be ____________________ in age than the layer of rock that surrounds them.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Fragments of a rock that are contained...

Question 11

How do stalagmites enter into the debate on global warming?

Accepted Answer

Stalagmites are calcium carbonate precip

Question 12

Long-lived parent-daughter isotope pairs have half-lives of thousands to hundreds of thousands of years.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 13

What does half-life measure?

Accepted Answer

The amount of time it takes fo

Question 14

Why are metamorphic rocks difficult to date accurately?

Accepted Answer

Heat and pressure may cause the parent o

Question 15

What is the importance of a marker bed?

Accepted Answer

Marker beds are important because they c

Question 16

The best dating method for fine-grained volcanic rocks is potassium 40-argon 40.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 17

How are oxygen isotopes used to determine ancient climate?

Accepted Answer

The light isotope of oxygen,ox

Question 18

Ancient igneous intrusive,lunar samples,and some meteorites are dated by uranium-lead and thorium-lead series isotopes.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 19

Carbon-14 dating is based on the ratio of the parent isotope ____________________ to the daughter isotope ____________________.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Carbon-14 dating is based on the ratio...

Question 20

The time necessary for half of the atoms of the unstable parent element to decay to the new,more stable daughter element is the isotope's ____________________.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The time necessary for half of the...

How are radioactive elements different from stable elements?

What is the principle of uniformitarianism? Why does the principle of uniformitarianism lead to the conclusion that Earth's age is great?

In order to correlate age-equivalent rock units of dissimilar composition or to correlate rock units over a large area, and the principle of must be used.

A surface of discontinuity representing a break in the depositional record;a discontinuity representing erosion or nondeposition is a(n)____________________.

The loss of an electron from a neutron in the nucleus is called:

All radioactive elements decay in only one decay step.

What were some of the ways early scholars tried to determine the age of Earth?

What is the geologic time scale based on today?

The length of time preserved in Grand Canyon rocks is about:

Fragments of a rock that are contained in a layer of another rock must be ____________________ in age than the layer of rock that surrounds them.

How do stalagmites enter into the debate on global warming?

Long-lived parent-daughter isotope pairs have half-lives of thousands to hundreds of thousands of years.

What does half-life measure?

Why are metamorphic rocks difficult to date accurately?

What is the importance of a marker bed?

The best dating method for fine-grained volcanic rocks is potassium 40-argon 40.

How are oxygen isotopes used to determine ancient climate?

Ancient igneous intrusive,lunar samples,and some meteorites are dated by uranium-lead and thorium-lead series isotopes.

Carbon-14 dating is based on the ratio of the parent isotope to the daughter isotope .

The time necessary for half of the atoms of the unstable parent element to decay to the new,more stable daughter element is the isotope's ____________________.

Understanding Earth: A Dynamic and Evolving Planet

Plate Tectonics: A Unifying Theory

Minerals: The Building Blocks of Rocks

Igneous Rocks and Intrusive Igneous Activity

Volcanoes and Volcanism

Weathering, Soil, and Sedimentary Rocks

Metamorphism and Metamorphic Rocks

Earthquakes and Earths Interior

Deformation, Mountain Building, and the Continents

Mass Wasting

Running Water

Groundwater

Glaciers and Glaciation

The Work of Wind and Deserts

Oceans, Shorelines, and Shoreline Processes

Earth History

Life History

Filters

Exam 16: Geologic Time: Concepts and Principles

How are radioactive elements different from stable elements?

What is the principle of uniformitarianism? Why does the principle of uniformitarianism lead to the conclusion that Earth's age is great?

In order to correlate age-equivalent rock units of dissimilar composition or to correlate rock units over a large area,____________________ and the principle of ____________________ must be used.

A surface of discontinuity representing a break in the depositional record;a discontinuity representing erosion or nondeposition is a(n)____________________.

The loss of an electron from a neutron in the nucleus is called:

All radioactive elements decay in only one decay step.

What were some of the ways early scholars tried to determine the age of Earth?

What is the geologic time scale based on today?

The length of time preserved in Grand Canyon rocks is about:

Fragments of a rock that are contained in a layer of another rock must be ____________________ in age than the layer of rock that surrounds them.

How do stalagmites enter into the debate on global warming?

Long-lived parent-daughter isotope pairs have half-lives of thousands to hundreds of thousands of years.

What does half-life measure?

Why are metamorphic rocks difficult to date accurately?

What is the importance of a marker bed?

The best dating method for fine-grained volcanic rocks is potassium 40-argon 40.

How are oxygen isotopes used to determine ancient climate?

Ancient igneous intrusive,lunar samples,and some meteorites are dated by uranium-lead and thorium-lead series isotopes.

Carbon-14 dating is based on the ratio of the parent isotope ____________________ to the daughter isotope ____________________.

The time necessary for half of the atoms of the unstable parent element to decay to the new,more stable daughter element is the isotope's ____________________.

Understanding Earth: A Dynamic and Evolving Planet

Plate Tectonics: A Unifying Theory

Minerals: The Building Blocks of Rocks

Igneous Rocks and Intrusive Igneous Activity

Volcanoes and Volcanism

Weathering, Soil, and Sedimentary Rocks

Metamorphism and Metamorphic Rocks

Earthquakes and Earths Interior

Deformation, Mountain Building, and the Continents

Mass Wasting

Running Water

Groundwater

Glaciers and Glaciation

The Work of Wind and Deserts

Oceans, Shorelines, and Shoreline Processes

Earth History

Life History

Filters

In order to correlate age-equivalent rock units of dissimilar composition or to correlate rock units over a large area, and the principle of must be used.

Carbon-14 dating is based on the ratio of the parent isotope to the daughter isotope .