Handout Inglés Técnico - Geología

Facultad de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades
Departamento de Lenguas
Centro de Idiomas
Geología
LEN 1113 – Inglés Técnico
1st semester 2023
Student’s name: __________________________________________________
UNIT 1: Earthquakes
Large earthquakes are usually connected with plate

boundaries. Earthquakes happen often but most are
too small for us to notice. Seismometers record
earth movements.
An earthquake is a sudden shockwave caused by

rocks being under stress from the movements of
plates at plate boundaries. Eventually the stress in
the rock builds up enough to deform and reach
breaking point. At that point, the stored-up energy is
released in the form of shockwaves.
Measuring an earthquake
In the past, the Richter scale was used to measure the power of earthquakes. Earthquakes are now measured
using the Moment Magnitude Scale (or simply Magnitude scale). This measures the size of the seismic waves
during the earthquake. Each step in the scale is ten times greater than the previous number. This is a
logarithmic scale.
The amount of damage caused by an earthquake is measured by the Mercalli Scale. This is a measure of
intensity, and changes according to which area you are measuring - damage nearer the epicenter would
usually be greater than further away.
Case study: earthquake

Haiti is part of a large Caribbean Island called Hispaniola. The Dominican Republic is located to the east of Haiti
and covers over half of the island.
Cause of the earthquake

Haiti lies right on the boundary of the Caribbean and North American plates. There was slippage along a
conservative plate boundary that runs through Haiti.
On 12 January 2010, a magnitude 7 earthquake hit Haiti at 16:53 local time. The earthquake's epicenter was
25 km west of Port-au-Prince, the capital. Most people, businesses and services were located in the capital.
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Social impacts of the earthquake (effects on people)
● 3 million people affected.
● Over 220,000 deaths.
● 300,000 injured.
● 1.3 million made homeless.
● Several hospitals collapsed.
Economic impacts of the earthquake (effects on money and jobs)

● 30,000 commercial buildings collapsed.
● Businesses destroyed.
● Damage to the main clothing industry.
● Airport and port damaged.
Many of the effects were immediate or primary, e.g. injuries
from falling buildings. Some secondary effects didn't happen
until many months later, e.g. cholera outbreaks. The effects of
this earthquake were particularly bad because of the following
reasons:
● there were very few earthquake-resistant buildings
● buildings and other structures were poorly built
● the epicenter was near to the capital
● there were few resources to rescue or treat injured people
Glossary
1. Aid: The giving of money or goods to help people and countries in need.
2. Boundary: The region where two or more tectonic plates meet. It is a zone of intense seismic activity.
3. Conservative plate boundary: Areas between two crustal plates that are moving past each other in opposite
directions or at different speeds.
4. Earthquake proof building: Buildings that are designed and built to withstand an earthquake.
5. Epicenter: The point on the Earth's surface directly above the focus of an earthquake.
6. GIS Geographical Information System: Electronic maps with layers added to display information about the
area.
7. Intensity: The concentration or strength of something, e.g. an earthquake.
8. Logarithmic: A scale on a graph where the numbers increase exponentially. This means that the scale may
read 1, 10, 100, 1000 instead of 1, 2, 3, 4.
9. Magnitude scales: The size or severity of something like an earthquake.
10. Resource: Anything that is useful to people.
11. Richter scale: The measure by which the strength of earthquakes is determined.
12. Seismometer: A machine that detects seismic waves caused by earthquakes.
13. Shockwave: A rapid flow of energy that is sent through the earth after an earthquake.
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Earthquakes Test
Check ✔ the right answer to the following questions.
1 Where do large earthquakes usually happen? 2 What is used to measure the strength of
earthquakes?
In the center of plates
Barometer
On the edges of plates
Anemometer
In the ocean
Seismometer
3 Where is the focus of an earthquake? 4 Which is the most up to date scale for
measuring earthquakes?
The nearest town or city.
The Moment Magnitude Scale
The point within the earth where the
movement took place. The Richter Scale
The point on the surface of the earth The Logarithmic Scale
directly above where the movement took
place.
5 Where would the most damage be caused in 6 Where is Haiti?

an earthquake?
South Asia
Close to the epicentre
The Caribbean
Far away from the epicentre
The Indian Ocean
In rural areas
7 Which of the following is a social impact of 8 Which of the following is an economic

the Haiti earthquake? impact of the Haiti earthquake?
30,000 commercial buildings destroyed 1.3 million people made homeless
Damage to the port Airport and port damaged
1.3 million made homeless Several hospitals collapsed
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What Is Continental Drift?
Look at the map below. Can you see that South America and Africa seem to fit together, like the pieces of a
jigsaw puzzle? In the early 1900s, a German scientist named Alfred Wegener made this same observation.
Based on his observations, Wegener proposed the hypothesis of continental drift. According to this
hypothesis, the continents once formed a single landmass. Then, they broke up and drifted to their current
locations.
Continental drift can explain why the continents seem to fit together. For example, South America and Africa
were once part of a single continent. They have since broken apart and moved to their current locations.
Evidence for continental drift can also be found in fossils and rocks. For example, similar fossils have been
found along the matching coastlines of South America and Africa. The organisms that formed these fossils
could not have traveled across the Atlantic Ocean. Therefore, the two continents must once have been joined
together.
Similar fossils and rocks are found on

widely separated continents. For
example, Glossopteris and
Mesosaurus fossils are found in
Africa and in South America. These
fossils and rocks indicate that, at one
time, all of the continents were
joined together.
1. Explain Why do South America and Africa seem to fit together?

__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Infer Which continent was once joined with Greenland? How do you know?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Explain How do fossils indicate that the continents have moved with time?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
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BREAKUP OF PANGAEA
About 245 million years ago, all of the continents

were joined into a single supercontinent. This
supercontinent was called Pangaea. The word
Pangaea means “all Earth” in Greek. About 200
million years ago, Pangaea began breaking apart.
It first separated into two large landmasses called
Laurasia and Gondwana. The continents
continued to break apart and slowly move to
where they are today.
As the continents moved, some of them collided.

These collisions produced many of the landforms
that we see today, such as mountain ranges and
volcanoes.
What Is Sea-Floor Spreading?

Mid-ocean ridges are mountain chains on the ocean floor. They form a continuous chain that is 50,000 km
long. The chain wraps around Earth like the seams of a baseball. Mid-ocean ridges are the sites of intense
volcanic activity.
At a mid-ocean ridge, melted rock rises through cracks in the sea floor. As the melted rock cools and hardens,
it forms new crust. The newly formed crust pushes the older crust away from the mid-ocean ridge. This
process is called sea-floor spreading.
SEA-FLOOR SPREADING AND MAGNETISM

In the 1960s, scientists studying the ocean floor discovered an interesting property of mid-ocean ridges. Using
a tool that can record magnetism, they found magnetic patterns on the sea floor! The pattern on one side of a
mid-ocean ridge was a mirror image of the pattern on the other side of the ridge.
What caused the rocks to have these magnetic patterns?
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Throughout Earth’s history, the north and south magnetic poles have switched places many times.
This process is called magnetic reversal. This process, together with sea-floor spreading, can explain the
patterns of magnetism on the sea floor.
As ocean crust forms from melted rock, magnetic minerals form. These minerals act as compasses. As they
form, they line up with Earth’s magnetic north pole. When the melted rock cools, the minerals are stuck in
place. After Earth’s magnetic field reverses, these minerals point to Earth’s magnetic south pole. However,
new rock that forms will have minerals that point to the magnetic north pole. Therefore, the ocean floor
contains “stripes” of rock whose magnetic minerals point to the north or south magnetic poles.
SECTION VOCABULARY
▪ Continental drift: the hypothesis that states that the continents once formed a single landmass, broke up,
and drifted to their present locations.
▪ Sea-floor spreading: the process by which new oceanic lithosphere (sea floor) forms as magma rises to
Earth’s surface and solidifies at a mid-ocean ridge.
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1. Identify Give three pieces of evidence that support the idea of continental drift.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Describe How does oceanic lithosphere form?

__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Identify Does the oceanic lithosphere get older or younger as you move closer to the mid-ocean ridge?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
4. Explain How do the parallel magnetic “stripes” near mid-ocean ridges form?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
5. Apply Concepts The Earth is about 4.6 billion years old. However, the oldest sea floor is only about 180
million years old. What do you think is the reason for this?
(Hint: Remember that new seafloor is constantly being created, but the Earth is not getting bigger with time.)
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
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Grammar point:
Simple Past
1.1. Action finished in the past: I visited Berlin last week.

1.2. Series of completed actions in the past: First, I got up, and then I had breakfast….
2. Signal words:
yesterday last week a month ago in 2010
3. Regular verbs → infinitive + ed

Base form + ed = Simple past
Ex:
walk walked I worked yesterday.
You walked to school last week.
push pushed He pushed the car.
We watched the football match.
greet greeted It rained a lot last winter.
watch watched
4. Irregular verbs → 2nd column of the table of the irregular verbs
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5. TIPS to learn irregular verbs
No changes Two changes The three tenses change

put put put buy bought bought go went gone
TASK: look for more examples and complete the table.
5. Affirmative sentences in the Simple Past – regular verbs and irregular verbs.
Complete the sentences. Write the past form of the verbs

Long forms Long forms
in brackets.
1. Geologists ___________ fossils buried near the river.
I cleaned my room. I went home. (find)
2. They ____________ their original shape.
(preserve)
You cleaned your room. You went home.
3. They ___________ millions years ago.
(die)
He cleaned his room. He went home. 4. My partner __________ about the Cambrian period.
(write)
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6. Negative sentences in the Simple Past: DID NOT=DIDN’T
There is no difference between regular and irregular verbs in negative sentences.
Write 3 activities that you didn’t do

I did not clean the room. I didn't clean the room.
yesterday.
1_______________________________
2_______________________________
You did not clean the room. You didn't clean the room.
3_______________________________
He did not clean the room. He didn't clean the room.
7. Questions in the Simple Past

You need the auxiliary did and the infinitive of the verb.
Read the text below and answer these

Long forms Answers questions.
1. Did geologists organize rocks and rocks
layers in the 20th century?
Did I play football? Yes, you did / No you didn’t
_______________________
2. Did they name the rock layers?

Did you play football? Yes, I did / No, I didn’t
_______________________
Did he play football? Yes, he did / No, he didn’t 3. What did the layers represent?
_______________________
The Geologic Time Scale
In the 1800s, geologists organized the rocks and rock layers. They based their organization on the principle of
superposition and the fossils present in the layers. They saw that older rock layers usually lie below younger
ones. So, they put the oldest layers at the bottom of their charts.
Geologists also named the rock layers. Each name represented a time in Earth’s history. Eventually, they drew
a chart that represented all the time periods in Earth’s history. The geologic time scale is a visual record of
Earth’s history, with the individual units based on changes in the rocks and fossils. The time scale is always
drawn with the oldest rocks at the bottom and the youngest rocks at the top.
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To Be – Past Tense
To Be - Affirmative
Subject To Be Examples
I was I was tired this morning.
You were You were very good.
He was He was the best in his class.
She was She was late for work.
It was It was a sunny day.
We were We were at home.
You were You were on holiday.
They were They were happy with their test results.
To Be - Negative Sentences
The negative of To Be can be made by adding not after the verb (was or were).
Subject To Be Examples with contractions
I was not I was not tired this morning. I wasn’t tired this morning.
You were not You were not crazy. You weren’t crazy.
He was not He was not married. He wasn’t married.
She was not She was not famous. She wasn’t famous.
It was not It was not hot yesterday. It wasn’t hot yesterday.
We were not We were not invited. We weren’t invited.
You were not You were not at the party. You weren’t at the party.
They were not They were not friends. They weren’t Friends.
To Be - Questions
To create questions with To Be, you put the Verb before the Subject.
Affirmative Question Short Answers
I was late Was I late? Yes, you were. No, you weren't.
You were sick. Were you sick? Yes, I was. No, I wasn't.
He was surprised. Was he surprised? Yes, he was. No, he wasn't.
She was from Italy. Was she from Italy? Yes, she was. No, she wasn't.
It was a big house. Was it a big house? Yes, it was. No, it wasn't.
We were ready. Were we ready? Yes, we were. No, we weren't.
You were early. Were you early? Yes, we were. No, we weren't.
They were busy. Were they busy? Yes, they were. No, they weren't
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TO BE in the Past Tense - Summary Chart
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Answer these questions about the reading in complete sentences.
1. In what year did a horrible earthquake hit San Francisco?
_____________________________________________________________________________
2. How many millions of dollars in damage did the quake do?
_____________________________________________________________________________
3. At what time in the morning did the earthquake strike?
_____________________________________________________________________________
4. How many farms are in the city of San Francisco today?
____________________________________________________________________________
5. How many people were left homeless by the 1906 quake?
____________________________________________________________________________
6. If the 1906 quake happened today, how many millions of dollars in damage would it cause?
____________________________________________________________________________
7. How many million people lived in California in 1906?
____________________________________________________________________________
8. In what year did San Francisco host a World’s Fair?
____________________________________________________________________________
9. And about Chile: Where were you at the 27F?
____________________________________________________________________________
10. Where was the epicenter of that earthquake?
____________________________________________________________________________
11. What was the magnitude of the 27F?
____________________________________________________________________________
12. Was the 27F a simple earthquake?
____________________________________________________________________________
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Past simple: regular and irregular verbs.
I. Correct the sentences.
Ex: Who do you met on Saturday morning? Who did you meet on Saturday morning?
1. Did he went to school yesterday? _____________________________________

2. Why did you to go home early? _____________________________________
3. Where you did learn English? _____________________________________
4. Did she works today? _____________________________________
5. What do you this yesterday? _____________________________________
6. Did they last night phone you? _____________________________________
II. Regular (R) or irregular (I) verbs?

Ex: play R played
1. fly ___________ _____________

2. use ___________ _____________
3. study ___________ _____________
4. eat ___________ _____________
5. make ___________ _____________
6. travel ___________ _____________
7. see ___________ _____________
III. Complete the sentences with the past simple.
be – get up – meet – have – go – run – drink – sleep – swim – eat
Ex: Yesterday I got up early, at about seven o´clock.
1. I ________ a shower and some fruit for breakfast.

2. Then I ________ to the sports centre.
3. I ________ 500 meters in the swimming pool and then
4. I ________ 5 kilometers.
5. At lunchtime I ________ my friends in a café.
6. We ________ some pasta and ________ some juice.
7. After lunch I ________ for a few hours, I ________ tired!
IV. Complete with past simple (regular verbs).
1. I opened the door and ___________ (look) inside.

2. Who ___________ (close) all the windows?
3. I ___________ (carry) my mom´s shopping bag.
4. I ___________ (not climb) over the fence.
5. I ___________ (rip) my shirt.
6. The plane ___________ (land) ten minutes ago.
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7. We ___________ (live) in that house when I was a baby.
8. My brother ___________ (not visit) the museum.
9. We ___________ (walk) to school yesterday.
10. She ___________ (smile) when she saw me.
11. We ___________ (hurry) to the station to catch the train.
12. She ___________ (laugh) when I told her the joke.
13. We ___________ (race) each other on our bikes.
14. Dad ___________ (not help) me with my homework.
15. Helen ___________ (whisper) me a secret.
16. Luis Miguel ___________ (hurry) to catch a bus.
17. We ___________ (study) at the library yesterday evening.
18. Two doctors ___________ (rush) into the room.
19. I ___________ (not kick) the ball very hard.
20. Who ___________ (invent) the computer?
21. Dinosaurs ___________ (live) many years ago.
22. It ___________ (not snow) last night.
23. They ___________ (not work) until twelve last night.
V. Past simple (irregular verbs).
1. I ___________ (loose) my watch in the park.

2. David ___________ (not hurt) his knee.
3. I kicked the ball and it ___________ (break) a window.
4. My new shoes ___________ (not cost) a lot of money.
5. I ___________ (get) this book from the library.
6. We had a garage where we ___________ (keep) our car.
7. Ali ___________ (be) in Acapulco last summer.
8. The glass ___________ (fall) off the table.
9. The glass ___________ (not break).
10. We ___________ (sell) our old car.
11. We ___________ (buy) a new car.
12. The bell ___________ (not ring).
13. We all ___________ (go) into school.
14. The dog ___________ (catch) the ball.
15. ___________ (be) Jim at the stadium last Saturday?
16. Our cat ___________ (run) onto the road.
17. Jane ___________ (not write) a letter.
18. I ___________ (buy) a new camera last week.
19. We ___________ (drive) to a safari park yesterday.
20. Yesterday Dad ___________ (not take) me to the carnival.
21. Elizabeth ___________ (give) Eva a chocolate.
22. Jack and Jill ___________ (not be) at the theater.
23. Her ring ___________ (cost) ten Euros.
24. I ___________ (put) sugar in my coffee.
25. He ___________ (not hit) the ball over the net.
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READING: FOSSILS
by Cindy Sherwood
Everybody knows that dinosaurs once roamed the earth. But how do we know that fact? Dinosaurs lived many
millions of years ago and there were no photos taken of them (or any people around to take those photos!)
Yet scientists do have proof of dinosaurs, thanks to fossils.
A fossil is what is left of an animal or a plant along time after it dies. Fossils are the buried parts of living things
that have been preserved from a different geological time period. You can think of fossils as the ancestors of
today’s animals and plants. To be considered a fossil, the remains must be at least 10,000 years old.
The fossil is then just waiting to be found, perhaps by someone like you digging it up from the ground! There
are some other, more unusual ways for fossils to form. Scientists have discovered skeletons of animals that
died instantly when a volcano erupted, their bones preserved in the ash. Small bugs or insects caught in tree
sap can become fossils when the sap hardens into a golden material called amber. And animals trapped in
sticky natural asphalt or tar can turn into fossils. The most famous example of these fossils can be found right
in the middle of California’s biggest city, Los Angeles. Scientists have uncovered more than three million fossils
from the Ice Age at the La Brea Tar Pits, including saber-toothed cats and mammoths. And scientists there
continue to dig up more fossils all the time!
Fossils give us a wonderful window into our past. Today the science of studying fossils is alive and well.
Paleontology (pay-lee-un-tall’-uh-gee) is the study of the history of life on earth, using fossils as the evidence.
So if you love dinosaurs and you want to know more about what happened on earth thousands or millions of
years ago, maybe someday you can make your living by digging up fossils!
Fossils: Clues to the Past
1. Which of the following statements is true about fossils?
a. The oldest fossils on record date back to the time of the first humans living in North America.
b. Only large animals, like dinosaurs, mammoths, and saber-toothed cats, are capable of becoming fossilized.
c. It is becoming harder and harder for scientists to find fossils, so paleontology is a dying profession.
d. You are likely to find a fossil after it has been brought to the surface by wind or rain erosion, or even a
natural disaster.
2. Where are you most likely to discover a fossil?

a. in North America, only b. in Asia, only
c. all continents except Africa d. anywhere on earth
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3. Using the information in the article, describe one way a fossil can form.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
4. In your own words, describe what the La Brea Tar Pits are.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
The following terms are vocabulary words from the article. Match the vocabulary word with its correct
definition by writing the corresponding letter on the line.
1. _____ mammoth a. maintained its original condition animal´s body
2. _____ asphalt b. a yellowish, see-through resin material of prehistoric trees.
3. _____ amber c. ancient, extinct elephants from the time of the Ice Age.
4. _____ erosion d. a dark, sticky mixture; natural tar or pitch.
5. _____ preserved e. the breakdown of rock or other material by wind, rain, or water.
Study for the first written test and prepare an infographic.

Infographic instructions
1) In pairs, search for information about earthquakes happened around the
world. Choose one of them.
Ex: The earthquake and tsunami in Arica in 1868.
2) Prepare an infographic with the following information:
a) Place (use a map) and year.
b) Causes
c) Epicenter and magnitude
d) Economic impact
e) Social impact.
3) Include images.
4) Upload your work to Educa.
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UNIT 2: Looking at Fossils
What Are Fossils?

Scientists can tell us many things about organisms, such as dinosaurs, that lived millions of years ago. How do
scientists learn about these organisms if they have} never seen them? They study fossils. A fossil is the trace or
remains of an organism that lived long ago.
Some fossils are made from parts of an organism’s body. These fossils are called body fossils. Other fossils are
simply signs, such as footprints, that an organism was alive. These fossils are called trace fossils.
FOSSILS IN ROCKS
Usually, when an organism dies, it begins to decay or it is eaten by other organisms. Sometimes, organisms are
quickly buried by sediment when they die. The sediment can help preserve the organism. Hard parts, such as
shells, teeth, and bones, are preserved more often than soft parts, such as organs and skin. When the
sediment hardens to form sedimentary rock, the parts of the organism that remain can become body fossils.
FOSSILS IN AMBER
Sometimes, organisms such as insects are caught in sticky tree sap. If the sap hardens around the insect, a
fossil is created. Hardened tree sap is called amber. Some of the best insect fossils are found in amber. Frogs
and lizards have also been found in amber.
1. Compare. How is a trace fossil different from a body fossil?

_________________________________________________________________________________
2. List Give three examples of hard parts of an organism that could become fossils.
_________________________________________________________________________________
This insect is preserved in amber.

It is more than 38 million years old.
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FROZEN FOSSILS
Ice and cold temperatures slow down decay and can allow body fossils to form. Woolly mammoths, which are
relatives of modern elephants, became extinct about 10,000 years ago. However, scientists have found frozen
remains of mammoths preserved in blocks of ice.
PETRIFACTION
Organisms can also become fossils by petrifaction. During petrifaction, minerals replace all or part of an
organism’s tissues. For example, minerals may fill the tiny spaces in an animal’s bones. Sometimes, the
organism’s tissues are completely replaced by minerals. For example, petrified wood forms when minerals
replace all of the tissue in a piece of wood.
FOSSILS IN ASPHALT
In some places, asphalt or tar bubbles up to the Earth’s surface and forms sticky pools. The La Brea asphalt
deposits in Los Angeles, California, are at least 38,000 years old. These pools have trapped and preserved
many different organisms. From these fossils, scientists have learned about the ancient environment of
southern California.
FOOTPRINTS
Remember that trace fossils are evidence that an organism was once alive. A footprint is an example of a trace
fossil. Footprints may be preserved as trace fossils when they are filled with sediment and harden into rock.
Footprints can show how big an animal was and how fast it was moving. For example, parallel paths of
dinosaur tracks have led scientists to hypothesize that some dinosaurs moved in herds.
Discuss
Have you ever seen any fossils? What kind of organisms were they? Where did you see them? How did they
probably form?
Define What is petrifaction?

___________________________________________________________________________________
These dinosaur tracks are found in Arizona. They show that the
dinosaur was running when it made the tracks.
Explain: Why are these tracks considered trace fossils?

__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
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BURROWS AND COPROLITES
Burrows are another kind of trace fossil. Burrows are shelters made by animals, such as clams, that dig into
sediment. A burrow can be preserved when it is filled with a different kind of sediment and buried quickly.
Coprolites, or preserved animal dung, are another example of trace fossils.
MOLDS AND CASTS

Molds and casts are two more kinds of fossils. A mold is an impression, or print, left in sediment where a plant
or animal was buried. The figure below shows two types of molds from the same organism. One is an internal
mold of the inside of the shell. The other is an external mold of the outside of the shell.
A cast is an object that forms when sediment fills a mold and becomes rock. Like a mold, a cast can show what
the inside or outside of an organism looked like.
The fossil on the left is the internal mold of an ammonite. It formed

when sediment filled the ammonite’s shell. On the right is the external
mold of the ammonite. The shell later dissolved.
What Can We Learn from Fossils?

Think about your favorite outdoor place. Imagine the plants and animals around you. Now, imagine that you
are a scientist at the same site 65 million years from now.
What types of fossils would you dig up? Would you find fossils for every organism that existed? Based on the
fossils you found, what would you guess about how this place used to look?
Fossils can show scientists:
• What kind of organisms lived in the past
• How the environment has changed with time
Name three things fossils can show scientists.

1. ____________________________
2. ____________________________
3. ____________________________
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THE INFORMATION IN THE FOSSIL RECORD
Scientists have used fossils to learn some of the history of life on Earth. However, scientists cannot learn
everything about life from fossils. This is because most organisms never became fossils, and many fossils have
not been discovered yet.
Scientists know more about some kinds of ancient organisms than others do. Remember that hard body parts
are more likely to form fossils than soft body parts. Therefore, scientists know more about organisms with
hard body parts than about organisms with only soft body parts. Some organisms lived in environments where
fossils can form more easily. Scientists know more about these organisms than those that lived in other
environments.
Fossils of organisms with hard parts, such as shells, are more common than fossils of
organisms without hard parts.
This organism lived in an environment with a lot of sediment. Fossils form more easily
in environments with a lot of sediment. Therefore, organisms that lived in these
environments are more likely to be found as fossils.
A HISTORY OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES

Fossils can show evidence of climate change. For example, Antarctica is covered with ice and snow in the
present. However, scientists have found fossils of forest and freshwater organisms in Antarctica. They have
even found fossils of dinosaurs in Antarctica! These fossils show that Antarctica’s climate must have been
warmer in the past.
A HISTORY OF CHANGING ORGANISMS

To understand how life on Earth has changed, scientists compare fossils. Scientists also look for similarities
between fossils and living organisms. However, only small fractions of the organisms that have existed in
Earth’s history have been fossilized. As a result, the fossil record is incomplete. This means that scientists do
not have a complete record of changes in life on Earth.
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Explain: Why do scientists know more about some kinds of ancient organisms than others do?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Explain: How can scientists find out how life has changed?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
How Do Scientists Know How Old Fossils Are?

To understand the history of life on Earth, scientists have put fossils in order based on their ages. Scientists
learn the ages of fossils in different ways. In some cases, they can use absolute dating methods, such as
radiometric dating, to determine the age of fossils. More commonly, scientists use relative dating methods.
Relative dating methods can’t tell scientists the exact age of a fossil. However, relative dating can show which
fossils are older than others. Fossils found in older layers of rock come from more ancient life forms. Fossils
found in younger layers of rock are from more recent organisms.
USING FOSSILS TO DATE ROCKS

Scientists can use fossils of certain types of organisms to learn how old rock layers are. These fossils are called
index fossils. Index fossils are fossils of organisms that lived during a relatively short period of time. Because
they lived for only a short time, their fossils are only found in rocks of a certain age. To be an index fossil, a
fossil must have three features:
• The organism must be common in rocks from most of the world.
• The organism must have lived for only a geologically short period of time (a few million years to a few
hundred million years).
• The organism must be easy to identify.
Trilobites and ammonites are two kinds of organisms that are used as index fossils. The figures below show
examples of these fossils.
The trilobite Phacops is an The ammonite Tropites is

example of an index fossil. an index fossil. Tropites
Phacops lived about 400 lived between 230 million
million years ago. Therefore, to 208 million years ago.
rocks that contain Phacops Because it lived for such a
fossils are probably about short time, it is a good
400 years ago. index fossil.
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SECTION VOCABULARY
Cast: a type of fossil that forms when sediments fill in the cavity left by a decomposed organism.
Fossil: the trace or remains of an organism that lived long ago, most commonly preserved in sedimentary rock.
Index fossil: a fossil that is used to establish the age of a rock layer because the fossil is distinct, abundant, and
widespread and the species that formed that fossil existed for only a short span of geologic time.
Mold: a mark or cavity made in a sedimentary surface by a shell or other body.
Trace fossil: a fossilized mark that formed in sedimentary rock by the movement of an animal on or within soft
sediment.
1. List Give three examples of trace fossils.

1. _________________________
2. ________________________
3. __________________________
2. Explain Why is the fossil record incomplete?

_________________________________________________________________________________
3. Infer Which organism is more likely to be found as a fossil in amber, a beetle or a rabbit? Explain your
answer.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
4. Apply Concepts What could you conclude if you found a fossil of a tropical plant in a cold climate?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
5. List What three features must a fossil have in order to be an index fossil?
1. _________________________________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________________________
3. _________________________________________________________________
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GRAMMAR POINT
PASSIVE VOICE
We can form the passive in any tense. In fact, conjugation of verbs in the passive tense is rather easy, as the
main verb is always in past participle form and the auxiliary verb is always be. To form the required tense, we
conjugate the auxiliary verb. So, for example:
● present simple: It is made

● present continuous: It is being made
● present perfect: It has been made
Here are some examples:
infinitive to be washed
simple present It is washed.
past It was washed.
Active: Rita can write a letter.

Modal Verbs
Passive: A letter can be written by Rita.
Active: They took the kids for a walk.

Passive: The kids were taken for a walk.
The kids were taken for a walk by their moms.
REMEMBER: The passive voice is used when we want to focus attention on a person or thing affected by an
action.
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EXERCISE 1. Use Passive Voice to complete the paragraph. Use the verb in brackets.
Fossils come in many colors and _______________ (make) of many different types of minerals, depending on
where fossilization took place. Most fossils _____________ (dig) up from sedimentary rock layers.
Over long periods, they _____________ (bury) under more and more layers of sediment that piles up on top
of it.
Fossils are usually heavier than the original item since they _______________ (form) entirely of minerals.
Most fossils ______________ (make) of ordinary rock material.
Trace fossils may be something that ______________ (make) by an animal while it was living, but has turned
into a stone.
The best way for a fossil to be formed, which does not happen often, is inside ice. The animal must be
continually frozen from the time of death until discovery. The wooly mammoth and rhinoceros
____________examples of fossils ____________ (find) in ice.
Finally, mummification occurs when the soft tissues of animals' skin and organs ________________ (preserve)
for thousands of years and are completely dried. Mummified bodies of animals, including humans, have been
discovered in arid or dry parts of the world.
In summary, fossils _____________( form) in many different ways, but the most common method of
preservation is minerals filling the empty spaces of plants or animals, and after a long period of time, become
hard as rock, but the shape of the original plant or animal is preserved.
EXERCISE 2. News Reports

Complete the news report using the passive voice and then practice reading the reports with a partner.
News Report
Japan (hit) ______________________by a 9.1 earthquake yesterday and a large tsunami (generate)
____________________. Ten cities (affect) ___________________ and communications (disrupt)
_________________. 50,000 residents (evacuate) __________________ within four hours of being alerted.
But five evacuation centres (destroy) _______________________. The roads (ruin) ____________________
making evacuation difficult.
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UNIT 3: Volcanoes
Grammar point
PRESENT PERFECT
The structure of the present perfect tense is:
subject + auxiliary verb + main verb
have past participle
Examples of the present perfect tense:
subject auxiliary verb main verb
+ I have seen ET.
+ You have eaten mine.
- She has not been to Rome.
- We have not played football.
? Have you finished?
? Have they done it?
When we use the present perfect tense in speaking, we usually contract the subject and auxiliary
verb. Sometimes, we also do it when we write.
I have I've
Here are some examples:
You have You've
• I've finished my work.
He has He's • John's seen ET.
She has She's • They've gone home.
It has It's
☺ Now, refer to your recent past activities.
John has John's
The car has The car's Ex.: I have explained the present perfect form.
We have We've
They have They've
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Simple Past – Present Perfect Simple
Certain time in the past or just / already / yet?

Do you want to express that an action happened at a certain time in the past (even if it was just a few
seconds ago) or that an action has just / already / not yet happened?
Simple Past Present Perfect Simple

certain time in the past just / already / not yet
Example: Example:
I phoned Mary 2 minutes ago. I have just phoned Mary.
Do you want to express when a certain action took place or whether / how often an action has happened till
now?

certain event in the past whether / how often till now
Example: Example:
He went to Canada last summer. Have you ever been to Canada? / I have been
to Canada twice.
Do you just want to express what happened in the past? Or do you want to emphasize the result (a past
action's consequence in the present)?

Emphasis on action Emphasis on result
Example: Example:
I bought a new bike. (just telling what I did I have bought a new bike. (With this sentence I
in the past.) actually want to express that I have a new bike
now.)
Signal Words
▪ yesterday ▪ just
▪ ... ago ▪ already
▪ in 1990 ▪ up to now
▪ the other day ▪ until now / till now
▪ last ... ▪ ever
▪ (not) yet
▪ so far
▪ lately / recently
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Exercises
1. Put the verbs in the brackets into the correct form (simple past or present perfect).
1. My friends _____________________(visit) the Grand Canyon National Park last year.
2. I ________________________(be / never) to the Grand Canyon National Park.
3. But ___________________________I (see) lots of wonderful pictures.
4. And yesterday I __________________(buy) a book about the Grand Canyon.
5. My friend ___________________(be) to Edinburgh three times.
6. Some years ago he ________________(study) English there.
7. Last month he __________________(visit) some friends in Edinburgh.
8. Unfortunately, I _________________(can / not) go to Edinburgh with him.
9. This is a pity. They are my friends, too, and I ____________________(see / not) them for ages.
2. Complete the conversations. Use the present perfect or past simple.
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3. Using the words in parentheses. Complete the text below using Simple Past or Present Perfect.
1. In the last hundred years, traveling (become)………………….. much easier and very comfortable. In the 19th
century, it (take) ………………… two or three months to cross North America by covered wagon. The trip
(be)………………… very rough and often dangerous. Things (change)…………….. a great deal in the last hundred
and fifty years. Now you can fly from New York to Los Angeles in a matter of hours.
2. Jonny, I can't believe how much you (change) ……………….. since the last time I …………..(see) you. You (grow)
……………… at least a foot!
3. This tree (be) ……………….. planted by the settlers who ………………(found) our city over four hundred years
ago.
4. This mountain (be, never) …………………. climbed by anyone. Several mountaineers (try) ………………… to reach
the top, but nobody (succeed, ever)……………………. . The climb is extremely difficult and many people (die)
…………………. trying to reach the summit.
5. I (visit, never) …………………… Africa, but I (travel) to South America several times. The last time I (go)
……………………… to South America, I (visit) ……………………. Brazil and Peru. I (spend) ……………….. two weeks in
the Amazon, (hike) for a week near Machu Picchu, and (fly) ……………………over the Nazca Lines.
PRESENT PERFECT EXERCISES
I. Working on Yes/No questions with irregular past participles.
- Complete these questions with the past participle of the verbs in the box. Then answer the questions.
Be eat find fly met ride

Have you ever…
1. been on television? No, I haven’t. 4. _______ a famous person? _____________
2. _______ a horse? ___________ 5. _______ in a helicopter? _____________
3. _______ Indian food? __________ 6. _______ money in the street? ___________
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II. Asking information questions.
Use the words and phrases to write information questions in the present perfect.
1. How long / you / be / out of college?
How long have you been out of college?
2. Where / you / travel / to?

_____________________________________________________________
3. How many people / she / invite?
_____________________________________________________________
4. Who / be / to China?
_____________________________________________________________
5. Why / you / choose / that book?
_____________________________________________________________
6. How long / Larry / live / there?
_____________________________________________________________
7. What / you / prepare / for lunch?
_____________________________________________________________
8. How much money / you / spend / this week?
_____________________________________________________________
III. Contrasting the Present Perfect and the Simple Past. Complete this conversation or simple past of the
verbs in parenthesis.
A: Why do you want to work here?
B: Well, I’ve loved (love) children all my life. I _____________ (want) to work with kids since I __________
(leave) high school.
A: Your resume says that you ___________ (work) in the childcare center at the university from 1999 to 2001.
Can you tell me about that?
B: Yes, it ____________ (be) a part time job. We ___________ (play) with the children and ___________ (give)
them lunch. I _____________ (work) with a Head Teacher.
A: Tell me about the jobs you ________________ (have) since then. _______________ (you / ever have) full
responsibility for children in your care?
B: Yes. For the last year I __________________ (look after) one-year-old twins.
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Present Perfect Tense - For and Since
We use Present Perfect tense to talk about action which started in the past and continues up
to the present.
Examples
I have had this computer for about a year.
How long have you been at this school?
I haven't seen Julia since September.
We use for with a period of time, for example: a few days, half an hour, two years. We use
since with the time when the action started, for example: last year, June 8, I met you.
I. Exercises.
A. Do we use for or since with the following time references? Circle the correct form.
•I haven't phoned home --- for /since --- Christmas.
•We've been here --- for since / --- nine o'clock.
•I have worked for International House --- for /since --- more than eight years.
•I haven't visited my home town --- for /since --- I left school.
•I haven't been to the cinema --- for / since --- ages.
•I have studied non-stop --- for / since --- 9.15.
•I have had a driving license --- for / since --- I was eighteen.
•She hasn't had a day off --- for /since --- 1999.
•Johan has been in England --- for /since --- more than two weeks now.
•Peter has been my best friend --- for /since --- we were nine.
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B. Decide if you need for or since with these time expressions
--- last weekend --- ten seconds
--- Christmas Eve --- a decade
--- I finished school --- a couple of days
--- my birthday --- a long time
--- ten centuries --- the 70s
--- I was a boy --- August
--- the last month --- fifteen years
--- the accident --- then
--- we bought this house --- last month
--- a millennium --- I met you
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Handout Inglés Técnico - Geología

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Facultad de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades

Student’s name: __________________________________________________

Large earthquakes are usually connected with plate

An earthquake is a sudden shockwave caused by

Case study: earthquake

Cause of the earthquake

Economic impacts of the earthquake (effects on money and jobs)

5 Where would the most damage be caused in 6 Where is Haiti?

7 Which of the following is a social impact of 8 Which of the following is an economic

Similar fossils and rocks are found on

1. Explain Why do South America and Africa seem to fit together?

About 245 million years ago, all of the continents

As the continents moved, some of them collided.

What Is Sea-Floor Spreading?

SEA-FLOOR SPREADING AND MAGNETISM

2. Describe How does oceanic lithosphere form?

1.1. Action finished in the past: I visited Berlin last week.

3. Regular verbs → infinitive + ed

4. Irregular verbs → 2nd column of the table of the irregular verbs

No changes Two changes The three tenses change

TASK: look for more examples and complete the table.

Complete the sentences. Write the past form of the verbs

Write 3 activities that you didn’t do

He did not clean the room. He didn't clean the room.

7. Questions in the Simple Past

Read the text below and answer these

2. Did they name the rock layers?

The Geologic Time Scale

1. In what year did a horrible earthquake hit San Francisco?

2. How many millions of dollars in damage did the quake do?

3. At what time in the morning did the earthquake strike?

4. How many farms are in the city of San Francisco today?

5. How many people were left homeless by the 1906 quake?

7. How many million people lived in California in 1906?

8. In what year did San Francisco host a World’s Fair?

9. And about Chile: Where were you at the 27F?

10. Where was the epicenter of that earthquake?

11. What was the magnitude of the 27F?

12. Was the 27F a simple earthquake?

1. Did he went to school yesterday? _____________________________________

II. Regular (R) or irregular (I) verbs?

1. fly ___________ _____________

III. Complete the sentences with the past simple.

be – get up – meet – have – go – run – drink – sleep – swim – eat

Ex: Yesterday I got up early, at about seven o´clock.

1. I ________ a shower and some fruit for breakfast.

IV. Complete with past simple (regular verbs).

1. I opened the door and ___________ (look) inside.

V. Past simple (irregular verbs).

1. I ___________ (loose) my watch in the park.

Fossils: Clues to the Past

1. Which of the following statements is true about fossils?

2. Where are you most likely to discover a fossil?

2. _____ asphalt b. a yellowish, see-through resin material of prehistoric trees.

4. _____ erosion d. a dark, sticky mixture; natural tar or pitch.

Study for the first written test and prepare an infographic.

What Are Fossils?

1. Compare. How is a trace fossil different from a body fossil?

This insect is preserved in amber.

Define What is petrifaction?

Explain: Why are these tracks considered trace fossils?

MOLDS AND CASTS

1. fly _ ___

1. been on television? No, I haven’t. 4. _ a famous person? _______

2. _ a horse? _ 5. _ in a helicopter? ___________

3. _ Indian food? 6. _ money in the street? _________