Physical Geology

Chapter 8
Historical Geology/Geologic Time
Notes
Slide 2:
James Hutton was a Scottish _______________________ who lived in
the 1700’s.
He is considered by many people to be
______________________________________.
He believed the earth to be very ______________________ and talked
of it as being ______________________ of years old. He developed
the idea of ____________________________________________.
Slide 3:
________________________ is an idea that says the present
is the key to understanding the past. Natural processes at work today
also worked in the
past. These processes were also at work in the geologic
_______________________. Therefrore, what we see happening
_______________________ can be used to help us understand the
past.
_______________________ is more widely accepted.
_______________________says that processes today can be used to
help us interpret the past, however, we must keep in mind that
_______________________today may be much different than those
of processes in the past. Also, the _______________________ today
and in the past may not be exactly the same.
Slide 4:

In other words. . . If waves wash up on a shoreline today and create a

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sandy beach with its associated features, environments, and life forms,
then we can assume that similar
_________________________happened in the past. When we see
features in rock that are like those formed in modern-
________________________ we can assume those rocks then formed
in a similar way as those today.
Sand moved by a current creates angled layers in a sand dune called
____________________________. If we see
___________________ in sand dunes today, and we see

___________________ in Sandstone of Zion’s Park, then in what

environment did the sandstone likely form?
__________________________________
What might similar cross-beds on Mars indicate?

Slide 5:
Geologists believe the earth to be very old
(_________________________ years old).
How much is a million? Billion? A billion is an unimaginable amount!
It would take you ________________ years and 7 months to count to
a billion if you counted one number
per second.
If you had a billion dollars it would take you _______________ years to
spend all the money if you spent 1000 dollars every hour.
Slide 6:

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Name two methods used to date the age of the earth:
____________________________ and
____________________________
1) ____________________________ (numerical dating,
radiometric dating, or radioisotope dating)The use of radioactive
elements in minerals to give a specific number of years of a
geologic event.
2) ____________________________a method of dating geologic
events/features by putting them in a sequence or order in which

they occurred. It compares the

____________________________ of one event to other
events.
Slide 7:
State the law of superposition and make a drawing to represent it.

Slide 8:
State the law of original horizontality and make a sketch that shows it.

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Make a sketch that does not represent rocks with original horizontality.

Slide 9:
The law of __________________________ states that a disrupted
pattern is older than the cause of the disruption, or in other words, a
______________________________ that cuts another
_____________________________ is younger than the feature it
cuts.
Make a sketch that represents this principle.

Slide 10:
What are inclusions and what do they tell us?

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Make a labeled sketch that shows two possible places we would find
inclusions.

Slide 12:
What is correlation?

Name three ways/process used in correlation

a)
b)
c)
Slide 13:
__________________________ describes how we are able to
physically trace a layer of rock. _____________________________ is
generally limited to a small geographic area, and does not extend to other
regions.
Slide 14:
Using ____________________________ types to correlate rocks
from one region to another can be very useful, however, it is best to use
a ______________________ of rock for such correlation.

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Make a simple sketch that shows how you could correlate rock layers
from two different places. Include no more than four layers in your
sketch.

Slides 16- 18
What is a problem with just using similar lithologies (rock types) for
correlation?

Slide 19:

________________________________ is comparing fossils from one

place to another.
As we study sedimentary rocks we notice that certain
_________________________ are found in certain layers of rock. We
also notice that ___________________________ found in layers of
rock occur in a certain patter at regular intervals in the rock record. We
can use this fossil pattern to correlate rocks from place to place.
The idea that fossil species follow each other in a definite and
recognizable pattern is called ____________________________.
_____________________________________ (several
different fossil species in a rock layer) are used by geologists in relative

dating. We correlate by comparing fossil assemblages from different

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places.
Slide 22: Name a plant fossil used in correlation of Gondwanaland rocks.
___________________________________
Slide 23:
As we study layers of rocks we notice that there are
______________________ in the rock record. These gaps are created
by _________________ of previously existing layers or by
______________________________ of layers. A gap in the rock
record is called and _________________________________.

List the steps needed for the formation of an unconformity.

a)
b)
c)

Slide 24 :

Name three types of unconformities.

Slides 25:
In the space below define and draw a disconformity.

Name a place where you could see a disconformty.

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Slide 27:
In the space below define and draw and angular unconformity.

Name a place where you could see and angular unconformity.

Slide 28:
List the events involved in the creation of an unconformity.
a)_______________________________________________
b)_______________________________________________
c)_______________________________________________
d)_______________________________________________
Slide 31:
Define and draw and nonconformity

Name a place where you could see a nonconformity.

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Slides 35 – 46:
Reconstruct the geologic history of the area represented in the diagram.
a) ______________________________________________
b) ______________________________________________
c) ______________________________________________
d) ______________________________________________
e) ______________________________________________
f) ______________________________________________
g) ______________________________________________
h) ______________________________________________
i) ______________________________________________
j) ______________________________________________
Label the following block diagrams in order of geologic events: (1 is the
oldest)

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Phys Geol Chapter 8 Page 10
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Do diagram F as homework.

Slide 53:
The geologic time scale was established initially as a
____________________ scale using sedimentary rocks and
_______________________. Absolute ages were determined later

with ___________________________ dating

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Slide 55:
Radiometric or absolute dating is done using ____________________
isotopes. _________________________ isotopes have
________________________ that spontaneously decay and in the
process emit or capture __________________________ particles and
energy. _______________________ is the original radioisotope that
is decaying and _________________________ is the product of the
decay. The loss or gain of a _________________________ converts
the parent to a daughter product of the same element. The loss or gain

of a proton changes the parent into an entirely new

________________.
Slide 56:
There are three primary ways radioactive decay occurs:
a) ___________________________________
b) ___________________________________
c) ___________________________________

Name, describe, and give an example of each of the different types of

radioactive decay.

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Phys Geol Chapter 8 Page 14
Slide 57:
____________________________dating used continuous decay to
measure the time since the rock formed. It has only been possible since
the late ____________________. Atoms of radioactive isotopes are
trapped in the ________________________ of minerals as they
crystallize from a magma. Radioisotopes
__________________immediately and continuously at a constant rate.
The rock contains less _____________________ and more
_________________________ as time passes.

Slide 58:
The amount of time it takes for half the atoms of the parent isotope to
decay is called ________________________ Different radioactive
isotopes have different and distinct ___________________________
If a rock has 12 parents and 12 daughters--ratio of 1:1, then …original
rock had ________________ parents and one half-life has elapsed.
After another half life, the rock will have ______________ parents and
18 daughters, a ratio of ___________________ The total number (24)
remains the same regardless of the isotope. The ratio of parent to
daughter atoms is ___________________________ at each half-life.
Slide 59:
If there is 12.5 % of the original radioisotope left in a rock, how many
half-lives has the rock gone through? _____________________
Slide 60:
Radioactive deacay is not a ________________________ relationship,
but is rather a ______________________ relationship.

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Slide 61:
What is the final product of the decay of U-
238?_______________________. How many steps are taken to get
to this product? _________________________
Slide 62:
Give the half-lives of the following isotope decay patterns.

Radioisotope/stable Half-life

daugh ter
U-238 to Pb-206

U-235 to Pb-207

U-232 to Pb 208

K-40 to Ar-40

Rb-87 to Sr-87

Slide 63: Be able to give the geologic time scale: eons, eras, periods,
epochs. Give the absolute date for the Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Cenozoic
boundaries.

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