CO QAH + MELC LW

Course Outline & Quality Assured HANDOUT No. 6

Handouts paired with MELC- in EARTH SCIENCE
Based Learner’s Worksheet

MELC:
11. Explain how relative and absolute dating were used to determine the subdivisions of geologic time.
(S11ES-IIi-37)
12. Describe how index fossils (also known as guide fossils) are used to define and identify subdivisions
of the geologic time scale. (S11ES-IIi-j-38)
Semester: 1 Week No. 6 Day: 1 – 4
LESSON 1: ROCK AGES AND GEOLOGIC TIME

Scientists usually determine the ages of these rocks by dating and compare to the geologic time
scale to identify the chronological events that took place during the formation. These rocks are protected
by the government because of its significance in the history of the place. People are not allowed to
destroy these rocks for it would take millions of years to carve them naturally. It is there as a piece of
evidence of what our country has been through during those old times. As you go through the lesson,
you will appreciate the beauty of nature and the importance of rock formations in our country.

Chronostratigraphy is the branch of stratigraphy that studies the ages of rock layers or features in
relation to geologic time. Scientists use Geologic Time Scale or GTS to explain which event on earth
occurred first and which event occurred last. This GTS is a chart that mark as a guide on the earth’s
major events in its history. The discovery of the fossils and the oldest rocks are the bases of these
markings in the GTS. For example, when a fossil is discovered, scientists determine the absolute age of
the fossil by using radiometric dating and once the absolute age is measured, they can tell in what part of
geologic time the organism had existed. The extinction of the dinosaurs is another example. We know
that dinosaurs appeared in the period that belong to Mesozoic era, and they become extinct as recorded
in the cretaceous Triassic period of the geologic time scale. Geologic Time Scale is divided into time
span.

Eon. This is the largest time span. There are only two major eons in the GTS and these are
Precambrian and Phanerozoic. Precambrian is divided by Hadean, Archean and Proterozoic events in
the GTS. The Earth’s history before the formation of the first and oldest rock belong in this time. This time
span lasted from 4.6 billion to 541 million years ago. The rocks that belong in this time contain half of the
earth’s deposits of minerals. The appearance of the multicellular organism also appeared in this eon. In
this eon also, the first soft bodied invertebrates appeared and the first bacteria and blue green algae
begin to free oxygen to the atmosphere.

An eon is subdivided into eras. The Phanerozoic eon for example, is subdivided into 3 major eras.
These 3 eras are paleozoic era which means ancient life; mesozoic era which means middle life and
cenozoic era which means present life. An era is subdivided into Periods. For example, in the
paleozoic era, there are 6 periods, namely: Permian, Carboniferous, Devonian, Silurian, Ordovician and
Cambrian periods. Permian period is known as the “age of amphibians”; Silurian period is where the first
insects appeared; jawed fish and vascular plants also appeared in this period; corals first appeared in
Ordovician period while the Cambrian period is the age of trilobites.

The Mesozoic era has 3 periods and these are Triassic wherein dinosaurs are dominant in this
period; Jurassic period wherein birds first appeared in this time and Cretaceous period which is the mark
of the extinction of dinosaurs.

In the Cenozoic era of the Phanerozoic eon, the ice age occurred. A Period is further subdivided
into Epochs. An epoch is a time scale which is longer than an age but shorter than the period. In the

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Carboniferous period, there are two epochs, namely: Pennsylvanian and Mississippian. An epoch is
subdivided into Ages. The Mississippian epoch has 3 ages. These are Tournaisian, Visean and
Serpukhovian. Triassic, Jurassic and cretaceous periods of Mesozoic era is the “age of Reptiles”;
Devonian period part of the Paleozoic era is the “age of fishes” while Cenozoic era is the “age of
mammals”.
Our current time where we are now belongs to Halocene Epoch of the Quaternary Period of
Cenozoic era. (See Figure 1.Geologic Time Scale)

Figure 1: Geologic Time Scale

In order to identify the ages of the rocks and fossils found in our planet through exhumation,
scientists use radiometric dating which uses the radioactive isotopes present in the exhumed artefacts.
After determining the age of the artefact, the age is compared to the geologic time scale above.
For example, in the fossil record, the trilobites were dated to some 540 to 488 million years ago
and they belong to the Cambrian period. Trilobites are the relatives of the present day crabs and
lobsters.

The absolute age of the young rock in Figure 2 below could

be identified by Carbon-14 dating. Once the absolute age has been
computed using the radioactive isotope present in the rock, the
scientists will then compare its age with the Geologic Time Scale to
tell which period it belong.

Figure 2

LESSON 2: INDEX FOSSILS

The word ‘fossil’ means anything dug out of the earth.

Fossils are actually remnants, impressions or traces of plants
and animals preserved in strata of the earth that give evidences
of their presence in the geological past. Only a small percentage
of ancient living remnants is preserved as fossils, and usually
only those that have a solid and rigid skeleton were preserved.
 Figure 3: Sample of Fossils
https://www.thoughtco.com

Fossil provides the record about the age of2the rock. Index fossils are the ones that tell us the
most about it. Index fossils commonly known as guide fossils are those that are used to define periods
of geologic time. These fossils are commonly found
and are widely distributed. Fossils are used for the
determination of the age of organic rocks and other
fossil assemblages and also help to establish
relationships between rock units.
Index fossils are used by geologists and
paleontologists as significant aids to determine the
correlation and age of rock sequences. They are used
as indices to define and identify geologic periods. A
good index fossil provides simple ways to calculate the
relative age of rock beds as well as helps in dating
other fossils found in the other sedimentary layer.
Since most fossil-bearing rocks are formed
within the ocean, the marine organisms are considered
then as the major index fossils.
Figure 4: A cluster of fossils ammonites, an extinct cephalopod

To be an index fossil –
1. An organism must have lived only during a short part of the Earth’s history;
2. Many fossils of the organisms must be found in rock layers;
3. The fossil must be found over a wide area of the Earth;
4. The organism must be unique.

Any type of organism can be distinctive, but not so many are widespread. A number of important
index fossils are from organisms that start life as floating eggs and infant stages, allowing them to
populate the world using ocean currents. The most successful of these became abundant, yet at the
same time, they became the most vulnerable to environmental change and extinction. Thus, their time
on Earth may have been confined to a short period of time, and this characteristic is what makes the
best index fossils.

Let’s try to consider trilobites. It is a very good index fossil for Paleozoic rocks that lived in all parts
of the ocean. Trilobites belongs to a class of animal and just like mammals or reptiles, the individual
species within the class had noticeable differences. Trilobites evolved continually throughout their
existence and that evolution lasted 270 million years from Middle Cambrian Period to the end of the
Permian time, or almost the entire length of the Paleozoic. Since trilobites were mobile animals, they
tended to inhabit large, even global areas. They were also hard-shelled invertebrates, so they fossilized
easily. These fossils are large enough to review without a microscope.

Other index fossils of this sort include ammonites, crinoids, rugose corals, brachiopods, bryozoans,
and mollusks.

Petrification, is a process by which organic material becomes fossil and is turned into a stony
substance through the replacement of the original pore spaces with minerals. Some fossils are
completely barren of plant and animal parts but still show evidence of an organism’s activities. Such
traces of organisms, which are appropriately known as trace fossils, include tracks or trails, footprints,
feeding traces, worm burrows, borings, and preserved waste products or coprolites (fossilized feces).
 All types of fossilized remains are abundant in sedimentary rock. Sedimentary rock occurs in the
form of layers or beds. Individual beds differ considerably from each other by their structure, texture,
color etc. Under normal conditions, sedimentary rocks are laid down one over the other in ascending
order; thus superpositions of rocks are maintained. The oldest sedimentary rock lies at the bottom and
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the youngest lies at the top. The Law of Superposition states that the oldest rock layer is located at the
bottom.

The oldest fossils in the fossil record date from 3.5 billion years ago, however it wasn't until around
600 million years ago that complex, multi-cellular life began was first preserved in the fossil record.

Geological Time Scale is a table showing the sequence of geological periods within the history of
earth. Its subdivisions include: Eons, Eras, Periods and Epochs.
The largest intervals of geologic time are Eon which covers a period of several hundred million
years. Eons has been divided into 3: Archaean, Proterozoic, and Phanerozoic. The Phanerozoic eon
has therefore been divided into three eras – the Paleozoic (early life), Mesozoic (middle life) and
Cainozoic (recent life).
All the eras named in the table are divided into periods, which are generally named after the
places in Europe where the rocks of that period were first studied. For example, rocks of the Jurassic
age were first studied in the Jura Mountain, in Switzerland and Southern Germany, and the Cambrian is
named after the Cambrian Mountains in Wales. The periods of the Caenozoic era are further subdivided
into epochs.
Index fossils are utilized in the formal architecture of geologic time for outlining the ages, epochs,
periods, and eras of the geologic time scale. Some of the boundaries of those subdivisions are defined
by mass extinction events, just like the Permian-Triassic extinction. The evidence for these events is
found within the fossil record wherever there’s a disappearance of major groups of species within a
geologically short amount of time.

REFERENCES

Gemma Tarlach, “Chronostratigraphy: How Scientists Unlock Deep Time,” Discover Magazine
https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/chronostratigraphy-howscientists-unlock-
deep-time

Ghosh, D. “ Index Fossils :Evidence from Plant Sources ” Online Article.

https://www.ias.ac.in/article/fulltext/reso/011/10/0069-0077
King, H. “ Geological Time Scale : A Time Line for Geological Science ”
https://geology.com/time.htm