Download Science Vocab List for fossils and Earth Surface

Name: __________________________
Science Unit 2: Vocabulary List One
Quiz Date: ___________________________________________________________
Paleontologist
Organism
a scientist who studies the forms of life
that existed in former geologic periods,
mainly by studying fossils.
An individual animal or plant
Remains
The parts left over after other parts have
been removed, used, or destroyed
Preserve
To maintain something in its original or
existing state
Sediment
Deposited rock particles and other
materials that settle in a liquid
Fossil
Any evidence of an organism that lived
in the past
Fossilization
A rare event when remains or evidence
of organisms are hardened and
persevered
A trail, nest, burrow, or other evidence
of an organism found fossilized in
sediments; it shows the activity of an
organism, but is not made of the
organism itself
A type of fossil clearly showing the
outside features of an organism. Casts
are formed when these are filled in with
hardened sediments.
A type of fossil formed by hardened
sediments within a mold.
Trace fossil
Mold
Cast
Name: __________________________
Science Unit 2: Vocabulary List Two
Quiz Date: ___________________________________________________________
Sedimentary Rock
Imprint
Rocks that formed when layers of
sediment such as clay, mud, silt, or sand
hardened over millions of years. These
types of sediments are laid down in
lakes, swamps and oceans.
A fossil created by a print or impression
Amber
Hardened tree sap, yellow to brown in
color, often a source of insect fossils
Petrified
A description of plants or animals that
have been preserved by being
“turned to stone”
Extinct
Extinction
No longer in existence
the death of every member of a species
Name: __________________________
Science Unit 2: Vocabulary List Three
Quiz Date: ___________________________________________________________
Subtle
Not immediately obvious;
difficult to detect
Drastic
Extreme or forceful;
severe
Erosion
the process by which soil and rock are removed
from the Earth's surface by natural processes
such as wind or water flow, and then
transported and deposited in other locations
The process of breaking down rocks into
smaller pieces that create sediment
Weathering
Deposition
The buildup of matter by a natural process, for
example the laying down of sediments
in a river
Landslide
The rapid downward sliding of earth and rock
often caused by events such as
over-steepening of slopes by erosion, heavy
snowmelt, and earthquakes
The sudden ejection of hot ash, molten rock,
and various gases from an opening on the crust
of a planet
Volcanic eruption
Earthquake
Movement or vibration in the rocks that make
up Earth’s crust
Delta
A triangular section of sediment deposited at
the mouth of a river (where it flows into
another body of water)