STEM-11

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 Life during
Precambrian and
Paleozoic Period
 LEARNING
01 OBJECTIVES
Describe Earth’s conditions
Precambrian and Paleozoic eras.
during the

Enumerate possible life forms present during the

02 Precambrian and
Paleozoic eras.

Develop an understanding of how science explains changes in

03 life forms over time.
The Hadean era started with the
actual formation of Earth from
materials such as dust and gas
that orbited around Sun about 4.6
billion years ago. Within this era,
Earth’s surface was possibly in
the form of liquid rock and
boiling sulfur that built an ocean
of hot materials.
Cratons are large areas
of the continental The Archean era during this period,
lithosphere that were Earth mostly cooled down and the
formed as early as water vapor from the air condensed
Precambrian. and formed the global ocean. The
abundant carbon dioxide in the air
chemically changed and formed
limestones that were deposited at the
bottom of the ocean. The
atmosphere started to form and was
mostly composed of nitrogen. The
melted rocks cooled down and
formed the ocean floor.
The Proterozoic era refers to a time
on Earth which was about 700
million years ago. It started about
two billion years after Earth was
formed. During this time, Earth was
suspected to have two
supercontinents: one was located in
the equator while the other one was
situated on the other side. These
supercontinents were formed through
the collision of many islands from
the Archean and Proterozoic eras.
Geologic periods during the Precambrian Era
Period Events

Earth’s surface was in the form of liquid rock and boiling sulfur
Hadean
that built an ocean of hot materials.

Earth’s interior was still hot and active and this caused a series
Archaean of volcanic eruptions. This formed long chains of small islands.
The continents have not formed yet during this time.

Earth was suspected to have two supercontinents: one was

Proterozoic located in the equator and the other one was situated on the other
side.
The Paleozoic era spanned
around 300 million years, which
was almost half of the entire
Phanerozoic. During this time,
there were six major continental
landmasses. Each consisted of
different parts of the modern
continents. Large blocks of
limestone rock outcrops were
caused by periodic incursions of
continental seas.
Geologic periods during the Paleozoic Era
Period Events

Cambrian The explosion of life occurred.

Dominant animals were marine invertebrates such as trilobites

Ordovician
and corals.

Silurian It is marked by the first appearance of land plants.

Devonian It is also known as the Age of Fishes.

Carboniferous First seed plants and first reptiles appeared.

Permian It is marked by the extinction of 9 0% of Earth’s species.

Life Forms During Precambrian and Paleozoic Eras

Ediacarans, appeared in the fossil record that was

dated almost 600 million years ago. These were
bizarre creatures that resemble modern life-forms. It
lacks a prominent head, mouths, and even digestive
organs. They were found on marine sea beds. One of
the important Ediacarans was the Dickinsonia, which
resembles a ribbed doormat.
Paleozoic Era
The most advanced form of animals, such as the
vertebrates or animals with backbones, first
appeared 525 million years ago during the
Cambrian explosion. From the Cambrian to
Ordovician period, two great animal faunas
dominated the ocean. Most phyla of the modern
times were present during the Cambrian but the
trilobites, brachiopods, mollusks, hyolithids, and
archaeocyathids were the most abundant.
Trilobites rank among the most important early animals. Our
knowledge of them has been gained from the study of their fossils,
usually the impressions left of their shells after burial in sediment that
subsequently hardened into rock.
Brachiopods have a very long history of life on Earth; at least 550
million years. They first appear as fossils in rocks of earliest Cambrian
age and their descendants survive, albeit relatively rarely, in today’s
oceans and seas. They were particularly abundant during Palaeozoic
times (248–545 million years ago) and are often the most common
fossils in rocks of that age.
Molluscs are a clade of organisms that all have soft bodies
which typically have a "head" and a "foot" region. Often their
bodies are covered by a hard exoskeleton, as in the shells of
snails and clams or the plates of chitons.
Hyolithids are an extinct group of animals that had cone
shaped shells. They lived from the Cambrian to the Permian,
but were most diverse and abundant during the Cambrian.
Most paleontologists think that they lived on the sea-floor, did
not move around much, and fed on organic material in the
sediment (deposit feeders).
Archaeocyathids one of the marine invertebrates of the extinct phylum
Archaeocyatha, widely distributed during the Cambrian Period, having a
limy, typically conical or cylindrical skeleton composed of sievelike inner and
outer walls.
From the Silurian to the Permian period, the Paleozoic seas were
heavily dominated by crinoid, echinoderms, brachiopods, graptolites, and
rugose corals. The vertebrates followed later on in the early
Devonian. Eventually, the primitive animals that have four limbs
and spinal columns, like vertebrates called tetrapods, walked on
land. Early tetrapods were aquatic creatures that lived in swamps
and ventured to land occasionally. One of the earliest known tetrapods
is the Acanthostega.
By the end of the Devonian period, massive forests of
progymnosperms , such as Archaeopteris became highly
abundant. Different other plants such as cycads, glossopterids,
primitive conifers, and ferns spread across the different
landmasses. Until the Permian extinction that happened
around 251.4 million years ago came and devastated life
forms in the ocean.
Direction: Complete the table below by providing the
important events that happened during the given time
period.   Precambrian Era
Period Events
Hadean
Archaean
Proterozoic
Chaotian
  Paleozoic Era
Cambrian
Ordovician
Silurian
Devonian

Carboniferous

Permian
Part I.
True or False
Direction: Identify whether each statement is true
or false.

_____ 1. The Precambrian Era has three

major subdivisions: Hadean, Archean, and Part II.
Proterozoic. Essay
_____ 2. The Paleozoic is divided into six Direction: Answer the following question.
periods: the Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian,
Devonian, Carboniferous, and Ediacarans. 1. Diffrerentiate Precambrian Era and Paleozoic
_____ 3. The explosion of life occurred during Era. (5pts.)
Ordovician period.
2. Why do you think Paleozoic Era is known as the
_____ 4. Devonian period is also known as the Age of Ancient life explain? (5pts.)
Age of Fishes.
_____ 5. The Hadean era started with the
actual formation of Earth from materials
such as dust and gas that orbited around
Sun about 4.6 billion years ago.