Chapter 12 - Geologic Time

Julius Borris
Chapter 12 - Geologic Time
12.1 - Discovering Earth’s History
12.1.1 - Studying Earth’s History

12.1.2 - Relative Dating - Key Principles
12.1.3 - Reading the Rock Record
Key Concepts
● What are the three main ideas of the science of geology?
● What are the key principles of relative dating?
● How do geologists interpret the rock record?
Vocabulary
● Uniformitarianism
● Relative dating
● Law of superposition
● Principle of original horizontality
● Principle of cross-cutting relationships
● Unconformity
● Correlation
I. Studying Earth’s History

A. In studying Earth’s history, geologists make use of three main ideas:
1. The rock record provides evidence of geological events and life
forms of the past;
2. Processes observed on Earth in the present also acted in the
past;
3. Earth is very old and has changed over geologic time.
II. Relative Dating - Key Principles
A. In relative dating, geologists follow several principles: the law of
superposition, the principle of original horizontality, and the
principle of cross-cutting relationships.
1. The method that geologists use to place rock in chronological order is
called relative dating.
2. The law of superposition states that in an undeformed sequence of
sedimentary rocks, each layer is older than the one above it and younger
than the one below it.
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3. The principle of original horizontality states that layers of sediment

are generally deposited in a horizontal position.
4. The principle of cross-cutting relationships states that when a fault
cuts through rock layers, or when magma intrudes other rocks and
hardens, then the fault or intrusion is younger than the rocks around it.
III. Reading the Rock Record
A. Methods that geologists use to interpret the rock record include the
study of inclusions and unconformities. Geologists also correlate rock
layers at different locations.
1. Inclusions are pieces of one rock unit that are contained within another.
2. A surface that represents a break in the rock record is termed an
unconformity.
3. Geologists use correlation to match rocks of similar age in different
locations.
1. List three main ideas of the science of geology.

In studying Earth’s history, geologists make use of three main ideas: the rock record provides
evidence of geological events and life forms of the past, processes observed on Earth in the
present also acted in the past, and Earth is very old and has changed over geologic time.
2. List and briefly describe Steno’s principles.
The law of superposition states that in a sequence of undisturbed rock layers, the oldest layer is
on the bottom; the upper layers are progressively younger. The principle of original horizontality
states that sedimentary rocks are generally deposited horizontally. The principle of cross-cutting
relationships states that features such as faults and intrusions are younger than the features they
cut across.
3. In your own words, write definitions of inclusion, unconformity, and correlation.
Inclusion: piece of one kind of rock contained in another rock; unconformity: surface that
represents a break in the rock record; correlation: way of determining that two separated rock
units are the same.
4. What is the geologic column?
An arrangement of rock layers in which the oldest rocks are at the bottom.
12.2 - Fossils: Evidence of Past Life
12.2.1 - Types of Fossils

12.2.2 - Conditions For Fossilization
12.2.3 - Fossils and the History of Life
12.2.4 - Interpreting the Fossil Record
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Key Concepts
● What are the different types of fossils?
● What conditions help a fossil to form?
● What major developments helped scientists explain the fossil record?
● How do geologists interpret fossils and rocks?
Vocabulary
● Extinct
● Fossil
● Principle of fossil succession
● Theory of evolution
● Natural selection
● Adaptation
● Index fossil
I. Types of Fossils
A. The different types of fossils include petrified fossils, molds, and
casts, carbon films, preserved remains, and trace fossils.
1. An extinct organism is one that no longer exists on Earth
2. A fossil is the remains or traces of an organism preserved from the
geologic past.
II. Conditions For Fossilization
A. Two conditions that favor preservation of an organism as a fossil are
rapid burial and the possession of hard parts.
III. Fossils and the History of Life
A. Two major scientific developments helped scientists explain the fossil
record: the principle of fossil succession and the theory of evolution.
1. The principle of fossil succession states that fossil organisms succeed
one another in a definite and determinable order.
2. The theory of evolution states that life forms have changed over time,
or evolved, from simpler to more complex forms.
3. In natural selection, individuals that are better adapted to their
environment are more likely to survive and reproduce than others of the
same type.
4. Organisms possess certain traits, called adaptations, that affect their
ability to survive and reproduce.
IV. Interpreting the Fossil Record
A. Geologists use fossils to improve the correlation of rock layers and
reconstruct past environments.
1. An index fossil is the fossil of an organism that was geographically
widespread and abundant in the fossil record, but that existed for only a
limited span of time.
1. List the different types of fossils.
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Petrified fossils, molds and cases, compression fossils, impression fossils, unaltered remains,
and trace fossils
2. Describe the conditions that favor the formation of fossils.
Quick burial, possession of hard parts.
3. In your own words, define the principle of fossil succession and the theory of evolution.
According to the principle of fossil succession, specific groups of fossils occur in particular rock
layers. Each layer differs, and changes in life forms can be observed from layer to layer.
According to the theory of evolution, life forms have evolved, or changed over time, through
natural selection.
4. Describe two ways that geologists can use fossils to interpret Earth’s history.
To correlate rock layers and to reconstruct past environments.
12.3 - Dating With Radioactivity
12.3.1 - What Is Radioactivity?

12.3.2 - Radiometric Dating
12.3.3 - Dating with Carbon-14
12.3.4 - Radiometric Dating of Sedimentary Rock
Key Concepts
● What happens during radioactive decay?
● How are isotopes used in radiometric dating?
● How can radiometric dating be used to date organic material?
● How can radiometric dating be used to date sedimentary rocks?
Vocabulary
● Radioactivity
● Half-life
● Radiometric dating
● Radiocarbon dating
I. What Is Radioactivity?
A. During radioactive decay, unstable atomic nuclei spontaneously
break apart, or decay, releasing energy.
1. Radioactivity is the process by which atoms decay.
2. A half-life is the amount of time necessary for one half of the nuclei in a
sample to decay to its stable isotope.
II. Radiometric Dating
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A. In radiometric dating, scientists measure the ratio between the

radioactive parent isotope and the daughter products in a sample to
be dated. The older the sample, the more daughter product it
contains.
1. Radiometric dating is a way of calculating the absolute ages of rocks
and minerals that contain certain radioactive isotopes.
2. Radiocarbon dating is a method to date organic materials using
carbon-14.
III. Dating with Carbon-14
A. When an organism dies, the amount of carbon-14 gradually decreases
as it decays. By comparing the ratio of carbon-14 to carbon-12 in a
sample, radiocarbon dates can be determined.
IV. Radioactive Dating of Sedimentary Rock
A. To determine the age of sedimentary rock, geologists must relate the
sedimentary rock to datatable masses of igneous rock.
1. What happens to atoms that are radioactive?

The nuclei decay or react by emitting alpha or beta particles.
2. What is the role of isotopes in radiometric dating?
A radioactive isotope decays into its stable daughter product at a constant rate. The time it takes
for half of the isotope in a sample to decay is known as the half-life of the isotope. A radioactive
isotope can thus serve as a “clock” that can be used to determine the age of a substance.
3. Describe radiocarbon dating.
Scientists measure the ratio between the amount of radioactive isotope atoms and daughter
product atoms in a substance. The ratio reflects how much time has passed since the substance
formed.
4. How do geologists use radiometric dating to date sedimentary rock layers indirectly?
Sedimentary rock layers that lie between two igneous rock units must have an age that lies
somewhere between the absolute ages of the two igneous rock units. The latter can be dated
using radiometric methods.
12.4 - The Geologic Time Scale
12.4.1 - Structure of the Time Scale
Key Concepts
● What is the geologic time scale?
● How is the geologic time scale constructed?
Vocabulary
● Geologic time scale
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● Eon
● Precambrian time
● Era
● Period
● Epoch
I. Structure of the Time Scale

A. The geologic time scale is a record that includes both geologic events and major
developments in the evolution of life.
1. The geologic time scale is a time that divides Earth’s history into units
representing specific intervals of time.
B. Eons represent the longest intervals of geologic time. Eons are
divided into eras. Each era is subdivided into periods. Finally, periods
are divided into still smaller units called epochs.
1. Geologists divide Earth’s history into four long units called eons.
2. The first three eons when Earth formed, the atmosphere and oceans
developed, and early life evolved are grouped together and called
Precambrian time.
3. There are three eras within the Phanerozoic eon: the Paleozoic,
Mesozoic, and Cenozoic eras.
4. Different geologic events, environmental conditions, and life forms
characterize each period.
5. We live in the Holocene epoch of the Quaternary (or Neogene) period.
1. What is the geologic time scale?

The geologic time scale divides Earth’s history into units that each represent specific amounts of
time.
2. What subdivisions make up the geologic time scale?
Eons, eras, periods, and epochs
3. How is the geologic time scale today different from the geologic time scale developed by
geologists in the 1800s?
During the 1800s, the geologic time scale was based on relative ages of the rock record. During
the 1900s, absolute ages based on radiometric dating were added to the time scale.
4. Why are there more subdivisions of the time scale for the Phanerozoic eon than for
earlier eons?
There is more information in the rock and fossil record about the geologic events of this eon
than there is about previous eons.

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Julius Borris

Chapter 12 - Geologic Time

12.1 - Discovering Earth’s History

12.1.1 - Studying Earth’s History

I. Studying Earth’s History

3. The principle of original horizontality states that layers of sediment

1. List three main ideas of the science of geology.

12.2 - Fossils: Evidence of Past Life

12.2.1 - Types of Fossils

1. List the different types of fossils.

12.3 - Dating With Radioactivity

12.3.1 - What Is Radioactivity?

A. In radiometric dating, scientists measure the ratio between the

1. What happens to atoms that are radioactive?

12.4 - The Geologic Time Scale

12.4.1 - Structure of the Time Scale

I. Structure of the Time Scale

1. What is the geologic time scale?

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