Terms List

Benthic: Living at the bottom of the ocean or on the ocean floor.

Biological/Biotic Factors: Living factors such as decomposers, scavengers and predators.

Body Fossil: Body parts of organisms that become fossils, such as bones, teeth, skin, leaves, tree trunks.

Cast: Casts are formed when sediment leaks into a mold and hardens to form a copy of the original structure.

Compression: Fossils formed when an organism is flattened (compressed), leaving a dark stain in the rock.

Coprolite: Fossilized feces.

Decomposer: An organism that breaks down the tissue and/or structures of dead organisms.

Erosion: Weathering or wearing away of rock and earth (and any fossils they contain) caused by wind, sun, and/or water.

Fossil: The natural remains or traces of past life. Something is considered to be a fossil if it is at least 10,000 years old.

Fossil Record: ALL of the fossils that have existed throughout life’s history, whether they have been found or not.

Groundwater: Water found underground as a result of rainfall, ice and snow melt, submerged rivers, lakes, and springs.

Ichnology: The study of trace fossils.

Igneous Rock: Type of rock produced when molten magma (lava) cools and solidifies.

Inorganic: Not containing carbon. Not from living things. Ex., mineral

Impression: Fossilized prints or marks made by a living thing. Leaf prints, skin prints and footprints are good examples.

Intertidal: The coastal zone between the low and high tide mark where waves impact the land.

Metamorphic Rock: Rock produced when any type of rock is changed by heat, pressure, and chemical activity in the Earth.

Mineralization: The process whereby living material is replaced with minerals.

Mold: The impression of an organism left behind in the rock.

Paleontology: The study of life in the past. Paleontologists are people who study fossils and other types of evidence to learn about life in the past.

Plate tectonics: The concept that explains the movement of the Earth’s crustal plates, sea floor spreading, and a number of other geologic processes of the Earth’s surface.

Rock Cycle: The process through which one type of rock (igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic) is converted into another.

Scavenger: An organism that feeds on dead and dying organisms.

Sedimentary Rock: Rock that is formed when layers of small particles (sediment) are compressed and cemented together.

Trace fossil: Evidence left by organisms, such as burrows, imprints, coprolites, or footprints.

Uplift: The process that causes part of the Earth’s crust to rise above surrounding areas. This can cause layers of rock to become exposed at the surface.