Download chapter 6 section 3 and chapter 7 vocabulary

CHAPTER 6 SECTION 3 AND CHAPTER 7 VOCABULARY
Geographic isolation – a type of evolution that occurs when populations of species are divided or
separated by a physical barrier
Convergent evolution – the independent evolution in similar environment of similar species but with no
common ancestor
Lithospheric plate – large, brittle pieces of Earth’s outer shell composed of crust and uppermost mantle
Uniformitarianism – the ideas that Earth processes that are at work today were also working on Earth
in the past
Rock Cycle- the series of process that change rock from one form to another
Clast – different sized pieces of rock
Lithification – process of changing sediment into rock
Stratum –layers of rock
Superposition – the theory that undisturbed layers or rock have the
oldest layers on the bottom and the youngest on the top
Relative age – an estimation of age made by comparing position and characteristics of two objects
Absolute age – the age of a rock given as the number of years since the rock has formed
Intrusion – an igneous rock layer formed when magma harden beneath the Earth’s surface
Extrusion- an igneous rock layer formed when lava flows onto Earth’s surface and hardens
Weathering - mechanical or chemical erosion of rocks due to weather
Transportation – to the movement of eroded debris, whether by rivers, glaciers, wind or ocean
currents, and tides
Erosion - the mechanical process of wearing or grinding the earth's surface by the action of water and
wind
Deposition - is the geological process by which material is added to a landform or land mass
Isotope- atoms of a given element that have the same number of protons and electrons but a different
number on neutrons
Radioactive decay – when an unstable atomic nucleus changes to another nucleus by emitting particles
and energy
Half-life – the time it takes for a radioactive isotope to decay to half of its original amount
Radiation – thermal energy transferred by electromagnetic waves