JC Excellente Christian Academy Inc.

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE.LEADERSHIP POTENTIAL. CHRISTIAN

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Blk. 40 Lot 73 Road 1 Minuyan II, CSJDM Bulacan

Earth Science
WEEK 14 & 15

TOPIC: Major Events in Earth’s Past – (Part 3)

Age of the Earth

The Earth has a very long history—4.6 billion years of history. The age of the
Earth is based from the radioactive isotopic dating of meteorites. The oldest dated
rock from the Earth is only ~3.8 billion years old. Why?

Rocks and Fossils

1. The history of the Earth is recorded in rocks but the rock record is inherently
incomplete. Some ‘events’ do not leave a record or are not preserved. Some
of the rock record may have also been lost through the recycling of rocks
(recall the rock cycle).
2. Preserved in rocks are fossils or the remains and traces of plants and animals
that have lived and died throughout the Earth's history. The fossil record
provides scientists with one of the most compelling evidence for Charles
Darwin's Theory of Evolution (increasing complexity of life through time).

Rocks, Fossils, and the Geologic Time Scale

1. The geologic time scale, which is the timeline of the history of the Earth, is
based on the rock record.
2. Geologic time is subdivided into hierarchal intervals, the largest being eon,
followed by era, period, and epoch, respectively. The subdivision of geologic
time is based on the significant events in the Earth’s history as interpreted
from the rock record.
3. The mass extinction event, which led to the extinction of the dinosaurs
occurred around 66.4 million years ago, marks the boundary between the The geologic time scale
Mesozoic era (age of the reptiles) and the Cenozoic era (age of mammals).
This mass extinction event may have been pivotal in the rise of the dominance 4. One of the first to recognize the correspondence between rocks and time is
of the mammals during the Cenozoic era. Nicholas Steno (1638-1686). Steno’s principles, namely superposition,
 original horizontality, and lateral continuity, became the foundation of
stratigraphy, the study of layered rocks.
5. Since the geologic time scale is based on the rock record, the first order of
business is to establish the correct succession of rocks. Initially, this was done
using relative dating techniques.
6. One of the earliest attempts to subdivide the rock record into units of time was
made by Abraham Gottlob Werner, a German geologist. Werner divided the
rock record into the following rock-time units (from oldest to youngest):
primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary. Werner extensively used the
Principle of Superposition to establish temporal relationship among the rock
units.
7. Fossils are also useful in determining relative ages of rocks. While working in
a coal mine, William ‘Strata’ Smith (1769-1839) observed that each layer or
strata of sedimentary rock contains a distinct assemblage of fossils, which
can be used to establish equivalence (correlation) between rock units
separated by long distances. Moreover, he observed that these fossils succeed
each other vertically in a definite order.
Evolution of life through Earth’s history
8. In contrast to William Smith, who primarily used fossils to identify rock
layers, Charles Lyell (1797-1875), a British lawyer and geologist, recognized 10. Fossils are an essential in the subdivision of the geologic time.
the utility of fossils in subdividing geologic time on the basis of fossils. He
was able to subdivide the tertiary by examining the proportion of living vs. 11. Biostratigraphy is a sub-discipline of stratigraphy, which deals with the use of
extinct fossils in the rocks. fossils in the correlation and establishments the relative ages of rocks.
9. The underlying reason for this definite and orderly succession of fossils in the
rock record is organic evolution. 12. Index fossils are marker fossils used to define periods of geologic time.
Ideally, index fossils are distinctive (can easily be identified and distinguished
from other fossils), widespread (distribution is not confined to a few locality),
and have limited geologic time range.

13. Ultimately, the geologic time scale was assigned numerical dates (absolute
dating) through the radiometric dating of rocks.

14. As an introduction to the next class activity, the teacher can bring out a box
containing mementos of his or her life. Bring out various objects, and for each
object, explain the significance, and more importantly, the time each object
represents (e.g. a piece of pencil the teacher used when he or she was still
learning to write). After each introduction, place the object at a random
position on the teacher’s desk. When all the objects have been placed on the
table, have the learners arrange the objects according to ‘age’ from left to
 right. Explain that fossils are similar to the ‘objects’ or mementos of his or her o Many life forms are represented in fossil records (with preservable hard
life, as each is associated with a particular period of time. parts).
 Paleozoic Era (540 - 245 Ma)
o Age of “ancient life”
TOPIC: Major Events in Earth’s Past – (Part 4) o Rapid diversification of life as represented by the Cambrian fauna
(Cambrian explosion)
HISTORY OF EARTH o oDominance of marine invertebrates
The Geologic Time Scale o Plants colonize land by 480 Ma
 The Precambrian or Cryptozoic Era (4.6 Ga - 540 Ma) o Animals colonize land by 450 Ma
o Represents 80% of Earth’s history o Oxygen level in the atmosphere approaches present day concentration
o Also known as the eon of “hidden life” due to obscure fossil records. o Massive extinction at the end (end of Permian extinction)
(Ask the learners why there is very little record of life during the  Mesozoic Era (245 - 65 Ma)
Precambrian era.) o Age of reptiles
 Hadean Eon (4.56 - 3.8 Ga) o Dominance of reptiles and dinosaurs
o From “Haedes”, Greek god of the underworld o Pangaea starts to break-apart by 200 MA
o Chaotic time because of several meteorite bombardment o Early mammals (220 Ma)
o Atmosphere reduction (methane, ammonia, carbon dioxide) o First birds (150 Ma)
o Start of the hydrologic cycle and the formation of the world oceans o First flowering plants (130 Ma)
o Life emerged in this “hostile” environment o Mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous (65 Ma)
 Archean Eon (3.8 - 2.5 Ga)  Cenozoic Era (65 Ma - present)
o Anaerobic (lack of oxygen) o Age of mammals
o No ozone o Radiation of modern birds
o Photosynthetic prokaryotes (blue green algae) emerged and started o Early primates (60 Ma)
releasing oxygen to the atmosphere. o Continents near present-day positions (40 Ma)
o Life forms are still limited to single-celled organisms without nuclei o First hominids (5.2 Ma)
(prokaryotes) until 2.7 Ga when Eukaryotes emerged. o Modern humans (0.2 Ma)
 Proterozoic Eon (2.5 Ga - 540 Ma) o Global ice ages begin (2 Ma)
o Oxygen level reaches ~3% of the atmosphere
o Rise of multicellular organisms represented by the Vendian fauna
o Formation of the protective ozone layer
 Phanerozoic Eon (540 Ma - present)
o Eon of “visible life”
o Diversification of life
OUTPUT FOR WEEK 14 PROJECT/PERFORMANCE IN EARTH SCIENCE:

ENRICHMENT:

Do a research on the index fossils of the Philippines. Name at least one index
fossil. Indicate what division of the geologic time scale the index fossil represents and
where the index fossil has been reported.

OUTPUT FOR WEEK 15

EVALUATION:
 Write a report (200 to 300 words) on one of the following topics:
o Theories on the origin of life
o Possible causes of mass extinction events
o How mankind is driving the next mass extinction event
o How the ozone layer was formed

NOTES:
 Both Online and Printed Modular Students should also comply.
 If you have any further questions about the project you may contact me
through text/call or through the messenger. “Paolo Teraza.”