3.

1 Earth’s Timeline and Emergence of Life

So far, Earth is the only planet known to support life. The mere presence of life forms on Earth
sets it aside from the other known planets in the universe. Scientists started to formulate a series
of theories regarding the emergence of life forms on
the planet and relate it to the physical changes on
Earth’s environment.

Earth’s Geologic Time Scale

 Earth has been around for billions of years and

the way that scientists make an estimate is
through the geologic time scale. 
 This refers to a system of dating the history of
Earth in a chronological manner using
geological data.
 The geologic time scale reflects the entire
geological history of our planet. 
 The geologic time scale is divided into eons,
eras, periods, and epochs.

What are the major events in each part of the

geologic timescale?
The Phanerozoic Eon is the current geologic eon in the geologic time scale, and the one during
which abundant animal and plant life has existed. It covers 541
million years to the present, and it began with the Cambrian Period
when animals first developed hard shells preserved in the fossil
record.
The Precambrian encompasses the Archean and Proterozoic eons,
which are formal geologic intervals that lasted from 4 billion to
about 541 million years ago. The Proterozoic is a geological eon
spanning the time from the appearance of oxygen in Earth's
atmosphere to just before the proliferation of complex life on the
Earth. The name Proterozoic combines the two forms of ultimately
Greek origin: protero- meaning "former, earlier", and -zoic, a suffix
related to zoe "life". The Archaean is one of the four geologic eons
of Earth's history, occurring 3,875 to 2,750 million years ago (4 to
2.5 Gya). During the Archean, the Earth's crust had cooled enough
to allow the formation of continents and the beginning of life on
Earth. The Hadean is a geologic eon of the Earth pre-dating the Archean. It began with the
formation of the Earth about 4.6 billion years ago and ended, as defined by the International
Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), 4 billion years ago.

The Quaternary Period is a geologic time period that encompasses the most recent 2.6 million
years — including the present day. ... The Quaternary Period has involved dramatic climate
changes, which affected food resources and brought about the extinction of many species.
Tertiary Period, former official interval of geologic time lasting from approximately 66 million
to 2.6 million years ago. It is the traditional name for the first of two periods in the
Cenozoic Era (66 million years ago to the present); the second is the Quaternary Period (2.6
million years ago to the present).

Permian
period is
in geologic time, the last
period of the Paleozoic Era. The Permian Period began 298.9 million years ago and ended 252.2
million years ago, extending from the close of the Carboniferous Period to the outset of
the Triassic Period. The Carboniferous Period lasted from about 359.2 to 299 million years ago*
during the late Paleozoic Era. The term "Carboniferous" comes from England, in reference to the
rich deposits of coal that occur there. These deposits of coal occur throughout northern Europe,
Asia, and midwestern and eastern North America. Devonian Period, in geologic time, an interval
of the Paleozoic Era that follows the Silurian Period and precedes the Carboniferous Period,
spanning between about 419.2 million and 358.9 million years ago. ... Late in the period the first
four-legged amphibians appeared, indicating the colonization of land by vertebrates. The Silurian
Period occurred from 443 million to 416 million years ago. It was the third period in the
Paleozoic Era. It followed the Ordovician Period and preceded the Devonian Period. During this
time, continental landmasses were low and sea levels were rising. The Ordovician Period lasted
almost 45 million years, beginning 488.3 million years ago and ending 443.7 million years ago. *
During this period, the area north of the tropics was almost entirely ocean, and most of the
world's land was collected into the southern supercontinent Gondwana. The Cambrian Period
was the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, and of the Phanerozoic Eon. The Cambrian
lasted 55.6 million years from the end of the preceding Ediacaran Period 541 million years ago
to the beginning of the Ordovician Period 485.4 mya.
Tips:
To recall the geologic periods from oldest to most recent, just remember the mnemonics “Can
Old Senators Demand Copious Power Than Junior Congressmen? Tough Question!” The first
letter of each word represents the first letter of each period in order. The periods in geological
time scale from oldest to most recent are Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian,
Carboniferous, Permian, Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous, Tertiary, Quaternary.
How do you think scientists tried to explain their early ideas regarding the origin of life on
Earth?

Theories on the Origin of Life on Earth

Spontaneous Generation Theory
In 1745, John Needham (1713–1781) published a report of his own experiments, in which he
briefly boiled broth infused with plant or animal matter, hoping to kill all preexisting microbes.
He then sealed the flasks. After

a few days, Needham observed that the broth had become cloudy and a single drop contained
numerous microscopic creatures. He argued that the new microbes must have arisen
spontaneously. In reality, however, he likely did not boil the broth enough to kill all preexisting
microbes (Spontaneous Generation | Microbiology (lumenlearning.com).

In 1862, the great French scientist Louis Pasteur tested the validity of a widely held belief in
spontaneous generation. For centuries, the general population and naturalists alike believed that a
variety of organisms could arise spontaneously, without being generated from similar, parental
organisms.

Pasteur based his experimental design on a number of observations. He knew that bacteria grow
in open containers of meat broth. He also knew that if the broth is boiled for an hour in a sealed
container that remains sealed, no bacteria will grow in it. Additionally, he observed that bacteria
are found in dust particles that float in the air. Armed with this information, Pasteur set up a
definitive experiment to test whether microbes arise from pre-existing microbes or are generated
spontaneously.

Louis Pasteur designed a procedure to test whether sterile nutrient broth could spontaneously
generate microbial life. To do this, he set up two experiments. In both, Pasteur added nutrient
broth to flasks, bent the necks of the flasks into S shapes, and then boiled the broth to kill any
existing microbes. If left undisturbed, will the broth in these flasks become cloudy with
microbial growth? Click on the correct answer.
After the broth had been sterilized; Pasteur broke off the swan necks from some of the flasks,
exposing the nutrient broth within them to air from above. The remaining flasks in were left
intact. What do you predict will happen to the broth in the flask on the left? Click on the correct
answer.

Over time, dust particles from the air fell into the broken flasks, but in the intact flasks, dust
particles remained near the tip of the swan necks. They were unable to travel against gravity into
the flasks.

The broth in the broken flasks quickly became cloudy—a sign that it teemed with microbial life.
However, the broth in the unbroken flasks remained clear. Without the introduction of dust—on
which microbes can travel—no life arose. Pasteur thus refuted the notion of spontaneous
generation.

CONCLUSION

Pasteur's experiment showed that microbes cannot arise from nonliving materials under the
conditions that existed on Earth during his lifetime. But his experiment did not prove that
spontaneous generation never occurred. Eons ago, conditions on Earth and in the atmosphere
above it were vastly

different. Indeed, conditions similar to those found on primitive Earth may have existed, or may
exist now, on other bodies in our solar system and elsewhere. This has led scientists to ask
whether life has originated on other
bodies in space, as it did on Earth
(Script (whfreeman.com).

Early theories regarding the origin of

life on Earth started during the 16th
century in Europe. These theories
include the spontaneous generation
theory, primordial soup theory, and
theory of panspermia.

Theory of Panspermia
 The theory of panspermia
(exogenesis) suggests that
building blocks of life came from
another planet. 

Primordial Soup Theory

  Suggests that life started in a primordial soup of organic molecules. 

 It tries to explain how catalysts for nonliving things became living cells.

Early Evidence of Life on Earth

 One of the earliest known evidence of
life on Earth includes the stromatolite
fossils collected from various samples
of metasedimentary rocks in western
Greenland and were aged 3.7 billion
years old.

In 2015, fossils of the microbial mat (primitive

microbial colony) that may represent potential
biotic life dated 4.1 billion-year-old were
collected in Western Australia.

3.2 Life during Precambrian and

Paleozoic Period
Do you have any idea how Earth looked like
in early times?
Based on movies, it is depicted to have
unfavorable atmospheric conditions and a lot
of active volcanoes that erupt from time to time which maintained a constant lava flow on
Earth’s surface.
Precambrian Era

 The Precambrian Era is a predated era prior to the emergence of life during the Cambrian
Period. 

Divisions of the Precambrian Era

Earth’s
Condition during Precambrian Era
Periods Events
Hadean Earth’s surface was in the form of liquid rock and boiling sulfur that built
an ocean of hot materials.
Archaean
Earth’s interior was still hot and active and this caused a series of
volcanic eruptions. This formed long chains of small islands. The
continents have not formed yet during this time.
Proterozoic
Earth was suspected to have two supercontinents: one was located in the
equator and the other one was situated on the other side. 

Earth’s condition during Paleozoic Era

Paleozoic Era

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. At the start of this
era, the world-continent Pannotia was broken into pieces leading to the formation of Pangea that
makes Earth's continents connected once again. This era is mainly characterized by the explosion
of different life forms that started to emerge on Earth. The Paleozoic is divided into six periods:
the Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous, and Permian. These names were
derived from original locations where fossilized rocks of these ages were found.

Periods Events
Cambrian The explosion of life occurred.
Ordovician Dominant animals were marine invertebrates such as trilobites 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 90% of Earth’s species.

Life forms during Precambrian and Paleozoic Era

Precambrian Era

 Ediacarans appeared in the fossil record that was

dated almost 600 million years ago.
 One of the important Ediacarans was the
Dickinsonia, which resembles a ribbed doormat.
Paleozoic Era

 Vertebrates first appeared 525 million years ago

during the Cambrian explosion.

 Trilobites were the dominant species during the

Cambrian period. These organisms are extinct
groups of arthropods.

The Silurian to the Permian period was

dominated by crinoids, echinoderms,
brachiopods, graptolites, and rugose corals.
Crinoids are marine animals that make up
the class Crinoidea, one of the classes of
the phylum Echinodermata, which also
includes the starfish, brittle stars, sea
urchins and sea cucumbers.

 Eventually, the primitive tetrapods

emerged.