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Evolution adaptation Evolution deposition Evolution eon Evolution epoch Evolution era Evolution erosion Evolution evolution Evolution extinct Evolution fault Evolution folding Evolution fossil Evolution index fossil Evolution lava Evolution magma Evolution Precambrian Evolution half-life Evolution taxonomy Evolution weathering Evolution tectonic plate Evolution sedimentary rock Evolution sea-floor spreading Evolution relative age Evolution radioactive dating Evolution plate boundary Evolution natural selection Evolution mid-ocean ridge Evolution metamorphic rock Evolution Law of Superposition Evolution igneous rock Evolution geologic time scale Evolution analogous structures Evolution species variation Evolution vestigial structure Evolution igneous intrusion Evolution cast fossil Evolution mold fossil Evolution subduction zone Evolution structural adaptation Evolution behavioral adaptation Evolution physiological adaptation Evolution convection current Evolution absolute age Evolution decay element Evolution stable element Evolution Theory of Continental Drift Evolution Theory of Plate Tectonics Evolution homologous structure Evolution embryological Key Terms Absolute age: the number of years since the rock layer formed Adaptation: a trait that helps an organism survive in a particular environment Analogous structures: body parts of different organisms that perform similar functions but do not have similar structures Behavioral adaptation: Cast fossil: a fossil formed as a solid copy of the shape of an organism Convection current: the circular motion that happens when warmer air or liquid — which has faster moving molecules, making it less dense — rises, while the cooler air or liquid drops down Decay element: the spontaneous transformation of one element into another Deposition: the dropping of pieces of weathered rock carried by water, wind, or ice Eon: the longest unit on the geologic time scale Epoch: the shortest division of geologic time Era: a division of an eon on the geologic time scale Erosion: a process by which weathered rock is picked up and moved to new places Evolution: the process by which species and landforms change over time Extinct: no longer found living on Earth Fault: a break, or crack, in Earth’s surface along which movement occurs Folding: the process in which rock layers are squeezed together and pushed upward, forming a ripple in Earth’s crust Fossil: the preserved remains or evidence of an organism that lived in a past age Geologic time scale: a timeline that organizes major events in Earth’s history Half-life: the time taken for the radioactivity of a specified isotope to fall/decay to half its original amount Homologous structure: body parts of different organisms that have a similar structure but not necessarily a similar function; may indicate common ancestry Igneous rock: rock that forms when melted rock cools and hardens Igneous extrusion: rock that forms when melted rock cools and hardens after spreading out on Earth’s surface Igneous intrusion: rock that forms when melted rock cools and hardens before reaching Earth’s surface Index fossil: a fossil that is useful for dating geologic layers because the organism lived for only a short period of time; determines relative age Lava: melted rock that reaches Earth’s surface Law of Superposition: the principle that in undisturbed sedimentary rock layers, older layers of rock lie beneath younger rock layers Magma: melted rock beneath Earth’s surface Metamorphic rock: rock that forms when existing rock is exposed to high heat, high pressure, or both Mid-ocean ridge: an underwater mountain range that forms where ocean plates move apart Mold fossil: when the hard part of an organism is buried in sediment leaving a hollow shape of the organism Natural selection: the process by which organisms that are best suited to a particular environment survive and reproduce most successfully Physiological adaptation: when an individual has a systemic response to an external stimulus; a function that naturally occurs Plate boundary: the place where two tectonic plates meet Precambrian: geologic time that consists of three eons and includes most of Earth’s history Radioactive/radiometric dating: a means of measuring the age of a material by comparing the amount of a radioactive form of an element (unstable ) with the amount of its decay product (stable element); determines absolute age Relative age: the age of a rock or fossil described in comparison to that of another rock or fossil Sea-floor spreading: the formation of new ocean floor from melted rock that seeps up from the mantle and flows into the space between plates that are moving apart Sediment: weathered rock and other materials deposited by water, wind, or ice Sedimentary rock: rock that forms from compacted sediment Species variation: a term used in genetics, refers to a genetic event that causes the individuals or groups of a certain type or species to possess different characteristics from one another. Stable element: a nonradioactive element, one not subject to spontaneous nuclear degeneration Structural adaptation: are physical features of an organism that help it to survive Subduction zone: takes place at convergent boundaries by which one tectonic plate moves under another tectonic plate and sinks into the mantle as the plates converge Taxonomy: the science of classifying organisms Tectonic plate: one of the large sections into which the lithosphere is broken Theory of Evolution: the theory that a gradual process occurs in which something changes into a different andusually more complex or better form Theory of Plate Tectonics: a theory in geology: the lithosphere of the earth is divided into a small number of plates which float on and travel independently over the mantle and much of the earth's seismic activity occurs at the boundaries of these plates Vestigial structure: A structure in an organism that has lost all or most of its original function in the course of evolution, such as human appendixes. Weathering: Any of the chemical or mechanical processes by which rocks exposed to the weather undergo chemical decomposition and physical disintegration