absolute dating
the process of assigning an exact numerical age to an organism
relative dating
the process of placing objects or events in their proper order in time
uniformitarianism
the laws of nature operate today as they have in the past
principle of superposition
an undisturbed sequence of sedimentary rock layer, the younger the rocks will be at the top the older the rocks will be at the bottom
uncomformity
gaps in the rock record during which either erosion occurred or deposition
fossil
the remains or traces of organisms found in the geologic rock record