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JMJ
7/8 General Science: Module 8
Uniformitarianism and Catastrophism
Uniformitarianism and the Geological Record
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________________ do not expect to find a layer of rock for each time period
in earth’s past
Layers have not been produced uniformly over the Earth; some layers have
eroded
Each layer represents a certain ____________________
Index fossils are used to determine which layers belong to a certain time
period
– _________: fossils that are assumed to represent certain period of time
_______________ dating used to estimate age of fossils and therefore
approximate the age of rock layer
Geological Column
__________________________
– Theoretical picture in which layers of rock from around the world are
meshed together into a single, unbroken record of earth’s past
– Assumes:
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Each layer of rock represents a period of the past
Index fossils found in each layer are accurate indicators of a given
___________________
– Era
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Time period covered by a collection of layers
Uniformitarianism and Evolution
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Fossils of simple organisms found in deep layers; increasingly complex
organisms found sequentially in more superficial layers
Does this provide evidence for the Theory of Evolution?
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– All life on earth has one (or a few) common ancestor(s) that existed a
long time ago
– As billions of years passed, small differences between parents and
offspring accumulated and some simple organisms became increasingly
complex
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E.g., Fish ____________ into an amphibian, p.192
Geological column a chronological record of life on earth and a record of
evolution
Catastrophism and the Geological Record
Catastrophists believe the worldwide flood is responsible for most of the
geological record
Evidence for this belief comes from a recent earthquake
– In 1980, ______________________ erupted
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Magma released
Severely damaged life for ________ sq. miles
Energy released equivalent to 430 million tons of TNT!
Ash and debris covered a huge area
River of mud moved at over _________ miles/hour
Sediments from this river formed layers with strata of varying
thickness
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Stratified formations that uniformitarians think take millions of years to form,
can form very quickly if there is a __________________
– E.g., “Engineer’s Canyon” or the “Little Grand Canyon” formed in less
than a __________ after Mt. St. Helens erupted
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Did the river at the bottom of the Grand Canyon slowly produce the canyon,
or did the river appear as a result of the canyon quickly forming due to a
_________________?
Believe most sedimentary rock and fossils deposited during the Flood
Different layers represent different stages of the ______________
Three broad eras
– Fossils in pre-Flood rocks were creatures alive before the Flood
– Fossils in rocks deposited by the Flood lived during the time of the ___
– Fossils in post-Flood rocks were creatures that lived ________ the flood
Fossil graveyards
– Common in the fossil record
– Deposits that contain enormous numbers of fossilized creatures,
sometimes from many different __________________
– Flood may have caused diverse animals to move outside their normal
area and then become concentrated together where they were rapidly
buried and _____________
– Flood waters could mix a variety of organisms together
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Some fossils appear to have formed ________________
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Time required for the formation of fossils
– Catastrophists think fossils form quickly
– Uniformitarians think fossils form ____________
Uniformitarianism or Catastrophism: Which is Better?
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Catastrophism
– Better at explaining lack of fossils and presence of fossil ___________
– One example of soft, unfossilized dinosaur bone tissue indicates
dinosaurs may have lived ________ rather than millions of years ago
– Organisms thought to be extinct and to represent an ancient time
period are later found to ______________
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E.g., Wollemi pine and coelacanth (primitive fish)
Paraconformity
– A “disguised” unconformity for which there is no evidence but some
geologists think should exist
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– Paraconformities are common and are a problem for ______________
Unconformities
– Catastrophists can not provide an explanation for how certain layers
formed during the Flood and why there is evidence of erosion between
certain ______________
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In situ growth structures
– In situ
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In the natural or original position or place
– Do not appear to have been deposited by a Flood
– E.g., __________ (limestone) deposits, such as the White Cliffs of Dover,
appear to have been formed over a long period of time from the bodies
of microscopic, aquatic, hard-shelled organisms
Evolution: Can It provide Evidence for Uniformitarianism?
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The geological column (and the Bible) indicates that simper life forms
proceeded more complex creatures, so this supports the Theory of Evolution
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Aside from the geological column, is there evidence for evolution?
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Intermediate link
– There is a lot of evidence for ______________
– There is a lot of debate over macroevolution
– A creature that is supposed to represent an evolutionary transition from
one basic kind of creature to _____________
– __________ have been found
– Darwin admitted this problem
– A possible link between reptiles and birds
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Archaeopteryx
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Teeth like a ____________
Wings like a ________
Claws on the wings (reptiles have claws on front feet)
Tail is long and bony like a reptile
Evolution: Can It provide Evidence for Uniformitarianism?
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Is Australopithecus an intermediate link between apes and humans?
– Australopithecus is very ape-like
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Progressive creationists
– Combine aspects of catastrophists and uniformitarians