General Biology 2

QUARTER 1 - GENETICS
Lesson 3.1: History of Life on Earth
What I need to know
Learning Competency
The learners shall be able to describe general features of the history of life on Earth, including generally accepted dates and sequences of the
geologic time scale and characteristics of major groups of organisms present during these time periods (STEM_BIO11/12-IIIc-g-8).
At the end of this lesson, the learners will be able to:
1. identify the dates and sequence of the periods in the geologic time scale;
2. identify the major events in each major period;
3. describe the characteristics of the major groups of organisms’ presents during a time period.
What I know
Direction: Answer the following. Choose the letter of the correct b. 46, 000, 000 d. There is no way to know
answer. 4. One hundred thousand years in the geologic history of Earth
1. Geologically speaking with reference to the entire history of would be considered _______.
the earth, the dinosaurs went extinct _____. a. immense long
a. shortly after the formation of Earth b. a drop in the bucket
b. in the first billion years of Earth’s history c. half of earth’s history
c. in the most recent 2% of the history of Earth d. an extremely significant amount of time
d. before the first fish formed 5. Understanding geologic time is significant because it helps us
2. Relative to the present of time dominating the surface of Earth ____.
which organisms have the longest reign? a. Understand human’s impact on our environment
a. dinosaurs c. prokaryotes b. Understand the evolution of organisms over time
b. plants d. eukaryotes c. Understand the possibility for life on other planets
3. The Earth is ______ years old. d. Understand the process of evolution
a. 6, 000 c. 4, 600,000,000
What’s new
PRE-ACTIVITY
1. What is the age of the Earth?
2. What was the Earth like million years ago? Describe.

What is it
The Geologic Time Scale
Geologic time scale is a record of the life forms and geological events in Earth’s history. Scientists developed the time scale by studying
rock layers and fossils worldwide. The Earth’s geological life may simply be subdivided this way:
1. The Precambrian life, composed of the Hadean, Archean, and
Proterozoic Eras, started more than 550 million years ago It
started with the planet’s creation about 4.5 billion years ago
from dust and gas orbiting the Sun and ended with the
emergence of complex, multi-celled organisms almost four
billion years later. The Earth become more conducive to life and
allowed single-celled cyanobacteria to exist.
2. The Paleozoic era known as “Old Life”, started more than 540
million of years ago and lasted for more than 300 million years.
This era is divided into six geologic periods: Cambrian,
Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous, and Permian.
The Cambrian period ushered the most massive occurrence
of evolution and divergence of the species. This period, marked
the most rapid evolution of new animal phyla and animal
What’s more
Draw an organism that is present in each era and write its classification.
diversity in Earth’s history. Often referred to as the Cambrian
explosion. During the Ordovician period plant life appeared on
land. Silurian vascular plants had spread through the
continents. During the Paleozoic era, the largest mass
extinction in history also occurred, wiping out approximately
90% of all marine animal species and 70% of land animal.
3. The Mesozoic era or “middle life”, started around 245 million
years ago and lasted for 180 million years. It is subdivided into
three periods, namely, Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous
periods. The most significant land mass activity was the
gradual lifting of the supercontinent Pangaea. During the
Triassic period, Pangaea still formed one massive
supercontinent.

What I’ve learned

1. The Earth has an incredibly long history. How does understanding of geologic time and the significant geologic events of the past impact
your understanding of humans’ unique responsibility and place on earth?
2. How does understanding the past help us understand the present?
3. Calculate how many generations of humans it would take for us to exist now (assume an average life span of 80 years) (What must we
humans do to ensure we are able to exist this long for many generations?
What I can do
My Life History: Create a timeline of events that happened to you since you were born up to the present time. Choose only 20 events that you
think are the most important.

GENERAL BIOLOGY 2 I 1