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History
of the
Earth
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Photo & Image Credits

Anyka, ©123rf.com (fossil, page 1-6-7); Shaiith, ©gettyimages.com (sand clock, page 8); Julian Popov, ©123rf.com (map and clock, page 8); Danny Kosmayer, ©123rf.com (landscape, page 8);
Artur Maltsau, ©123rf.com (fossil, page 10); Lonfat, Wikimedia Commons (fossil tooth, page 10); Artur Maltsau, ©123rf.com (trilobites, page 11); wrangel, ©123rf.com (amonites, page 11); Camila
Bernardes, Fernando L. Sicuro, Leonardo S. Avilla, and André E.P. Pinheiro, Wikimedia commons (horse, page. 11); Wilson44691, Wikimedia Commons (belmites, page 11); Rasslava, ©123rf.com
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16); HONGQI ZHANG, ©123rf.com (family, page 16); haryfoto, ©123rf.com (wood, page 18); Todd Sowers, Wikimedia Commons (Scientists at the Vostok Station, Antartica, page 18); Chris Curtis,
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©agefotostock.com (landscape) (Archean Eon, page 21); Christian Jegou Publi, Science Photo Library Collection, ©agefotostock.com (Proterozoic eon, page 22); Christian Jegou Publi, Science
Photo Library Collection, ©agefotostock.com (Phanerozoic eon, page 23); Christian Jegou Publi, Science Photo Library Collection, ©agefotostock.com, (Ordoivcian Period page 23); NATURAL
HISTORY MUSEUM, LONDON/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY, Science Photo Library Collection, ©agefotostock.com (Silurian Period, page 23); Aleksandr, Wikimedia Commons (Acanthodii inside
silurian landscape, page 23); Chase Studio, Science Photo Library Collection, ©agefotostock.com (Devonian Period, page 24); Christian Jegou Publi, Science Photo Library Collection, ©agefotos-
tock.com (Devonian Period, page 24); Christian Jegou Publi, Science Photo Library Collection, ©agefotostock.com (Carboniferous Period, page 24); Phil Degginger, Animals Animals Collection,
©agefotostock.com (Dimetrodon grandis, Permian Period, page 25); MAURICIO ANTON, ©agefotostock.com (animals hunting, Permian Period, page 25); Christian Jegou Publi, Science Photo
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tian Jegou Publi, Science Photo Library Collection, ©agefotostock.com (Paleogene and Neogene periods, page 27); Science Photo Library, Science Photo Library Collection, ©agefotostock.
com (land enviroment 1 of Quatgernary Period, page 27); Christian Jegou Publi, Science Photo Library Collection, ©agefotostock.com (land enviroment 1 of Quatgernary Period, page 27); Ilya
Kashubin, ©123rf.com (cave, page 28); Cathy Yeulet, ©123rf.com (highscool hall 1, page 28); Cathy Yeulet, ©123rf.com (highscool hall 2, page 28); Cathy Yeulet, ©123rf.com (team work, page
29); Denis Ismagilov, ©123rf.com (notes, page 29); Mr.Smith Chetanachan, ©123rf.com (wheel track, page 31); pilens, ©123rf.com (rock layers, page 35); creative commons licensed (BY) flickr
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Earth & Space Sciences

Unit

History
of the Earth
 Unit Structure

Cover Page
The unit title is highlighted and the lear-
ning objectives presented. An index of
the contents according to the 5-E Model
is also provided. The digital version also
includes an activity to review the skills
and knowledge required to undertake
the unit.

Engage
A video and a related activity are available
with the digital version. Both versions
have a summary on page one. Different
activities are proposed for the video;
some of these may be interactive in the
digital version, but they all contain open-
ended questions.

Explore
This exploratory and discovery activity is
devised to mobilize prior knowledge and
check it against the results obtained from
the experience. The digital version con-
tains the necessary multimedia resources
required for this activity: simulators, videos,
interactivities, etc.

4 science-bits.com
 Unit Structure

Explain
The unit’s key concepts are formally and
systematically addressed. The digital ver-
sion includes a wide range of multimedia
resources to facilitate understanding of
the ideas presented. The printable version
includes all basic graphical elements and
references to the digital resources availa-
ble. The digital version may also include
reinforcement or enrichment activities.

Elaborate
In this section, the newly acquired
knowledge can be applied in a practical
way. Thus, a problem-solving activity is
proposed, one which requires the applica-
tion of the concepts, attitudes, and pro-
cedures learned throughout the unit. The
digital version may provide multimedia
tools (such as simulators or videos) to help
develop and solve the activity.

Exercises
Each of the concepts addressed in the
“Explain” section is related to interactive
or open-ended exercises with the aim of
consolidating the topics covered through
practice. The printable version includes all
the exercises except for reinforcement or
enrichment activities, and they are orga-
nized in accordance with the contents
from the “Explain” section.

science-bits.com 5
 History of the E
Index
· Engage
· The Last Six Seconds 08
· Explore
· A Fascinating Fossil 10
· Explain
· A History of Changes 14
· How do Changes on Earth Occur? 15
· The Age of the Earth 15
· Geological Dating 16
· Absolute Dating 16
· Radiometric Dating: Radioactive Isotopes 16
· Application of Radiometric Dating 17
· Other Dating Methods 17
· Relative Dating 18
· Principles of Stratigraphy 18
· Correlation of Rock Layers 19
· Fossils 19
· Fossil Formation 19
· Importance of Fossils in Geology 20
· The Stages of Earth’s History 20
· The Hadean Eon 21
· The Archean Eon 21
· The Proterozoic Eon 22
· The Phanerozoic Eon 22
· The Paleozoic Era 23
· The Mesozoic Era 25
· The Cenozoic Era 27
· Elaborate
· The Hallway of Earth’s History 28
· Exercices 30

In this unit, you will learn:

About the age of our planet.
About the changes the Earth has experienced
throughout its history.
How to extract information about the past from
rocks and fossils.
That, apart from Pangaea, there existed other
supercontinents.
That, for 99.9% of its history, humans have not been
present on Earth.
How and when life appeared on Earth and how it
has evolved throughout its history.
That the greatest extinction of life on Earth was not
the one that involved dinosaurs.
e Earth
 Engage

Video The Last Six Seconds

Scientists claim that the Earth formed approximately 4.5 billion years
ago and that it was very different from what it is today.

During these billions of years, its surface has experienced all kinds of
changes. Life appeared in its oceans and spread to all the corners of
the world. Living organisms evolved into increasingly more complex
forms and gave rise to the biodiversity that populates the Earth to-
day.

If we could compress the extremely long history of Earth into a single

day, life would then appear at 4 in the morning. The first plants on
land would not grow until nine in the evening. And dinosaurs would
have freely roamed the Earth for less than an hour, until twenty to
midnight, just a few minutes before the tallest mountain range on
Earth, the Himalayas, would begin to rise.

As for us humans, we would only appear at 11:59 and 54 seconds,

which is to say, we would have only been on Earth for six seconds.

But, how can we know so much about Earth’s history if we have bare-
ly been around to witness it?

8 science-bits.com
Questions

a. The video explains that the long history of the

Earth began roughly about 4.5 billion years ago.
What do you think the Earth was like right after its
formation?

b. What great changes do you think Earth has ex-

perienced until becoming the planet we all know
now? What processes do you think have caused
them?

c. Do you think that the Earth keeps changing? If

so, how do you see Earth in the future?

d. The video explains that if the long history of the

Earth was to be put into a single day, the first life
forms would appear at four o’clock in the morning.
What do you think were the earliest life forms on
Earth?

e. Within this one day encompassing all of Earth’s
history, at what time do you think the following
events would take place?
Formation of the first oceans
Breakup of the supercontinent of Pangaea
Appearance of first animals
f. If Earth’s history lasted a single day, us humans
would have only been on Earth for six seconds.
It’s amazing how we can know so much about
the planet’s history without having been there to
witness it.
Historians analyze documents, tools, constructions,
or works of art to piece together history in their
own fields. Now, what sources do you think scien-
tists must use to obtain the necessary information
to reconstruct Earth’s history?

science-bits.com 9
 Explore

What animal did this fossilized tooth
belong to?
A Fascinating Fossil
Out on a walk with your friends, you stumbled upon something like the
fossilized tooth of a large prehistoric animal. The fossil was embedded
in the side of a mountain, but you carefully managed to remove it.
One of your friends thinks that the fossil probably belonged to a dino-
saur that lived in this region millions of years ago. However, you think
that it resembles the tooth of a shark rather than a land animal’s tooth.
Is it possible that in the past this region was a sea, and that this is actu-
ally the remains of a prehistoric shark? How could we find out whether
the animal it belonged to was aquatic or terrestrial?
Obtaining Information about the Rocks
Fossils are remnants or traces of organisms that lived in the past. Most
fossils correspond to the hard parts of these organisms (bones, teeth,
shells, etc.), since they are better preserved than the organic parts.

Fossilization is the process by which remains or traces of past life

give rise to fossils.
Animation

a. What type of rocks are fossils often found in?

This animation shows the process of
fossilization.

b. Sedimentary rocks form by the accumulation and compaction of rock

fragments or remains of living organisms, or by the precipitation of sub-
stances dissolved in water.
Depending on whether they were formed on the continent or in aquatic
media, sedimentary rocks have different compositions and characteris-
tics.

10 science-bits.com
When you drew the fossil from the mountainside, you also took a sample
of the rock it was contained in. Enter the virtual lab and determine what Simulator
type of rock it is.
Use the guide to the most common rocks in the region of the virtual lab to
focus your observations and narrow down your options. Then, justify your
answer using the scientific evidence you obtained.

c. In what environments is that type of rock formed?

q We can’t know for sure.
q In terrestrial environments.
q In aquatic environments..

d. So, what type of animal should this fossil belong to? Outline
q An aquatic animal.
q We can’t know for sure. Mountainside Cross Section Diagram
q A land animal.

Fossils Above and Below

Layer with
Some of your friends are still unconvinced about horse fossils
the conclusion you reached after analyzing the layer with the
rock. How come there is a mountain now, if it was fossilized tooth
an ocean before?
They have also read that a rock of that type may Layer with ammonoids
and belemnoids
have formed at the bottom of a lake. So, they think
that the tooth may have belonged to a dinosaur
Layer with am-
that lived near the lake. monoids
For this reason, you went back to the mountainside Layer with
where you found your fossil to collect more infor- trilobites
mation about the site. This diagram shows the exca-
Sedimentary rocks Igneous rocks
vated mountainside and the exact position where
you found the fossil.
a. How do you think the different layers or strata in the diagram of the
mountainside formed?

b. In some of those layers, you can see fossils of other organisms. Which
ones do you think are older? Why?

c. Check the order in which the fossils appear in the cross section, and
rank them according to age, from oldest to most recent.
Trilobites Ammonoids Horse Belemnoids

A. B. C. D.

science-bits.com 11
 d. To help you determine whether these strata formed in an aquatic envi-
Interactivity ronment or in a land environment, read the files of the other fossils in the
interactive diagram of the digital version.
With this information, and considering the position of the layer with the
fossilized tooth, could you say that this is the tooth of a sea animal?

e. You proceed with your investigation of the mountainside, and not

far from where you found your fossil, you come across a fault that cuts
through several of the rock layers. A fault is a fracture in the rocks of the
Earth’s crust which results in the displacement of the rocks on the opposite
Outline sides of the fracture.
Look at the diagram and indicate the strata which were present before
the formation of the fault, and the ones that weren’t:
Layer A: .......... Layer B: .......... Layer C: ..........
Layer D: .......... Layer E: .......... Layer F: ..........
Esquema Layer G: .......... Layer H: ......... Layer I: ..........
Layer J: .......... Layer K: .......... Layer L: ..........
f. From this information, can you reach any further conclusions as to
whether the tooth was fossilized in an marine environment or not?
Justify your answer

Sedimentary rocks Igneous rocks

Mountainside Cross Section
Interactive Diagram.

Knowing the Age of Rocks

Your next step is to take the fossil to a paleontology institute, where fos-
Interactivity sils and the history of life on Earth are studied.
After careful examination, the paleontologists conclude that this is the
tooth of a megalodon, an extinct giant shark three times the size of
present-day sharks.
Since they had never found a fossil like this in the region where you
found it, they want to further determine its exact age.
a. Estimate the age of the megalodon tooth from the information you
have on the other fossils in the mountainside. Justify your answer.
b. The age interval you estimated for the megalodon is too wide. How do
paleontologists manage to narrow it down? And how can the age of the
other fossils be determined?
Through radiometric dating techniques, the age of the rocks can be
accurately determined. However, these techniques can only be applied
to igneous rocks.
How would you apply radiometric dating to try to find out the approxi-
mate age of the megalodon fossil? To answer, check the mountainside cross
section diagram.

12 science-bits.com
Igneous rocks form when magma cools down and solidifies. Only then Video
can the atoms of the radioactive isotopes common to all magma be-
gin to decay and become atoms of another element. For example, the at-
oms of the radioactive isotope potassium-40 decay to atoms of its daughter
isotope, argon-40.
We know the rate of decay of the atoms of a radioactive isotope and
that, after a specific time—the half-life, expressed (t1/2)—, the amount of
radioactive atoms in the rock will have reduced by half. For example, the
half-life of potassium-40 is 1,280 million years (Ma).
The amount of parent and daughter atoms in an igneous rock can be
measured to obtain the percent of parent isotopes remaining. From this
piece of data, we can infer the time elapsed since its formation.
Interactivity
c. The interactive graph shows how the percent of potassium-40 atoms in
an igneous rock decreases over time. Complete the following statements:
When the rock is forming, the percent of potas-
sium-40 atoms remaining is ..........%.
After .......... Ma, 50% of the original potassium-40 100
atoms still remain, whereas all other atoms—
about 50%—have decayed to argon-40.
75 Argon-40
2,560 Ma after its formation, ..........% of the origi-
nal potassium-40 atoms still remain, whereas all
% of atoms

other atoms—about ..........%—have decayed to 50

argon-40.
Potassium-40
d. The paleontologists have analyzed the content in 25

potassium-40 and argon-40 of samples taken from the

layers of igneous rocks above and below the one that 1,280 2,560 3,840 5,120
contained the fossilized megalodon tooth.
2,223
The percent of potassium-40 of the igneous rock layer Time elapsed (in million years, Ma)
directly below is 99.2%, whereas in the igneous rock
layer directly above is 99.6%.
Decay Curve for Potassium-40.
How old is the fossilized megalodon tooth?
The fossilized tooth is between a minimum of .......... Ma
and a maximum of .......... Ma years old.

Conclusions

Rocks—and the fossils they contain—hold the secrets of Earth’s past history.

By analyzing the characteristics of rocks and their distribution into strata, we can reveal the geological
events that took place in the past, as well as know some of the organisms that roamed the Earth long
before humans first appeared.

To locate these events in time, we use dating techniques:

Relative dating techniques such as the analysis of rock layers and their vertical distribution allow
us to order the events chronologically.

Absolute dating techniques such as radiometric dating allow us to predict the age of past events
in a relatively accurate manner.

science-bits.com 13
 Explicamos
Explain

A History of Changes
Earth has never stayed the same: there is evidence that it has undergone
enormous changes throughout its long history of approximately 4.5 bil-
lion years (Ga).
These changes have affected—and continue to affect—the four systems
Gallery that make up the Earth.
These four systems are interrelated: changes in one system have an effect
on the other three.

Changes in the distribution of continents over the last Variation of the sea level over the last 500 Ma.
600 million years (Ma).
400
relative to current level (m)

300
Variation of sea level

200
100
0
-100
Continental crust above sea level
Continental crust below sea level 500 450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0
Oceanic crust Million years before current time

Changes in the Geosphere Changes in the Hydrosphere

Throughout the history of Earth, the geosphere has undergone impor- There’s evidence that the sea level, temperature, and amount of ice
tant changes
Hace millonesaffecting both landforms and the shape and position of have changed throughout Earth’s history.
de años
continents.
Average air temperature of Earth’s surface over the last 600 Ma. Number of genus of aquatic organisms on Earth over the last 550 Ma.

5,000
Average surface temperature (°C)

Number of genus of aquatic

25 ºC
4,000
organisms

3,000
17 ºC 2,000

1,000

10 ºC 0
600 500 400 300 200 100 0 550 500 450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0
Million years before current time Million years before current time

Changes in the Atmosphere Changes in the Biosphere

We know the chemical composition of the atmosphere, temperature, The fossil record shows that Earth has accommodated species
and circulation of air masses have changed throughout Earth’s history. other than the ones currently living on the planet throughout its
history. Periods of speciation have alternated with periods of mas-
sive extinctions.

14 science-bits.com
How do Changes on Earth Occur?
Earth’s history is embedded in its rocks. By analyzing the rocks’ char-
acteristics, geologists obtain information of the processes that have
formed and modified them.
To do that, they draw on uniformitarianism. According to this scientific
principle, the geological processes acting on the past are the same ones
that act on the Earth today.
The Scottish geologist James Hutton (1726-1797), considered the father
of modern geology, was the first to apply this principle.
Observing the processes acting today on Earth—and on other planets Gallery
in the solar system—has allowed us to infer that the changes the Earth
has undergone are due to:

Gradual processes Catastrophic processes

These slow-moving processes act con- These unusual geological processes are
tinuously over very long time spans— very intense and and act over short pe-
billions of years—, and include ero- riods of time—from seconds to a few
sion, sedimentation, or tectonic plate years—, such as a meteorite impact or
motion. River erosion and runoff has a volcanic eruption. A meteorite impact
dug the Grand Canyon over a period of some 66 Ma ago triggered a massive ex-
6 Ma. tinction of species.

The Age of the Earth

A great collaborative effort has been made in the scientific community
to determine the age of the Earth, one involving scientists across differ-
ent disciplines.
The discovery of natural radioactivity allowed scientists, during the first
half of the nineteenth century, to establish and refine a reliable dating
method to know the age of minerals and rocks (including meteorite
fragments).

The results obtained with this method point to the idea that
Earth was formed approximately around 4.5 billion years ago.
Gallery
Over the years, philosophers and scientists have tried to determine the
age of the Earth with varying success, including:

Initial page of James Ussher (1650)

the book where The earliest ideas about Earth’s age have a marked religious influence: Earth was understood as the
James Ussher home of humanity, so it could not be much older than humanity itself.
published his
calculations in So, a literal interpretation of the Bible led archbishop James Ussher in 1650 to estimate that the
1650. origin of Earth was in 4004 BC. Ussher’s calculations had a powerful effect on society.

Outline of Charles Lyell (1830)

Principles of In 1830, Charles Lyell published Principles of Geology, which developed and popularized James Hutton’s
Geology, by
Charles Lyell
uniformitarian ideas.
(1857, second According to this principle, Earth was moulded by the same geological processes acting today.
American If these extremely slow processes had moulded the Earth’s relief, then Earth’s origin should be much
edition). more remote than just a few thousands of years. Although Lyell did not make an estimate of the Earth’s
age, his acolytes believed it could be hundreds of millions or even billions of years old.

science-bits.com 15
 Lord Kelvin (1862)
In 1862, British physicist William Thomson—better known as Lord Kelvin—estimated the Earth’s
age by applying the scientific method.
Lord Kelvin hypothesized that, originally, Earth was a sphere of molten rock that cooled slowly until
it reached its present temperature. Later in life, and after having refined his calculations over the
years, Kelvin established that Earth’s age ranged between 20 and 40 million years. The scientific
model Lord Kelvin based his work on did not consider the existence of layers in the geosphere, nor phe-
nomena of natural radioactivity—which make up for the cooling by conduction.

John Joly (1899)

In 1899, Irish physicist and geologist John Joly tried to determine the Earth’s age from the rate at which
oceans accumulate salt through erosion on continental rocks. He estimated then that the age must
be between 80 and 100 million years. Joly’s calculations did not consider that oceans also lose salt in
subduction zones.

Geological Dating
Determining when rocks and landforms on Earth formed is necessary if
we are to learn more about Earth’s history. To do that, Earth scientists use
dating techniques.

Dating is the process of locating a specific event or material in time.

There are two types of dating processes:

Although we may not know the date
when a baby boy was born (absolute
dating), we can safely say that he
was born after his parents (relative
dating).
Absolute dating, which consists in providing a numerical age or
range for a given event or material.
Relative dating, which allows us to order the events or materials
chronologically, without establishing the numerical date when they
occurred.

Absolute Dating
Radiometric Dating: Radioactive Isotopes
Radiometric dating is a dating method based in natural radioactivity.
Each particular chemical element has its isotope variants, types of at-
oms which differ only in neutron number. Some isotopes are radioac-
tive: they emit energy and subatomic particles spontaneously. Through
this process, called decay, these isotopes end up becoming isotopes of
other elements.
Radioactive isotopes are known as parent isotopes, and the ones re-
sulting from this decay, daughter isotopes.
Each type of radioactive isotope is characterized by its half-life (t1/2), the
time required for one-half of the radioactive parent atoms in a sample to
convert to the stable daughter products.
The more unstable the isotope, the shorter its half-life.

16 science-bits.com
 Animation

Parent isotope Parent isotope

Daughter isotope Daughter isotope
Parent Parent
isotope isotope
atoms: atoms:

50 25
5,730 5,730
0 10,000 0 10,000
Time (years) t1/2 = 5,730 years Time (years) t1/2 = 5,730 years

After the half-life period has passed, the num- After another half-life period, the number
ber of radioactive atoms has gone from 100 to of radioactive atoms has decreased from 50
50, that is, they have decreased by half. to 25, that is, they have decreased by half
again.

Application of Radiometric Dating

Through radiometric dating, the age of a sample can be determined Graph
from:
The half-life (t1/2) of a given radioactive iso-
tope contained in a sample.
The proportion of parent isotopes which 100%
have not transformed into daughter prod-
% of parent isotope atoms remaining

ucts yet.
Using these pieces of data we can calculate the
time elapsed since a sample began decaying
until the present time. 50%
In geology, this technique is commonly used to
determine the age of igneous rocks—such as
basalt and granite—, since the radioactivity in 25%
these rocks begins at the time of their forma-
tion, when magma has cooled enough for the 12.5%
6.25%
minerals to crystallize.
1 · t1/2 2 · t1/2 3 · t1/2 4 · t1/2
However, this method cannot be used to date
the formation of sedimentary rocks, since the Time
grains making up the rock are not the same
age and belong to older rocks. Percent of radioactive atoms remaining against the time elapsed.

Other Dating Methods

There are other methods of absolute dating, such as dendrochronol-
ogy and analyzing ice cores.
Unlike radiometric methods, these methods are not used to determine
the age of such old events. Instead, they are used to date events related
to Earth’s past climatic and atmospheric conditions.

science-bits.com 17
 Gallery

Dendrochronology
Dendrochronology is the dating of growth rings in trees.

Tree growth rings showing in wood.
Every year, trees grow in diameter and add a layer of new wood under the bark. If the tree
is felled and the trunk examined, we can see concentric rings showing, each corresponding
to one year’s growth. The tree’s age can be determined by counting the rings. We know that
wet conditions produce wide rings, whereas dry conditions produce narrow rings. Then,
dendrochronology looks at tree rings and gives us information about climate conditions
of the recent past.
It is possible to rebuild series of several thousands of years by overlapping the growth rings of
different trees.

Analysis of Ice Cores

An ice core is a cylindrical sample of ice obtained from vertically drilling a large mass of ice.

These ice masses form from the incremental buildup and compression of snow over the
years. The deeper ice layers are, therefore, the oldest. The solid particles and gas bubbles
trapped in the ice provide information about the atmospheric conditions of each parti-
cular period in time. Thanks to this, we can analyze the climate of times past, date volcanic
eruptions, etc
Through ice core drilling, the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica (EPICA) has documented
the climatic and atmospheric record of the last 740,000 years.
Scientists at the Vostok Station,
Antarctica.

Relative Dating
Principles of Stratigraphy
The analysis of rock layers—or strata—is the main method of relative
dating.
Rock layers are the horizontal layers originating from accumulation
and compaction of sediments that give rise to sedimentary rocks.
Stratigraphy is concerned with the study of geologic strata.
Each layer or stratum is distinguished by the characteristics of the sedi-
ments forming it. At the same time, these characteristics depend on the
conditions under which it accumulated.
For example, a rock layer of limestone reflects sedimentation in a marine
environment, whereas a layer of conglomerate reflects the action of a
river in its upper course.
Animations
Stratigraphic dating is based on two principles:

Years Principle of Superposition of Strata

Since sediments are deposited and compacted due to gravitational settling, we
0 200,000
can infer that rock layers are ordered on the vertical axis by age.

Any given rock layer is older than the one above it and younger than
the one below.

18 science-bits.com
 Principle of Cross-Cutting Relationships
The law of superposition of strata is not applicable when, after their deposition,
the action of geological processes such as faults, folds, magma intrusions, or
differential erosion move them into different positions.
The principle of cross-cutting relationships explains these cases:

A geological process is more recent than the rocks it affects and older
than the rocks it doesn’t affect.

Correlation of Rock Layers

There is no sedimentary basin on Earth that has a complete record of
Earth’s history. The sequence of rock layers in a specific sedimentary en-
vironment only corresponds to a very brief period of Earth’s history and
it may also exhibit interruptions.
By tying together rock layers from different landforms, we can try to ob-
tain a record of longer sequences of events. This process is called strati-
graphic correlation, and it is done according to these principles: Outlines

Index Key Bed

Fossils

Lateral Continuity. Correlating strata using index fossils. Correlating strata using key beds.

Lateral Continuity Index Fossils Key Beds

The principle of lateral continuity is
used to correlate two sequences of rock
layers from the same sedimentary basin,
that is, from two relatively close locations.
According to this principle, we
can trace the exposed layers
in an outcrop laterally and link
them to equivalent layers in
nearby local sequences.
Index fossils are fossils that are
widespread geographically and that
can be used as time indicators to
match rock layers of the same age.
Index fossils are species or groups of spe-
cies that lived over a very large area, but
for relatively short periods of time.
If the same index fossils are found
in rock layers of two distinct land-
forms, we can affirm that they are
the same age.
Through analyzing key beds we can relate layers of
rock formed over a widespread area.
Key beds are strata with distinctive, easy-to-spot charac-
teristics, which formed over a widespread area during a
relatively brief period of time. The rock layers formed of a
bed of volcanic ash that settled over an area of millions of
square kilometers as a result of a powerful volcanic explo-
sion are examples of key beds.
Identifying the same key bed in two distant geo-
logical landforms serves as an age marker that
can be used to match strata.

Fossils
Fossil Formation
The study of fossils, or paleontology, provides key information about
the history of Earth since life emerged on it.

science-bits.com 19
 Animation
Fossils are the remains or traces of past life on Earth that have
been preserved in rocks.

Fossilization—fossil formation—is an exceptional process which only

occurs under very specific conditions in the sedimentary environments
where sedimentary rocks form.

In general, organic remains are quickly consumed by decomposers and

therefore no fossils can be formed. However, mineral structures such as
bones and shells are better preserved.

It is estimated that the vast majority of species that have inhab-

Fossilization is the process by which ited the Earth have disappeared, leaving no fossils behind.
remains or traces of past life give rise
to fossils.

Importance of Fossils in Geology

Outline The fossil record shows that Earth was inhabited by species other than
those that are currently living. Fossil species can be dated, which is a
way of knowing the period of time they inhabited Earth:
Trilobites as index fossils.
251Ma Fossils become a part of sedimentary rocks, therefore
Cheiropyge stratigraphy can be used to determine whether they
are recent, or old.
299 Ma
Cummingella Radiometric dating of the igneous rocks above and be-
low rocks containing fossils allows us to determine the
359 Ma range of years in which these living organisms inhabited
Odontochile the Earth.
416 Ma
If a time period can be associated with a fossil species, then
Dicranopeltis
we can use fossils for dating rocks. This is extremely useful in
444 Ma
the case of index fossils.
Ceraurus
488 Ma Trilobites are extinct aquatic arthropods. Different forms of
trilobites dominated the seas worldwide over relatively brief
Olenellus periods of time, so they can be considered good index fos-
542 Ma sils.

The Stages of Earth’s History

The history of Earth spans approximately 4.5 billion years. To make it
easier to study, it is divided into:
Eons Eras Periods

The limits between these divisions correspond to great tectonic, atmo-

spheric, or biological changes that have affected the planet.
The most remote ages have few divisions, simply because we have very
little information about them.
We are currently in the Phanerozoic Eon, the Cenozoic Era, and the
Quaternary Period.

20 science-bits.com
 Interactivity
Eons
The history of Earth is divided into four great eons:
Hadean, Archean, Proterozoic, and Phanerozoic.

CARBONIFEROUS
The first three eons are often grouped into a supe-

QUATERNARY
ORDOVICIAN

CRETACEOUS

PALEOGENE
CAMBRIAN

DEVONIAN
reon called Precambrian, which is the time that

SILURIAN

PERMIAN

JURASSIC

NEOGENE
TRIASSIC
preceded the Cambrian, the first period of the Pha-
nerozoic eon.
Eras -500 Ma 0 Ma
Except for the Hadean, each eon is divided into eras.
Periods

Periods
The eras of the Proterozoic and Phanerozoic eons are

CRYOGENIAN
STATHERIAN

CALYMMIAN

EDIACARAN
in turn divided into periods.

OROSIRIAN
RHYACIAN

ECTASIAN
SIDERIAN

STENIAN

TONIAN
PALEOPROTEROZOIC

MESOPROTEROZOIC

NEOPROTEROZOICO
PALEOARCHEAN

MESOARCHEAN

NEOARCHEAN
EOARCHEAN

PALEOZOIC

MESOZOIC
CENOZOIC

Eras
-4,000 Ma -3,000 Ma -2,000 Ma -1,000 Ma 0 Ma

Eons
HADEAN ARCHEAN PROTEROZOIC PHANEROZOIC

PRECAMBRIAN

The Hadean Eon

The Hadean Eon began with the formation of Earth 4.55 billion
years ago.
The young Earth was a sphere of molten material, subject to con-

4.55 - 4.00 Ga ago

stant bombardment by asteroids. The atmosphere was made up
of carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and water vapor.
As the Hadean progressed, the rate of meteorite impacts de-
creased and the planet began to cool down. As a result of this:
The planet’s surface solidified and the Earth’s crust formed,
with intense volcanic activity.
The water vapor in the atmosphere condensed and fell as
rain. Continuous rainfall gave rise to the first oceans.
Without the existence of stable masses of liquid water, life as we
know it would not have been able to emerge.

The Archean Eon

4.00 - 2.50 Ga ago

A key event in the planet’s history marks the start of the Arche-
an Eon: the appearance of life.
During Archean times, there was no oxygen (O2 ) on Earth. The
first evidence of primitive life forms appears without this gas.
Life is likely to have appeared around seafloor hydrothermal
vents, as this was the ideal environment for the spontaneous for-

science-bits.com 21
 mation of organic molecules. Some of these molecules prob-
ably organized into protocells, extremely simple structures ca-
pable of exchanging matter and energy with their environment
and reproducing. The earliest cells—prokaryotes—evolved
from these protocells.
Prokaryotes dominated the planet throughout the Archean,
and with them, the main chemical processes of cells—such as
photosynthesis—evolved and diversified.
Some fossilized prokaryotes lived more than 3.5 Ga ago

The Proterozoic Eon

Cyanobacteria thrived and diversified during the Proterozoic.
2.50 - 0.54 Ga ago

These photosynthesizing organisms produced large amounts of

Continental crust above sea level
Continental crust below sea level
Oceanic crust
oxygen. After oxidizing minerals on the Earth’s surface, oxygen
accumulated in the atmosphere and caused the extinction of
many prokaryotes, since it was a toxic gas.
Over time, a group of bacteria that used oxygen for cellular
respiration evolved from other oxygen-tolerant bacteria. This
allowed them to extract much more energy from organic mat-
ter than all other prokaryotes and spread across the planet, rel-
egating the remaining prokaryotes to localized, anoxic environ-
ments.
Later on—around 1.8 billion years ago—, the symbiosis be-
tween prokaryotic cells gave rise to the earliest eukaryotic cell.
This cell type evolved into complex multicellular organisms in
Pannotia late Proterozoic times.
The supercontinent Rodinia formed at the beginning of the
Distribution of continents about Proterozoic. Throughout the eon, this continent broke up and
600 Ma ago assembled again, forming Pannotia.

CAMBRIAN
–500 Ma
The Phanerozoic Eon
ORDOVICIAN

SILURIAN The Phanerozoic is the eon extending to the present, which

PALEOZOIC

–400 Ma spans about 542 Ma. The name derives from the Greek for abun-
DEVONIAN dance of macroscopic life forms. This eon is divided into three
eras:
CARBONIFEROUS
0.54 - 0 Ga ago

The Paleozoic. This era sees the emergence of all animal phyla
PHANEROZOIC

–300 Ma
PERMIAN in the sea and life forms colonizing land environments, under
very changing climatic conditions. Pannotia breaks up and
TRIASSIC from its fragments Pangea is assembled.
–200 Ma The Mesozoic. Earth’s flora and fauna diversify greatly during
JURASSIC
MESOZOIC

this era in generally warm climates. Pangea breaks apart.

The Cenozoic. During this era—the present era—, Earth under-
–100 Ma CRETACEOUS goes various glacial periods, and birds and mammals diversify.
The continents adjust to their present positions and the main
PALEOGENE mountain ranges that characterize today’s relief rise.
CENO-
ZOIC

NEOGENE
0 Ma QUATERNARY

22 science-bits.com
The Paleozoic Era
The Cambrian Period (542 - 485 Ma)
During the Cambrian, the first period of the
Paleozoic, the greatest diversification of
macroscopic life during Earth’s history oc-
curred.
Such an extreme diversification occurred in
shallow seas with abundant algae, which re-
sulted in the rise and proliferation of species
of all main groups of invertebrates: sponges,
cnidarians, annelids, arthropods—such as Distribution of continents about
500 Ma ago
trilobites, for example—, mollusks, echino-
derms, etc.
Continental Siberia
Tectonic plate motions during the Cambrian resulted crust above
sea level
in the breakup of Pannotia into four continents—Lau- Continental
Laurentia
rentia, Baltica, Siberia, and Gondwana. This favored the crust below Baltica Gondwana
sea level
extension of continental platforms, covered with shal- Oceanic
low seas, the ideal environment for life to thrive. crust

The Ordivician Period (485 - 444 Ma ago)

During the Ordovician Period, aquatic life
kept diversifying in shallow seas. Large-sized
arthropod predators appeared; echinoderms
and cephalopods with external shells—
which dominated the seas—diversified, and
so did the first group of vertebrates, jawless
fish. Small plants, similar to currently living
hepatics, started to grow on land.
The supercontinent of Pannotia no longer
breaks apart during the Ordovician. Sea lev-
els were very high during most of the period.
However, glaciation at the end of the pe- Distribution of continents about
riod caused a decrease in sea levels, so many 460 Ma ago
shallow seas withdrew.
Continental Siberia
This may have triggered the great extinction event that crust above
sea level
took place when the period came to a close: more than Continental
Laurentia
half the genera of all aquatic animals became extinct. crust below Baltica Gondwana
sea level
Oceanic
crust

The Silurian Period (444 - 416 Ma ago)

After the extinction event by the end of the
Ordovician, the Silurian saw the prolifera-
tion of, among many other invertebrates,
coral reefs. Jawless fish thrived and diversi-
fied, and the first jawed fish appeared. Vas-
cular plants appeared on land, and there’s
evidence of fungi and arthropods (such as
arachnids and millipedes).

science-bits.com 23
 Region where Distribution of continents about 380 Ma ago
the Caledonian
orogeny is In geological terms, Laurentia and Baltica—
produced
fragments of the ancient Pannotia—collided,
Continental Laurentia resulting in the Caledonian orogeny, the rise
crust above Baltica
sea level of a large mountain range with highly eroded
Continental remains still present in the British Isles, Green-
crust below
sea level land, Canada, and Scandinavia.
Oceanic
crust

The Devonian Period

Land environment (416 - 359 Ma ago)
During the Devonian Period, jawed fish di-
versified in the seas, and the first sharks and
armored fish appeared. Together with 20%
of the families of aquatic animals, armored
fish became extinct by the end of the peri-
od because of a great extinction event we
don’t know much about.
The evolution of vascular plants on land
gave rise to the appearance of tree ferns,
which formed the first forests. The first
Aquatic environment insects also evolved during this period, as
did amphibians, the first land vertebrates.
As far as plate motion is concerned, the
Caledonian orogeny ended with the com-
ing together of Laurentia and Baltica and
subsequent formation of the Euramerica
continent, which slowly drifted closer to
Gondwana.

Continental
crust above
sea level Euramerica
Continental
crust below
sea level Gondwana
Oceanic
crust Distribution of continents about 420 Ma ago

The Carboniferous Period

(359 - 299 Ma ago)
During the Carboniferous Period, most
of the land was covered in dense forests
of ferns. Because the Earth was warm and
swampy, these forests produced large
amounts of organic matter—which in turn
gave rise to the planet’s main coal depos-
its—and oxygen. It was in this period that
the highest oxygen levels in the atmosphere
were reached. Flying insects and amphib-
ians thrived and diversified in these humid

24 science-bits.com
forests. The climate at the end of the period Region where
was drier and the first reptiles and the first orogeny is
produced
seed-bearing plants appeared. Sharks also
Continental Euramerica
proliferated in the seas. crust above
sea level
In terms of the geosphere, the collision be-
Continental
tween Gondwana and Euramerica resulted crust below
sea level
in multiple orogenies—such as the Herc- Gondwana
Oceanic
ynian orogeny—that gave rise to mountain crust Distribution of continents about 340 Ma ago
ranges whose reliefs have made it to our
days, although highly eroded. The formation
of Pangaea was being forged.

The Permian Period (299 - 251 Ma ago)

The Permian Period signifies the end of the
Paleozoic era.
Reptiles and seed-bearing plants began to
diversify under increasingly dry climates, as
they are better adapted to these conditions
than amphibians and ferns. The period ends
with the largest extinction event in Earth’s
history, with various possible causes—an as-
teroid impact, massive vulcanism, the release
of large amounts of methane gas, a dramatic
climate change, and so on. It wiped out 95%
of all marine species—including the last trilo-
bites—and about 70% of all land vertebrates,
Continental
as well as many insect species. crust above Pangea
sea level
During the Permian period, the Pangaea su- Continental
Pangea
percontinent was formed. crust below
sea level
Oceanic
crust Distribution of continents about 260 Ma ago
The Mesozoic Era
The Triassic Period (251 - 201 Ma ago)
The Mesozoic, known as the era of reptiles,
begins with the Triassic Period.
In this period of barren and warm climate,
with large deserts, the biosphere diversi-
fied again after the massive extinction that
brought the Paleozoic to a close. Plant life was
dominated by coniferous and other seed-
bearing plants, and land vertebrates thrived
and diversified, giving rise to multiple groups
of reptiles, including the earliest dinosaurs, Distribution of continents
about 220 Ma ago
and to the first mammals.The Triassic also
ended with another massive extinction—of unclear
causes—which wiped out half of the known species. Continental
crust above Panthalassa Pangaea Tethys sea
sea level
During the Triassic, Pangaea extended from pole to Continental
pole, surrounded by a single ocean called Panthalassa. crust below
sea level
A branch of Panthalassa, the Tethys Sea, began to pen- Oceanic
crust
etrate through Pangaea from the East.

science-bits.com 25
Land environment
The Jurassic Period (201 - 145 Ma Ago)
During the Jurassic, the global climate was
warm and increasingly damp. The desserts
from the Triassic gave rise to tropical forests
with coniferous and ferns. The extinction
event that ended the Triassic brought about
the dominance of dinosaurs—which diversi-
fied and were found in all land ecosystems—,
together with giant flying reptiles (ptero-
saurs) and aquatic reptiles such as ichthyo-
Aquatic environment saurs and plesiosaurs. By the end of the Juras-
sic, a group of dinosaurs gave rise to the first
bird species.
Aquatic environments were highly diverse,
underpinned by an abundant production of
plankton, which would become the base for
future oil and gas deposits.
Geologically, the formation of the new oce-
anic crust under the Tethys Sea signified the
dismemberment of Pangaea into two large
Laurasia
continents: Laurasia to the north and Gond-
Continental
wana to the south.
crust above
sea level Gondwana
Continental
The Cretaceous Period
crust below (145 - 66 Ma ago)
sea level
Oceanic
Distribution of continents about 150 Ma ago In the Cretaceous, the first angiosperms—
crust
flowering plants with fruits—thrived and di-
versified. The evolution of their flowers par-
alleled the evolution of pollinating insects.
Land environment Small mammals and birds also proliferated,
but still under the looming dominance of
large reptiles.
The Cretaceous Period ends with yet an-
other massive extinction, triggered by an
asteroid impact which wiped out 75% of all
species, including the dinosaurs and large
reptiles. This paved the way for the diversifi-
cation of mammals and birds.
In geological terms, Gondwana started to
break apart into South America, Africa, India,
Aquatic environment Australia, and Antartica, and Laurasia into
North America, Greenland, Europe, and Asia.
Half the world’s oil and gas reserves originat-
ed by the mid Cretaceous from the buildup
of organic remains in seabeds.

Laurasia

Continental
crust above
sea level Gondwana
Continental
crust below
sea level
Oceanic
crust Appearance of Earth roughly about 120 Ma ago

26 science-bits.com
The Cenozoic Era
The Paleogene and Neogene Periods
(66 - 2.6 Ma ago)
The Cenozoic begins with the Paleogene
and the Neogene, two periods traditionally
grouped into a single one called Tertiary.
During these periods, the mammals surviv-
ing the great extinction at the end of the
Mezosoic diversified and took over the eco-
systems that once belonged to large reptiles.
Also birds, angiosperms, and bony fish
started to diversify greatly. The Neogene
saw the evolution of the earliest hominids, Region where
Alpine orogeny
and by the end of the period, the evolution of aus- is produced
tralopithecus, which included our direct ancestors. Continental
crust above
As for the continental drift, the collision between tec- sea level
tonic plates at the start of the Paleogene produced Continental
crust below
the Alpine orogeny, with the rise of the main moun- sea level
tain ranges in Southern Europe, Northern Africa, and Oceanic
Distribution of continents about 40 Ma ago
crust
Asia, including the Himalaya. At the end of the Neo-
gene, South America and North America became
connected through the isthmus of Panama.

The Quaternary Period

(2.6 - 0 Ma ago) Land environment A

The Quaternary is the present period. Earth,

in this period, has undergone various gla-
ciations. Modern humans (Homo sapiens)
appeared in Africa about 300,000 years
ago—although the earliest species of the
Homo genus date back to the beginning of
the Quaternary. Over the last 100,000 years,
Homo sapiens have colonized the planet
and become the dominant species.
Coinciding with the end of the last glacia-
tion, about 10,000 years ago, a significant Land environment B
extinction wiped out large mammals such
as mammoths and saber-toothed cats. Evi-
dence seems to indicate that human expan-
sion could be related to this extinction.
Since the origin of life, different species
or groups of species have dominated the
planet. However, there is only one type of
organism that has prevailed in spite of all
the extinctions: bacteria.

Continental
crust above
sea level
Continental
crust below
sea level
Oceanic
crust Present distribution of continents
science-bits.com 27
 Elaborate

The Hallway of Earth's History

The length of geologic time is so large that it’s hard to get your head
around it. Even if the 4.5 billion years of Earth’s history are divided into
eons, eras, and periods, these divisions are still extremely lengthy.
To try to have a better understanding of geologic time and the length
of its divisions, you will construct a geologic and biological timeline
of the Earth. Given that this covers such a great timespan, you will
surely need more than just one sheet of paper to present its history in
a comprehensible manner.

So, we will use a hallway in your school to build the geologic

timeline. We will obviously name it the hallway of Earth’s his-
tory.

By doing that, other students in your school will also learn about Earth’s
amazing time scale

Task

a. The first thing you need to do is choose a suitable hallway for your time
scale. Make sure it is long and wide enough for students to walk down the
hallway and check on it
Describe the location chosen for your time scale.
Indicate its measurements, exact location in the school, and the characteristics
that make it ideal (proper lighting, sufficiently spacious, etc.).

28 science-bits.com
b. The next step is to calculate the space that will be allocated to each divi-
sion, considering both the duration of each time scale division and the total Interactivity
length of the hallway.
Complete the table in the digital version with the results of your calcula-
tions.
Express the results in the units indicated and, if necessary, correct to two deci-
mal places.

c. The next step is agreeing on the structure of the timeline, that is, the in-
formation the geologic and biological time scale of the Earth must include
and how to best represent it.

Your timeline must indicate the age and name of each of the divisions. Also,
place the main events related to the distribution of the continents and the
evolution of biodiversity on the timeline.

Agree with the other students whether you also want to include images or
draw diagrams. Think also how to organize the information related to most
recent periods since, comparatively, you will have much less room to use.

Write down a list with the main pieces of information you will include in
your time scale.

d. At this point, get in pairs or groups of three students, so that each group
works specifically on one time scale division.

Follow these steps to prepare your division:

1. Look up and select information.

2. Write short descriptions in a clear manner.
3. Prepare the images, diagrams or maps.

e. Finally, build your time scale.

Build your division of the geologic time scale in the hallway and make a
brief presentation to your classmates.
Distribute the content of your time scale in an orderly manner and in the
space that is allocated to your division.

science-bits.com 29
 EXERCISES
A History of Changes
1. A History of Changes 5,000

Sea level variation relative to

a. Look at the graph and indicate whether these 4,000

today’s level (m)

statements about the sea levels over the last 3,000 Number of gen-
500 Ma of Earth’s history are true or false. 2,000 era of aquatic
1,000 species over the
400 last 550 Ma.
Sea level variation relative to

300 550 450 350 250 150 100 0

today’s level (m)

Millions of years before present time

200
100
How do Changes on Earth Occur?
0 Sea level
-100 variation 2. Gradual and Catastrophic Changes
500 400 300 200 100 0 over the last Indicate whether the following statements are true
Millions of years before present time 500 Ma.
or false.
The maximum sea level during this period is Earth changes through gradual processes as
4 m higher than today’s. well as rare, random catastrophic events.
The current sea level is one of the highest of The action of slow geological processes over
the last 500 Ma. very long periods of time can result in relevant
The current sea level is one of the lowest of the changes on the Earth’s relief.
last 500 Ma. Uniformitarianism defends the idea that Earth
The sea level has been increasing gradually. has always been the same unchanged planet.
b. Look at the graph and indicate whether these Catastrophic processes are more frequent
statements about Earth’s average temperature over than gradual processes.
the last 600 Ma are true or false. The formation of mountain ranges is the result
of catastrophic processes occurring over a few
dozen years.
Average temperature on

25
Earth’s surface ( ºC)

Average The gradual and catastrophic processes we

temperature of know today have also acted on Earth in the
17,5
Earth’s surface
past.
over the last
10 600 Ma. Almost all changes the Earth has experienced
600 500 400 300 200 100 200 are due to cataclysmic events such as asteroid
Millions of years before present time impacts.

At times, Earth’s average temperature appears

Geological Dating
to have been over 25 °C.
There have been oscillations in temperature of 3. Absolute or Relative?
over 20 °C. What dating process is used in each of the follow-
Earth’s average temperature appears to have ing statements?
been below 0 °C. [Relative dating / Absolute dating]
c. Look at the graph and indicate whether these The first transcontinental flight took place in
statements about the biodiversity in Earth’s oceans 1919. ...........
over the last 550 Ma are true or false.
The expedition sailed past the Azores Islands
Biodiversity has not stopped increasing over before docking at the port in Plymouth. ............
the last 550 Ma. Humans have been farming the land for
There appear to be periods of massive extinc- 10,000 years. ............
tion events. Paul is younger than his sister. .............
Today, there are more than 4 million genera of The school team won its last basketball champi-
aquatic organisms. onship 5 years ago today. ............

30 science-bits.com
 EXERCISES
4. Tracks in the Sand c. A different sample contains 8 · 1024 atoms of
the same radioactive isotope. Complete the table
with the number of atoms of the parent isotope
that will remain after a period of 1, 2, and 3 years.
To calculate the value of a row, use the value directly
above it and the half-life.
Time Atoms of the
elapsed parent isotope
0 years 8 · 1024
1 year .......... · 1024
a. Look at the wheel tracks in the image and put 2 years .......... · 1024
them in order, from most recent to oldest. 3 years .......... · 1024
A. Track 1 B. Track 2 C. Track 3
d. This time, write the number of atoms of the
b. What dating method have you used to rank the daughter isotope that will remain in the same
tire tracks in chronological order? sample after a period of 1, 2, and 3 years.
q Relative dating q Absolute dating Time Atoms of the
elapsed daughter isotope
c. How did you decide the chronological order in
which the tire tracks were left in the sand? 0 years 0
1 year .......... · 1024
The tire track that is not interrupted by any
2 years .......... · 1024
other track is the [most recent / oldest].
3 years .......... · 1024
The tire track that is interrupted by the other
tracks is the [most recent / oldest]. 7. Isotopes Used in Radiometric Dating
These are some of the most commonly isotopes
Radiometric Dating: Radioactive Isotopes used in radiometric dating, and their half-lives.

Parent Daughter Table of

5. Facts about Natural Background Radiation Half-life the most
isotope isotope
Indicate whether the following statements about commonly
natural radiation are true or false Rubidium-87 Strontium-87 48,800 Ma used
radioactive
When a radioactive isotope decays, it disap- Uranium-238 Lead-206 4,510 Ma isotopes in
pears completely. geologic
After one half-life, the amount of radioactive Potassium-40 Argon-40 1,280 Ma dating.
isotope atoms of a sample is reduced by half.
Carbon-14 Nitrogen-14 5,730 Ma
The half-life of a given isotope may vary.
The more stable the isotope is, the longer its
a. Rank them in increasing order of stability.
half-life.
When a radioactive isotope decays, it trans- A. Carbon-14 B. Uranium-238
forms into an isotope of another element. C. Potassium-40 D. Rubidium-87
After two half-lives, all parent isotope atoms b. Complete the following statements: [lower
present in a sample will have disintegrated. than / the same as / greater than].
6. Calculations Using Half-Lives In a sample where radioactivity began
a. A sample contains 6 · 1020 atoms of a radioac- 4,000 Ma ago, the amount of rubidium-87 will
tive isotope. This isotope has a half-life of be ......... that of strontium-87.
1 year. How many atoms of the parent isotope In a sample where radioactivity began
will remain after 1 year? 3,000 Ma ago, the amount of uranium-238 will
b. Another sample contains 8 · 1022 atoms of the be .......... that of lead-206.
same isotope. How many atoms of the parent In a sample where radioactivity began
isotope will remain in this sample after 1 year? 2,000 Ma ago, the amount of potassium-40 will
be .......... that of argon-40.

science-bits.com 31
 EXERCISES
Application of Radiometric Dating
8. Radioactive Decay of Iodine-131
a. Represent in the digital resource the pace
at which a sample containing iodine-131 (131I)
decays.
Time (days) Atoms of I (%)
131
0 100
4 74
8 50
12 35
16 25
20 18
24 13
28 9 by several independent radiometric datation
32 6 methods. Because of the recycling of crustal rocks
b. What’s the half-life of iodine? Express your
answer as a whole number.
c. A sample has 60% of the atoms of iodine-131 it
contained originally.How many days have passed
since the initial situation until this measurement?
Express your answer as a whole number.
9. Dating Granite
Granite is a rock that forms when large masses
of magma in the Earth’s crust slowly cool down.
Feldspar, one of its most abundant components
is a potassium-rich mineral.
The atoms of the radioactive isotope potas-
sium-40 decay into argon-40 with a half-life of
1,280 Ma.
a. At what point in time will the amount of potas-
sium-40 atoms in the rock be at its highest?
q The amount of potassium-40 does not change
over time.
q 1,280 Ma years after its formation.
q Right after having formed.
b. In the digital version use the interactive decay
curve graph of potassium-40 to determine the
age of the following pieces of granite.
32
Granite A, with 55% of potassium-40 atoms and
45% of argon-40 atoms: ........... Ma
Granite B, with 80% of potassium-40 atoms and
20% of argon-40 atoms: ........... Ma
Granite C, with 90% of potassium-40 atoms and
10% of argon-40 atoms: ........... Ma
10. Earth’s Age and Radiometric Dating
Carefully read the following text and answer the
questions on the following pages.
The age of the Earth is 4.54 billion years (Ga or
Gyr), a number which geologists have determined
by plate tectonics, no direct material from the ear-
liest Earth still exists. However, geologists are able
to analyze meteorites and lunar rocks returned by
the Apollo missions.
Methods
Rocks in the 4-5 Ga range may be dated by mea-
suring ratios of isotopes of uranium/lead, rubid-
ium/strontium, potassium/argon, and neodym-
ium/samarium. One way to judge the reliability
of a radiometric measurement is to compare the
results of different measurement techniques for
the same sample.
Note that these methods do not include carbon
dating. Creationists frequently describe carbon
being used to date rocks; in fact, it cannot be used
in that way, as rocks do not accumulate carbon
in the manner that living material does. Also, the
relatively brief half-life of 14C (5,730 years) means
that after ~50,000 years, so little 14C remains that
the machine used to measure isotopes, a mass
spectrometer, cannot reliably detect this amount
within its normal background error.
Meteorites
Meteorites are pieces of the primordial solar sys-
tem. They formed at the same time as Earth and
the other planets. Meteorites test within a narrow
time range between 4.48-4.56 Ga.
Lunar materials
The Apollo missions returned 382 kg of lunar
materials. Although much of this consisted of rela-
tively young volcanic flows, older crustal highland
rocks ranged from 4.3-4.5 Ga. In 2005, research-
ers used a refined technique involving tungsten
isotopes and hafnium to find a lunar formation
date of 4.527 Ga.
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Timeline
1. Minimum age of the solar system:
4.57 Ga
Based on radiometric dating using207Pb/206Pb-
204
Pb/206Pb.
2. Age of the Earth: 4.54 Ga
Numerous meteorite samples.
3. Age of moon formation, 4.527 Ga.
Note that lunar rocks are slightly younger than the
Earth, reflecting their origin as a piece of Earth’s
mantle hurtled into orbit during a collision.
4. Oldest mineral yet discovered on Earth: 4.408
Ga
Zircon crystal in sediment, Jack Hills, Australia.
5. Oldest rock yet identified on Earth:
4.031 Ga
Acasta gneiss, Slave Craton, Canada.
Adapted from Steven Newton, “How Old is
the Earth?,” National Center for Science Edu-
cation website, https://ncse.com/evolution/
science/how-old-is-earth, October 17, 2008
a. What types of dating methods are mentioned in
the text?
q Relative dating methods.
q Absolute dating methods.
b. What are the limitations we are faced with when
trying to determine Earth’s age?
q All of Earth’s crust rocks have been subject to
melting or transformation due to the effect of
plate tectonics.
q Dating methods are too inaccurate to mea-
sure Earth’s age.
q Meteorite impacts make radiometric dating of
the Earth’s crust rocks too difficult.
c. What is radiocarbon dating’s major limitation?
q The amount of atoms of 14C in materials older
than 50,000 years is so small that it can not be
measured with precision.
q Rocks contain no carbon.
q It can ony measure the amount of atoms of 14C
in materials more recent than 5,730 Ma.
science-bits.com
EXERCISES
d. In what way is meteorite dating useful to know
the age of Earth?
Since Earth formed from the accretion of
meteorites, we can assume that Earth is slightly
younger than the meteorites.
Meteorites allow us to estimate when the solar
system was formed.
Meteorites contain Earth’s materials.
e. What information can we obtain from studying
the Moon?
The age of lunar rocks is inferred from the hy-
pothesis that the Moon formed, like the Earth,
from the accretion of meteorites.
Lunar rocks are younger than Earth’s.
The age of lunar rocks is inferred from the
hypothesis that the Moon is a part of Earth’s
mantle.
f. Rank these elements according to age, from old-
est to youngest.
A. Solar system
B. Earth’s oldest rock
C. The Moon
D. Earth’s oldest mineral
E. Earth
11. Carbon-14 Dating
Carbon-14 is an unstable isotope of carbon with
a half-life of 5,730 years. Living organisms store a
small amount of that isotope in their body.
The amount of carbon-14 present in the body of
a living organism remains constant throughout
its life, as it is incorporated and eliminated at the
same rate.
However, when a living organism dies, it no
longer incorporates carbon-14 atoms. As time
passes, the amount of that isotope in the organ-
ism decreases as it decays into nitrogen-14.
Therefore, we can know the age of biologi-
cal remains by analyzing the amount of
carbon-14 remaining in the sample and
comparing it to the original amount.
33
 EXERCISES
a. Which statements about carbon-14 are correct?
It only allows us to know the age of biological
remains that are less than 5,730 years old.
It measures the time elapsed since the birth of
the organism being studied.
It only allows us to know the age of biological
remains that are less than 11,460 years old.
It measures the time elapsed since the organ-
ism’s death.
b. A sample of a feather found in an archeological
site contains about 25% of the concentration of car-
bon-14 present in the feathers of a living bird. Look
at the graph and calculate the age of the feather.
The feather is about .......... years old.
% of 14C atoms remaining
Time elapsed since the organism’s death (in years)
Decay curve for carbon-14.
Other Dating Methods
12. Dating a Log Cabin
Suppose you want to determine the year when
a cabin was built in a pine forest. Since the cabin
was built using wood from the same forest, you
take samples of the tree trunks nearby to com-
pare them with the wooden beams in the cabin.
Each year, growth is represented by a ring consisting
of a light part (beginning of the growth period) and a
dark part (end of the growth period).
Ring width depends on the environmental
conditions surrounding the tree. So, warm
and moist conditions increase growth,
producing a wider ring, whereas cold and
dry conditions decrease growth, producing a
narrower ring.
You do not need to chop a tree down to observe
its rings: a hollow instrument called increment
34
borer can be used to drill from the bark into the
center of a tree to remove a long narrow cylinder
of wood. In these cylinders—called core sam-
ples—, the rings appear as bands.
a. Observe the core sample extracted in the winter
of 2017 of a pine tree nearby the cabin. How many
rings are there in the sample? When counting, do
not include the core band or the bark.
core
bark
Core sample extracted from the trunk of a tree near the
cabin in 2017.
b. When was the first annual growth ring formed in
the pine tree? Recall that the outermost ring corre-
sponds to the annual growth of 2017.
c. Based on the width of its rings, the core sample
shows seven regions, each represented with a letter.
How many sequences of dry years has this pine tree
experienced?
d. Now observe the core sample obtained from
one of the wooden beams that was used to build
the cabin. How old was the tree that was cut down
to make the wooden beam? When counting, do not
include the core band or the bark.
Core sample extracted from one of the cabin’s wooden
beams.
e. Compare the two core samples and
find out whether the ring pattern of the
wooden beam can be matched with the
ring pattern of the pine tree.What does
matching mean?
q That the pine that was used as a beam and the
pine from which a core sample was extracted in
2017 are the same age.
q That, over a period of some years, the pine that
was used as a beam and the pine from which
a core sample was extracted in 2017 coincided
in the forest.
q Ring patterns cannot be overlapped because
the core samples are obtained from different
pine trees.
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f. By matching the tree-ring sequences in the
previous step, we can work out the year the pine
tree was cut down to build the log cabin. Recall
that the core sample of the tree nearby the cabin
was extracted in 2017.
The tree that was used to make the wooden
beam for the log cabin was felled in the winter
of .......... .
Principles of Stratigraphy
13. Relative Dating and Principles
a. Which rock layer is the oldest out of all of the
layers?
qA qB qC qD qE
b. And which one is the most recent?
qA qB qC qD qE
c. Which principle did you use to answer questions
a and b?
q Principle of cross-cutting relationships
q Principle of superposition of strata
d. Rank the following geologic processes accord-
ing to age, from oldest to most recent.
A. Formation of rock layer A
B. Formation of rock layer B
C. Formation of rock layer C
D. Inclination of the strata
science-bits.com
EXERCISES
14. Geological Cross Section of a Canyon
This geological cross section corresponds to the
mountainsides of a canyon that resulted from the
erosive action of a river’s water flow.
Geological cross section of the mountainside of a canyon.
a. Rank the geological processes that formed it in
order of occurrence.
A. Deformation of strata A-E by tectonic forces
B. Sedimentation and lithification of strata F-G
C. Erosion of strata C-E
D. Sedimentation and lithification of strata A-E
E. Formation of a narrow valley due to river erosion
b. Look at the magma intrusion (H). When did it
occur?
[Before / After] the formation of strata A-E and
[before / after] their deformation.
15. Ordering Processes
a. Rank the geological processes that have given
rise to this geological structure according to age,
from oldest to most recent (image to the left).
A. Formation of rock layer C B. Formation of rock layer D
C. Formation of rock layer B D. Formation of rock layer A
E. Erosion of the surface of rock layer B F. Formation of the fault
b. Rank the geological processes that have given
rise to this geological structure according to age,
from oldest to most recent (image to the right).
A. Formation of rock layer C B. Formation of rock layer D
C. Formation of rock layer B D. Formation of rock layer A
E. Inclination of rock layers C and D F. Formation of the fault
G. Erosion of rock layers C and D
H. Erosion of rock layers A and D, and formation of a river basin
35
 EXERCISES
Correlation of Rock Layers
16. Matching Rock Layers
These two geological cross sections correspond
to two landforms a few dozen kilometers apart.
The layer of volcanic ash in both landforms—in
black—was dated and it was the same age in
both cases.
Two geological cross sections.
a. Correlate the layers from the two cross sections.
[H / I / J / K / it does not correlate with any
other layer.]
Rock layer A: ............ Rock layer E: ............
Rock layer B: ............ Rock layer F: ............
Rock layer C: ............ Rock layer G: ............
Rock layer D: ............
b. How can you explain that the rock layer E of
the cross section to the left is not present in the
cross section to the right? Indicate whether or not
these explanations are plausible.
The rock layer did form, but it experienced more
intense erosion than the layer in the landform to
the left, and was therefore eliminated.
In the landform to the right, the sediments cor-
responding to layer E were not deposited.
Fossil Formation
17. Facts about Fossilization
Indicate whether the following statements are
true or false.
The quicker the organic remains are buried, the
more readily they decompose.
The characteristics of a fossil informs us about
the environment the fossilized organism lived in.
Traces or evidence of past life are also consid-
ered fossils.
In fossils, the organism’s matter is modified
through a process called mineralization.
36
Fossils tend to accumulate in igneous rocks.
Fossils inform us about almost every living
organism that has roamed the Earth in the past.
The most common fossils are of organisms with
mineral parts.
Importance of Fossils in Geology
18. Other Index Fossils
Apart from trilobites, there are many other index
fossils. Look up information about a different type
of index fossil and find out:
The period when the organism inhabited the
Earth.
The type of living organisms it is related to.
The environment in which the organism lived.
19. Absolute Dating and Fossils
Because of the way in which fossils are formed,
they are contained in sedimentary rocks.
a. In general, can we apply absolute dating tech-
niques to strata containing fossils?
q No, since absolute dating methods cannot be
used to date materials as old as fossils.
q Yes, since remains of igneous and meta-
morphic rocks can always be found among
sedimentary rocks.
q No, since sedimentary are formed of rocks of
different, older ages.
b. A rock layer containing fossils may be caught
between two other strata formed by the accumu-
lation of basalt and ash from volcanic eruptions.
Radiometric dating can be applied to these two
strata. So, how can you infer the age of the fossils
in between the other two strata?
The fossils are [younger than / older than /
the same age as] the layer of volcanic material
above them, and [younger than / older than /
the same age as] the volcanic materials right
below them.
c. What conditions must the following fossils
meet to be able to use them in absolute dating
for strata in other parts of the world?
q Under no circumstances can fossils be used to
determine the absolute age of a rock layer.
q Fossils must include the softer, organic parts of
the organism.
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q The fossil species must have lived during a
relatively brief period of Earth’s history.
q The fossil species must have had a wide geo-
graphical distribution, including several regions
across the planet.
The Stages of Earth’s History
20. Order and Length of Eons
a. Rank the eons of Earth’s history in chronologi-
cal order, from oldest to most recent.
A. Proterozoic B. Phanerozoic
C. Hadean D. Archean
b. Indicate the approximate time span of the
eons of Earth’s history.
[about 550 Ma / about 1,500 Ma / about 2,500 Ma]
Archean: ............
Phanerozoic: ............
Hadean: ............
Proterozoic: ............
21. Facts about the Divisions of Earth’s His-
tory
Indicate whether the following statements are
true or false.
The Cambrian is the first period of the Paleozoic
which, in turn, is the first era of the Phanerozoic.
All divisions of Earth’s history have a similar
duration.
The Precambrian is the era preceding the
Cambrian.
In general, the more recent periods are shorter
than the older ones.
Eons are divided into eras.
Periods are divided into eras.
We have more information about the Pha-
nerozoic than the Proterozoic, so more specific,
smaller subdivisions can be made of it.
The Hadean Eon
22. Facts about the Hadean
Indicate whether the following statements are
true or false.
No life appeared on Earth throughout the
Hadean.
The Hadean Eon lasted about 500 years.
science-bits.com
EXERCISES
In the Hadean Eon, the atmosphere did not
contain oxygen.
The end of the Hadean coincided with the end
of the asteroid bombardment on Earth.
During the Hadean, the geosphere, hydro-
sphere, and atmosphere formed.
The intensity of the asteroid bombardment
increased throughout the eon.
The Hadean was named after the Greek god of
the underworld, Hades.
During the Hadean, the Earth had no atmo-
sphere.
The Archean Eon
23. Facts about the Archean
Indicate whether the following statements about
the Archean are true or false.
No evolution takes place during the Archean.
Life appears on Earth at the beginning of the
Archean.
During the Archean, the living organisms are
prokaryotes, that is, cells without a nucleus or
organelles.
Life appears during the Archean due to an
increase of oxygen levels in the atmosphere.
The oldest known fossils of living organisms
date back to the end of the Archean.
The first animals on Earth appeare during the
Archean.
The Archean is the longest eon.
Organic molecules appear after the earliest
protocells.
24. Reproduce the Origin of Life
During the 1920s, Alexander Oparin and John
Haldane proposed one of the main theories
about the origin of life on Earth. The theory was
based on the following points:
1. The chemical composition of Earth’s primordi-
al atmosphere was very different than today’s.
Originally, the atmosphere did not contain
oxidizing components such as oxygen, but it
did have gases such as water vapor, ammonia,
and methane.
2. Through exposure to various forms of external
energy—electric discharges from thunder-
storms, for example—, the inorganic com-
pounds reacted with one another to give rise
to simple organic molecules.
37
 EXERCISES
3. These organic compounds accumulated in
oceanic waters and began to concentrate at
various locations, giving rise to what is known
as the primordial soup.
4. These molecules then reacted among them-
selves, producing more complex organic
molecules that in turn grouped into protocells
that had the ability to self-replicate.
In 1953, Stanley Miller and Harold Urey designed
an experiment to test Oparin-Haldane’s hypoth-
esis. Their idea was to simulate the conditions of
Earth’s early atmosphere by combining the gases
that were supposed to have formed the earliest
atmosphere.
a. Read the following explanation of the experi-
ment and indicate the elements on the diagram
that are described.
B c. Another theory on the origin of life is called
Electrodes
A Condenser
C 25. Facts about the Proterozoic
Miller-Urey’s experimental device.
Chamber [A / B / C] contains the following
gases: methane, hydrogen, and ammonia.
The pool of water in chamber [A / B / C] is
evaporated and directed as water vapor to
chamber [A / B / C].
Electrodes are used to deliver a current to
trigger chemical reactions among the gases in
chamber [A / B / C].
Finally, the mixture cools down in the condens-
er. The condensed water drags the products of
the reaction to chamber [A / B / C].
b. A week after conducting the experiment, the
scientists noticed that chamber C contained a
dark mixture. Upon closer examination, they real-
ized it contained amino acids, the components of
proteins.What conclusions can you draw from this
experiment?
Through exposure to energy forms, a meth-
ane, hydrogen, ammonia, and water vapor
atmosphere can end up producing organic
molecules.
The results of the experiment confirm all of
Oparin-Haldane’s hypothesis.
38
Organic molecules can organize into protocells
with the ability to self-replicate.
Under appropriate conditions, biomolecule
components can be spontaneously formed from
inorganic molecules.
Today, there’s little evidence to support the claim
that the composition of the early atmosphere at
the beginning of the Archean was the one that
Miller and Urey used in their experiment. Also, con-
sider that in this ozone-free atmosphere, the action of
UV rays from the Sun would have partly destroyed the
molecules that accumulated in shallow waters.
However, the hydrothermal vents on the
seafloor would have had the conditions
needed for the abiotic synthesis of organic
molecules.
panspermia. Look up information about pansper-
mia and write a short summary on this theory.
The Proterozoic Eon
Indicate whether the following statements about
the Proterozoic are true or false.
Pannotia is the first supercontinent of Earth’s
history.
The Proterozoic is the longest eon of Earth’s
history.
The earliest prokaryotic cell appears during this
eon.
During the Proterozoic, the amount of oxygen in
Earth’s atmosphere increases, causing important
changes in the biosphere.
Cyanobacteria are responsible for the increase in
the planet’s O2 levels.
The earliest complex multicellular organisms
appear at the end of this eon.
Bacteria that use oxygen for cellular respiration
thrive and diversify during the Proterozoic.
In the Proterozoic, cyanobacteria do not perform
photosynthesis.
26. Changes in the Atmosphere
The graph shows the evolution in the concentra-
tion of two gases in the atmosphere during the
Proterozoic.
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25%
Concentration in the atmosphere
12.5%
0%
2,500 2,000 1,500 1,000
Millions of years before present day
Concentration of two gases in the atmosphere during the
Proterozoic.
a. What gas corresponds to each line?
Gas 1: [carbon dioxide / oxygen]
Gas 2: [carbon dioxide / oxygen]
b. Complete the following statements:
The concentration of [carbon dioxide / oxy-
gen] decreases because this gas is consumed
by the [cyanobacteria / heterotrophic bacteria
/ plants / animals] in the [photosynthesis / cel-
lular respiration].
The concentration of [carbon dioxide / oxy-
gen] increases because this gas is produced
by the [cyanobacteria / heterotrophic bacteria
/ plants / animals] in the [photosynthesis / cel-
lular respiration].
The Phanerozoic Eon
27. Facts about the Phanerozoic
Indicate if the following statements about the
Phaneorzoic are true or false.
The Phanerozoic is the current eon.
During the Paleozoic, life begins to colonize
land environments.
Dinosaurs dominate the planet during the
Mesozoic.
All great groups of invertebrates appear during
the Paleozoic.
No tectonic displacement occurs during the
entire Phanerozoic.
Multicellular organisms appear during the
Phanerozoic.
The first eukaryotic cells appears during the
Phanerozoic.
The Quaternary is the period that marks the
beginning of the Phanerozoic.
The Cenozoic is the era of mammals and birds.
science-bits.com
EXERCISES
The Cambrian Period
28. Facts about the Cambrian
Indicate whether the following statements
Gas 1
about the Cambrian are true or false.
Gas 2
The continents of Laurentia, Baltica, Gond-
wana, and Siberia come together during this
period.
The Cambrian explosion is the event that
500
occurs in this period during which there is a
massive diversification of life.
The Cambrian is the first period of the Paleo-
zoic era.
During the Cambrian, life is restricted to
aquatic environments.
The Cambrian explosion is the event that
occurs in this period during which the conti-
nents break apart.
Life thrives and diversifies mainly in seafloors
far from the continents.
Trilobites are aquatic arthropods widely
present in the Cambrian seas.
The Ordovician Period
29. Facts about the Ordovician
Indicate whether the following statements
about the Ordovician are true or false.
Pangaea forms by the end of the Ordovician.
During the Ordovician, the first plants colo-
nize the land environment.
The earliest forms of jawed fish appear dur-
ing the Ordovician.
A major extinction occurs by the end of the
Ordovician.
The earliest jawless fish evolve during the
Ordovician.
All jawless fish become extinct by the end of
the Ordovician.
A meteorite impact causes the extinction
event which markes the end of the Ordovician.
Several groups of invertebrates diversify dur-
ing the Ordovician.
The Silurian Period
30. Facts about the Silurian
Indicate whether the following statements
about the Silurian are true or false.
Animal life is still exclusively present in the
aquatic media.
39
 EXERCISES
Coral reefs thrive and diversify in the Silurian
seas.
The collision between two fragments of old
Pannotia causes the formation of a large
mountain system between both.
The first vascular plants (with a root, stem, and
leaves) appear on land.
The land is covered by dense tropical forests.
We know that, during this period, some
arthropod species start inhabiting the land
environment.
The first jawed fish appear in this period.
The Devonian Period
31. Facts about the Devonian
Indicate whether the following statements about
the Devonian are true or false.
Sharks cause the extinction of armored jawed
fish.
The earliest forests in Earth’s history appear,
consisting of fern trees.
The first mammals appear in Devonian seas.
The earliest forms of insects and amphibians
begin to colonize the land environment.
An extinction event at the end of the period
kills off 80% of all life forms on Earth.
The continents of Laurentia and Baltica con-
solidate their assembly forming Euramerica.
Euramerica, a new continent, emerges from
the sea during this period.
The Carboniferous Period
32. Facts about the Carboniferous
Indicate whether the following statements about
the Carboniferous are true or false.
The collision of Gondwana and Euramerica
marks the beginning of the formation of
Pangaea.
Current oil reserves are formed during that
period.
Flying insects and amphibians thrive and
diversify in the humid forests of the Carbonif-
erous.
Oxygen concentration in the atmosphere
reaches levels that have never been reached
again.
Except for the end of the period, the climate
of this period is cold and dry.
40
The first ever reptiles appear by the end of
this period.
The land environment is covered by large
forests during this period.
The Permian Period
33. Facts about the Permian
Indicate whether the following statements about
the Permian are true or false.
The supercontinent Pangaea consolidates.
The earliest reptiles appear during this period.
Reptiles thrive and diversify during the Perm-
ian.
Seed plants begin to thrive and diversify
because they are better adapted to drought
than ferns.
The Permian is the first period of the Mesozoic
era.
The largest mass extinction event in Earth’s
history occurs at the end of this period.
The extinction that hits Earth at the end of
the Permian also means the end of trilobites,
which have inhabited the seas throughout the
Paleozoic.
The Triassic Period
34. Facts about the Triassic
Indicate whether the following statements about
the Triassic are true or false.
Dinosaurs are but one of the many groups of
reptiles appearing in this period.
The earliest mammals appear during this period.
Pangaea is surrounded by the Tethys Sea.
The Triassic is a warm, dry period.
The Triassic begins after the greatest mass ex-
tinction of Earth’s history and ends with another
massive extinction.
Amphibians dominate the forests of the Triassic.
Vegetation in this period is dominated by conif-
erous and other gymnosperms.
Dinosaurs diversify rapidly and dominate all
habitats on Earth.
The Jurassic Period
35. Facts about the Jurassic
Indicate whether the following statements about
the Jurassic are true or false.
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The marine ecosystems during the Jurassic are
widely diverse and productive.
The wood produced in Jurassic forests gives rise
to the main oil reserves of the planet.
The first birds appear at the end of this period,
from the evolution of a group of dinosaurs.
Mammals become extinct during the Jurassic.
The popular Tyrannosaurus rex lives during the
Jurassic.
During the Jurassic, Pangaea begins to break
into two large continents.
Dinosaurs diversify and dominate all land eco-
systems.
The Cretaceous Period
36. Facts about the Cretaceous
Indicate whether the following statements about
the Cretaceous are true or false.
The extinction that marks the end of the Mezo-
soic is the greatest in Earth’s history.
The evolution of pollinating insects parallels the
evolution of flowers.
Flowering plants with fruit appear during this
period.
The popular Velociraptor lives during the Creta-
ceous.
Mammals from the Cretaceous are still small
animals.
The only dinosaurs that survive the extinction
that marks the end of the Cretaceous are some
bird species.
During this period, half the reserves of the
known oil and gas reserves forms.
37. The K-Pg Limit
Read the text and answer the questions on the
following pages.
What killed the dinosaurs? That’s a question
that has puzzled paleontologists since dinosaurs
were first discovered. Maybe the global climate
changed, maybe they were killed by disease, volca-
noes, or the rise of mammals.
But in the last few decades, a new theory has
arisen; an asteroid strike millions of years ago dras-
tically changed the Earth’s environment. It was this
event that pushed the dinosaurs over the edge into
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EXERCISES
extinction. What’s the evidence for this asteroid
impact? A thin dark line found in layers of sediment
around the world; evidence that something dev-
astating happened to the planet 66 million years
ago. This line is known as the K-Pg boundary.
Above the K-Pg boundary, fossils of dinosaurs and
other species disappear completely, whereas those
of mammals begin to grow in numbers and diver-
sity. The boundary marks the end of the Cretaceous
period (usually abbreviated K) and the beginning
of the Paleogene (abbreviated Pg, hence the name
of the boundary K-Pg).
When physicist Luis Alvarez and geologist Walter
Alvarez studied the K-Pg boundary around the
world in 1980, they found that it had a much
higher concentration of iridium than normal—
between 30-130 times the amount of iridium you
would expect. Iridium is rare on Earth but can still
be found in large concentrations in asteroids. The
researchers went as far as to estimate the size of
the asteroid that must have impacted the Earth—
about 10 km in diameter—from the layer of debris
that had been scattered across the entire planet.
When that asteroid struck the Earth 66 million
years ago, it destroyed a region thousands of kilo-
meters across, but also threw up a dust cloud that
obscured sunlight for years. That blocked photo-
synthesis in plants—the base of the food chain—
and eventually starved out the dinosaurs.
Researchers now think that the asteroid strike that
created the K-Pg boundary was probably to blame
for the formation of the Chicxulub crater. This is a
massive impact crater, buried under Chicxulub on
the coast of Yucatan, Mexico, and therefore not
visible to the naked eye. The crater measures
180 kilometers across, and occurred about 66 mil-
lion years ago.
Geologists aren’t completely in agreement about
the connection between the Chicxulub impact
and the extinction of the dinosaurs. Some believe
that other catastrophic events might have helped
push the dinosaurs over the edge, such as massive
volcanism, or a series of impact events.
Adapted from Frasier Cain, “K-T BOUNDARY,”
Universe Today website, https://www.univer-
setoday.com/39801/K-t-boundary/, Septem-
ber 10, 2009
41
 EXERCISES
a. Indicate whether, according to the text, the fol-
lowing statements are true or false.
The asteroid hypothesis has been around for at
least a century.
The first mammal fossils appear above the K-Pg
boundary.
The high levels of iridium around the K-Pg
boundary is key evidence of the impact of a
large asteroid on Earth right before the forma-
tion of this stratum.
The crater that was formed from the impact was
hard to identify, since it is buried.
There’s absolute agreement that the impact of
a large asteroid with Earth was the only event
responsible for the major extinction event of the
Cretaceous.
By the end of the Cretaceous, only the largest
dinosaurs became extinct.
b. The K-Pg boundary can be found across distant
locations around the world. It is consistently
found with similar thicknesses and characteristics.
Also, it is easy to recognize because of its high
amounts of iridium, only found in this layer.
What do you call a rock layer with such character-
istics?
A ......... bed.
The Paleogene and Neogene Periods
38. Facts about the Paleogene and the Neo-
gene
Indicate whether the following statements about
the Paleogene and the Neogene are true or false.
Coniferous plants diversify during the Paleogene
and the Neogene.
During these periods, Alpine orogeny originates
large mountain ranges such as the Alps.
A massive extinction at the end of the Paleo-
gene causes the final disappearance of reptiles.
North America and South America do not come
together until the end of the Neogene.
The first forms of australopithecus appear at the
end of the Neogene.
The Neogene is the first period of the Cenozoic
Era.
Mammals diversify notably during these periods.
The Paleogene is the first period of the present-
day era.
42
The Quaternary Period
39. Facts about the Quaternary
Indicate whether the following statements about
the Quaternary are true or false.
The last glaciation occurs about 100,000 years
ago.
Modern human beings (Homo sapiens) have
dominated the Earth since the beginning of the
Quaternary.
The genus Homo appears during the Quater-
nary.
Various glaciations occur during the Quaternary.
The Quaternary is the last period of the Phanero-
zoic Eon.
Species no longer become extinct during the
Quaternary.
Continental drift no longer acts around the
planet during the Quaternary.
The Quaternary is the shortest period in Earth’s
history.
40. Mass Extinctions
A mass extinction is a sudden decrease in
biodiversity on Earth.
The fossil record is used to assess changes in
biodiversity in the past. By studying the known
fossils and using dating methods we can deter-
mine the appearance and disappearance of a
fossil species. The fossil record is clear evidence
that species have come and gone throughout
Earth’s history.
However, there are five stages in Earth’s history
when a great number of species have disap-
peared, known as the five mass extinctions.
5,000
Genera of marine organisms
4,000
3,000
2,000
1,000
0
550 500 450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0
Millions of years before present day (Ma)
The five great mass extinction events in the history of life on
Earth.
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 EXERCISES
a. Observe the graph in the previous page and complete the following table about the five great ex-
tinction events of the Phanerozoic.
1) [2.6 / 66 / 145 / 201 / 251 / 299 / 359 / 416 / 444 / 485 / 542]
2) [Cambrian / Ordovician / Silurian / Devonian / Carboniferous / Permian / Triassic / Jurassic / Cretaceous
/ Paleogene / Neogene / Quaternary]
3) [Cambrian / Ordovician / Silurian / Devonian / Carboniferous / Permian / Triassic / Jurassic / Cretaceous
/ Paleogene / Neogene / Quaternary]

1) Ocurred about... 2) Marks the end of the... 3) Marks the beginning of...

1st extinction ........... Ma ago ........... ...........

2nd extinction ........... Ma ago ........... ...........

3rd extinction ........... Ma ago ........... ...........

4th extinction ........... Ma ago ........... ...........

5th extinction ........... Ma ago ........... ...........

b. The third mass extinction of the Phanerozoic c. Scientists today think that, over the last
is considered the largest ever: about 96% of all 10,000 years, we’ve been involved in yet another
marine species and 70% of land species became great mass extinction. This 6th extinction, which
extinct. began with the extinction of large mammals, is
believed to be ongoing. Human expansion would
Which of the following groups of animals com-
be its main cause.
pletely vanished from the face of the Earth during
this extinction? Look up information and describe a case of a spe-
If necessary, look up the information. cies that has vanished in relatively recent history.
Be sure to include the plausible causes for such
q Trilobites q Eurypterids an extinction.
q Dinosaurs q Mammals Look up the information and write a short summary.
q Belemnoids q Ammonites

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 NOTES

44 science-bits.com
 History of the Earth

Related Units:

Evolution Minerals and Rocks

Earth's External Processes Earth's Internal Processes

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