John Paul T.

Humballas
HUMMS - 11 N106

Exercise 5: History of the Earth

1. Make a Pie Chart representing the Divisions of Geologic Time 

2. Research and cite 2 examples each of Relative Dating and Absolute Dating
methods, and describe each method briefly 
 Relative dating methods estimate whether an object is younger or older
than other things found at the site. Relative dating does not offer specific
dates, it simply allows to determine if one artifact, fossil, or stratigraphic
layer is older than another

For example, if a valley is formed inside an impact crater, the valley must be
younger than the crater. Craters are very useful in relative dating; as a general
rule, the younger a planetary surface is, the fewer craters it has.

 Absolute dating is the process of determining an age on a specified

chronology in archaeology and geology. ... Absolute dating provides a
numerical age or range, in contrast with relative dating, which places
events in order without any measure of the age between events.

It include radiocarbon dating of wood or bones, potassium-argon dating, and

trapped-charge dating methods such as thermoluminescence dating of glazed
ceramics.
3. Write an essay on how mankind’s destructive activities and practices
could possibly lead to the next mass extinction event 
 Human with its destructive activities and practices leads to mass
extinction event. Mass extinction differs from previous ones because it is
entirely driven by human activity through changes in land use, climate,
pollution, hunting, fishing and poaching. The effects of the loss of these
large predators can be seen in the oceans and on land. According to my
research Human activities that influence the extinction and
endangerment of wild species fall into a number of categories:
unsustainable hunting and harvesting that cause mortality at rates that
exceed recruitment of new individuals, land use practices
like deforestation, urban and suburban development, agricultural
cultivation, and water management projects that encroach upon and/or
destroy natural habitat, intentional or unintentional introduction of
destructive diseases, parasites, and predators, ecological damage caused
by water, air, and soil pollution, and anthropogenic global
climate change. Alone or in combination, these stressors result in small,
fragmented populations of wild flora and fauna that become increasingly
susceptible to inbreeding, and to the inherent risks of small abundance,
also called demographic instability. Without intervention, stressed
populations often decline further, and become endangered.