‫دعوة حلوة وانت معدي‬

Ammar Emad S’25

STEM High School for Boys – 6th of October

𝑇𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠

i. ES.2.09 .................................................................................. 2
ii. ES.2.10 .................................................................................. 8
iii. ES.2.11 ................................................................................ 13
iv. ES.2.12 & ES.2.13 .............................................................. 16
v. ES.2.14 ................................................................................ 19
vi. ES.2.15 ................................................................................ 19
 i. ES.2.09

• Geologic province: a large region of Earth’s surface with a common geologic

history.
• Different parts of the geosphere can have vast differences in age.
• The oldest oceanic crust is not older than 200 million years.
• Continental rocks are much older than the oceanic crust. They tell a longer
history of the geosphere.
• Scientists agree that Earth formed about 4.6 billion years ago. Back then, Earth
was probably fairly small. It was about one third its current size.
• The planet grew as it attracted debris in the solar system. For the first 500 million
years, Earth was a hostile place. There were many volcanoes on its surface. Also, it
was hit often by many meteorites. This provided much of Earth’s internal heat. It
kept the surface of the young Earth molten.
• Scientists have calculated that the heat flow in the very young Earth was three
times that of today. Today, only the Moon clearly shows the scars of many
meteorite impacts.
• This mysterious Earth of 4.6 to 3.8 billion years ago is called the Hadean. It is
named after Hades, the lord of the underworld in Greek mythology
• The bombardment of Earth’s surface began to slow down. Then Earth began to
cool from the outside. The surface cooling allowed some minerals to crystallize.
They formed scum-like patches on the molten surface.
• The young unstable surface was easily destroyed by melting. The melting
resulted from the impact of meteorites.
• Some of the melted material was recycled into the mantle. Because of high
temperatures in the upper mantle, most of the oceanic and continental crust that
formed during this time was likely basalt.
• The minerals in the basaltic crust are stable at higher temperatures. They can
crystallize like those at mid-ocean ridges. However, the melting and remelting of
basaltic crust eventually formed granites out of the recycled rock.
• The crust and mantle were most likely far too hot for plate tectonics to operate as
they do today.
• Earth’s oldest continental materials are tiny crystals of zircon. (Its chemical name
is zirconium silicate.) Zircon is hard and durable. It was originally formed in
igneous rocks. These rocks were later weathered and recycled into younger
sedimentary rocks. The age of one of these crystals is 4.4 billion years old! The
date is not 100 percent accurate. However, it does indicate that minerals formed a
crust more than 4 billion years ago.
• The melting and remelting of basaltic crust eventually formed granites out of the
recycled rock.
• The crust and mantle were most likely far too hot for plate tectonics to operate as
they do today.
• The oldest known rock on Earth is about 4.1 billion years old. It is a granodiorite
from Canada’s Northwest Territories. It formed below the surface as an igneous
rock. Its chemistry is somewhere between that of granite and diorite. Granodiorite
is usually formed at subduction zones.
• It is possible that plate tectonics was very active over 4 billion years ago. There
probably were many very small plates. Collisions of these plates would have
formed island arcs. As plates joined together, the first small continents formed.
This process is called accretion.
• Southwest Greenland contains the oldest preserved crust of a continental
landmass. It is 3.8 billion years old. It is Earth’s oldest surviving accretionary
orogen.
• The orogen is a linear or arc-shaped region that has been subjected to intense
folding and other deformation during the tectonic cycle
• Andesitic magma forms when Continental collisions occurs, as they result in
subduction that melts the leading edges of plates
• Andesitic magma has a lower density than surrounding crustal rocks.
• Andesitic magma forms circular or oval-shaped batholiths in the crust. They
make it not only less dense, but thicker. This increases its buoyancy. This makes
these parts of the crust difficult to subduct under other plates. As a result, these
parts of the crust are not recycled into the mantle. They remain on the surface
where they are subjected to billions of years of erosion.
• The thicker crust is better insulated from the upper mantle and becomes more
stable. These areas of the crust form continental shields.
• Shields are large areas of rocks that form the roots of a continent. Shields are part
of a craton. They commonly have a gently convex surface and are surrounded by
sediment-covered platforms.
• Only a few locations on Earth contain continental shields. Canada, Australia, and
Africa all contain rocks older than 3.7 billion years. Most other rocks from Earth’s
deep geologic history have either been metamorphosed, eroded, or melted entirely.
• Geologically important rocks are found around the shields. These are called
greenstones. They occur as gigantic belts that can be several thousands of
kilometers in length. The name comes from the green mica-like minerals they
contain. Greenstone belts consist of a mix of metamorphosed lava flows and
sediments from chains of volcanic islands.
• Greenstones are green colored metamorphic rocks formed from dark igneous
rocks that often occur in belts within Precambrian shields.
• Subduction made the shields less dense and harder to subduct.
• There is another important process that occurs when continents collide. Great
slices of the ocean floor get plastered onto the edge of an overriding plate. The
nucleus of a shield grows around the edges by the addition of rocks. These rocks
contain dark minerals and basaltic compositions from the seafloor.
• Greenstone belts provide evidence of the ocean floor billions of years ago. Their
mineral composition is controlled by the chemistry of magma. It also depends on
the temperature at which the magma cooled. In South Africa, the Barberton
Supergroup is one of the most unique greenstone belts on Earth.
• A supergroup is a very large stratigraphic unit consisting of many important
smaller groups.
• The stack of rocks in south Africa’s Barberton Supergroup is 3.6 to 3.2 billion
years old. It is over 18 km thick. It has remained largely unchanged for 3 billion
years. The lower 7 km includes preserved lava flows from Earth’s primitive
oceanic crust. They contain pillow structures like those that form today on modern
ocean floors. Scientists have melted samples of the structures in the lab. From this,
they have determined that the structures formed at temperatures between 1300°C
and 1650°C. Today, basaltic lavas erupting on ocean floors are rarely above
1200°C. This indicates that the surface of the early geosphere was similar to
today’s geosphere. However, the interior was much hotter. Earth has cooled
significantly over the past 3 billion years. It continues to slowly lose heat.
• Plumes of granodiorite are common in greenstone belts. They cause shields to
dome upward. Trapped between the rising domes, the greenstones became strongly
folded and metamorphosed. They generate high-grade rocks such as gneiss.
Ancient blocks of crust with greenstone-granodiorite-granite rocks are called
cratons. This helps to tell the difference between them and later-formed continental
crust
• A craton is a large stable part of continental crust that has undergone little
deformation for a long period.
• Three-billion-year-old sedimentary rocks form the top part of the Barberton
Supergroup. The rock is about 2.5 km thick. These rocks indicate that Earth’s
young, very small continents were subject to weathering and erosion.
• At this time, there was no soil or plants on land. The atmosphere had yet to
develop free oxygen. It was mostly water vapor, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen. The
atmosphere back then was more powerful at decomposing rocks than today.
• The surfaces of the young continents were rapidly stripped of weathered particles.
Rains washed their rocky surfaces. Sediment was transported by rivers. It was
deposited around the edges of the continents. Coarse sediments were deposited in
shallower water. They formed conglomerates and sandstones. Ripples and bedding
structures also formed. They were similar to those seen in the ocean today. Finer
sediments were transported into deeper water. They formed mudstones. These
rocks indicate that the rock cycle was in full operation more than 3.5 billion years
ago.
• The loss of heat from Earth’s exterior allowed its interior structure to develop. As
molten iron solidified, it created the dense, solid inner core at the center of the
planet.
• The core has remained solid because of enormous pressures. The outer core is
liquid
• Motion in the iron-rich outer core continuously generates electrical currents. This
in turn produces Earth’s magnetic field.
• You may recall from physics classes the effect of rotating a bar magnet through
an electrical field. A similar effect occurs in Earth’s core. It is called the dynamo
effect. Earth’s magnetic field is self-sustaining. It is able to maintain itself.
• The magnetic field shields Earth from the solar wind. Without the magnetic field,
the constant stream of particles from the Sun would have eroded Earth’s
atmosphere. It would be lost into space.
• When igneous rocks cool, magnetic minerals record the direction and strength of
Earth’s magnetic field.
• Rocks from the Kaapvaal Craton in South Africa are 3.5 billion years old. They
indicate the presence of a magnetic field early in Earth’s history.
• Earth’s magnetic field moves in a complex pattern. The geologic record shows
that the magnetic poles have reversed many times. The last time was 780,000 years
ago.
• Large fragments of the crust are called terranes; it is a region of crust added to a
craton from a tectonic plate as a result of accretion.
• The huge continental mass is the North American Craton. Its basement, like the
oldest rocks in most continents, is now covered by younger sedimentary rocks.
Drilling through the crust reveals various basement rocks. These rocks vary in age.
• The basements are the lowermost units of rocks that can be mapped (often
Precambrian in age) in a region. The units are often igneous and metamorphic.
• The Appalachian Mountains formed when the rocks were trapped in the basins
between the North American and African continents. The rocks were squeezed
together to fold and fault. Intense deformation produced high-grade metamorphic
rocks. These were pushed upward to form mountains.
• The young Appalachians may have been as high as the Himalayas are today. The
mountains have since been worn down by erosion. As the mountains are eroded,
the debris is transported by rivers to the coast.
• The terrane becomes buried by a thick sedimentary cover. The sedimentary
deposits cause the continent to grow more in size.
• Terranes vary greatly in composition. In general, they are made up of blocks of
oceanic crust (basalts and greenstones) and overlying sedimentary rocks
(limestones, cherts, shales, and sandstones). Sometimes they contain chunks of
mantle rock that were forced to Earth’s surface.
• Pangea split apart 225 to 200 million years ago. As it did, North America began
to move west into the neighboring oceanic plate. New terrane was welded onto the
west coast of the continent by accretion. Subduction formed volcanic mountains.
Also, stresses in the crust folded and faulted rocks to form mountain ranges.
• Around 210 million years ago, subduction resulted in a huge amount of magma.
This magma rose to the surface. It formed the Sierra Nevada Batholith. Different
generations of coarse-grained, pale granitic rocks were added to the crust. This
took place for more than 100 million years. Scientists think that around 90 million
years ago, the zone of accretion shifted west to the coastal ranges.
• About 165 million years ago, the supercontinent called Gondwanaland split. It
became Europe, Asia, North and South America, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica.
As the crust thinned and rifted, huge outpourings formed continental flood basalts.
• flood basalt is a vast accumulation of mostly horizontal basalt formed by multiple
eruptions from fissures.
• Flood basalts are also connected with the modern Cascadia Subduction Zone.
• Fissures or long cracks in the crust often form from tectonic activity
• Flood basalts can spew out over periods of time. These periods can be as short as
a few hundred years, or even days.
• About 17 to 12 million years ago, fissures several kilometers long released
170,000 km3 of basalt lava. It was spread over 500,000 km2 of Oregon and
Washington. The flood basalts were 1100°C. They formed layers 600 m thick.
Basaltic lava has a low viscosity. It may have flowed at speeds of 5 km/h. Sections
of this gigantic deposit reached 190 km in length. These sections flowed 600 km to
the Pacific Ocean. The overlying mass of gigantic sill of basalt caused the crust to
subside. It formed the Columbia Basin (Plateau).

ii. ES.2.10

• The reason you do not see bubbles in an unopened bottle is because the pressure
of the outside of the bottle restricts the movement of the gas in the liquid. This
prevents the gas from escaping. Heating the opened bottle increases the rate at
which the gas escapes.
• Gases are dissolved in Earth’s hot mantle rocks. These include carbon dioxide,
nitrogen, and water vapor.
• Deep in the mantle rocks, dissolved gases are under great pressure. They remain
dissolved and in equilibrium with their environment.
• During volcanic activity, molten rock rises through the crust. The environmental
conditions change. As the depth below the surface decreases, the mass of the
overlying crust decreases. Therefore, the pressure on the rising magma also lessens.
With a decrease in pressure, gases dissolved within the magma are released.
• Earth’s rocky lithospheric plates contain special minerals. These minerals can
hold water within their crystals.
• The mantle are able to contain huge volumes of dissolved water vapor.
• The volume of Earth’s entire mantle is enormous.
• The scientists determined that the mantle could contain a volume of water greater
than all the water in Earth’s oceans.
• Some scientists debate these findings. They suggest that there may not be that
much water in the mantle. Since it is impossible to gather samples of the deep
mantle, research and debate is still continuing.
• Many crystals in Earth’s crust begin to form in some kind of fluid. As these
crystals grow, they often trap tiny bubbles of the fluid. This provides important
information about the conditions under which the crystals formed. By heating the
bubbles, scientists can find the temperature and pressure at which the crystals
formed. One instrument used for this was designed by the USGS. It is extremely
sensitive. It is capable of detecting amounts as low as 8 parts per billion in samples
as small as 0.01 mm in diameter
• Gases dissolved in Earth’s mantle are released into the atmosphere during
volcanic eruptions. These can occur when a plate descends downward into the
mantle.
• The plate can get so hot that any water or gas it contains rises into the overlying
mantle. The overlying mantle melts into magma.
• The magma is less dense than the solid rock that surrounds it. It then rises
through the mantle to the overlying crust. As it nears Earth’s surface, there is less
overlying rock. The pressure on the magma decreases. At the surface, the magma
is under atmospheric pressure.
• Gases such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen, sulfur dioxide, and water vapor dissolved
in the magma are released into the atmosphere.
• Various volcanic processes release dissolved gases from Earth’s mantle. These
include continental and oceanic volcanic eruptions, outpouring of lava flows, and
rifting. Also included are rising plumes at hot spots and at mid-ocean ridges.
During these processes, hot material from the deep mantle reaches Earth’s surface.
As this takes place, any dissolved gases it contains are released.
• Earth’s interior has been releasing gases since its formation 4.6 billion years ago.
These gases were trapped within the solid rock particles that came together
(accreted) to form Earth. The accretion process began under the influence of
gravity.
• Over time, more and more rocky debris was pulled in from the solar system. As
Earth’s mass increased, its gravity grew. The pressure increased on its interior.
With an increase in pressure, its interior heated and melted.
• Meteorites bombarded the surface of the young Earth. This caused its primitive
crust to melt and rift. As this occurred, large amounts of gases were released
through fissures in Earth’s surface.
• The young atmosphere grew in mass and volume through volcanic activity.
Earth’s gravity kept these gases from being stripped away by the solar wind and
blowing off into space.
• The process by which huge volcanic eruptions transfer matter from the mantle to
the atmosphere is called outgassing, this process is the release of gases from
Earth’s interior that formed the primordial atmosphere and continues today
• Outgassing early in Earth’s history produced a primordial atmosphere of largely
water vapor and carbon dioxide. There were also lesser amounts of carbon
monoxide, hydrogen, and hydrogen chloride. It is possible that there were traces of
methane and ammonia as well.
• In contrast to the atmosphere today, oxygen was mostly absent. The early
atmosphere was toxic to life on Earth. The atmospheric pressure may have been
about 250 times that of today.
• During the early Hadean, Earth’s surface temperature was extremely hot. It was
too hot for water to exist as a liquid at the surface. As a result, there were no
oceans, lakes, rivers, or groundwater. This atmosphere was similar to that on Titan,
one of Saturn’s moons.
• As the young Earth cooled, outgassing formed a new atmosphere. It consisted of
methane, hydrogen, nitrogen, and water vapor, with smaller amounts of noble
gases and carbon dioxide. Hydrogen, the lightest component, escaped into space.
• Earth’s cooler surface radiated less heat into the atmosphere. Further cooling
enabled water vapor to condense. It fell to the surface as rain. Much of the first
rains would have fallen on hot volcanic rock and evaporated.
• As the crust cooled more, rain began to collect in low-lying areas. This formed
bodies of water on the surface. Eventually, enough water was released from Earth
and condensed to form the world’s oceans.
• As the first rains fell on Earth’s surface, the rock cycle began to develop.
• Greenland contains Earth’s oldest marine sedimentary rocks. They are about 3.8
billion years old. They suggest that it took about a billion years for the oceans to
form.
• The atmosphere was the first part of the fluid spheres to form.
• The hydrosphere arrived as a product of the atmosphere.
• On the primitive continents, Earth’s first river networks formed. Drainage basins
developed. The rivers flowed and transported rock particles worn from the
continents. These sediments built up in the oceans. They formed early marine
sedimentary rocks. Eventually, these rocks would be recycled through young
subduction zones. They would produce lava with a greater silica content than that
which formed the early basaltic crust.
• The outgassing of carbon dioxide produced rainfall and oceans that were more
acidic than today. This is because carbon dioxide, when combined with water,
forms carbonic acid.
• The water reacted with rocks through weathering processes. This added new
chemicals to the water. The oceans become salty quite quickly.
• Scientists have calculated a pH of about 5.8 for the early Hadean ocean. By the
late Hadean, the ocean’s pH was closer to neutral (a pH of 7).
• Some of the dissolved chemicals would later become limestone and the shells of
marine organisms. Today, the oldest organic marine limestones are found in
western Australia. They are in rocks 3.5 billion years old.
• Some scientists believe that the process of outgassing did not form the
atmosphere and oceans. They argue that the young Earth’s gravity pulled in
chemicals released by the Sun. This material then formed Earth’s early atmosphere.
• Other scientists think that Earth’s water came from gigantic comets several
kilometers long, passing by Earth. They suggest that Earth’s gravity pulled in ice
and rocky material from these comets. Using mathematics, they have calculated
that as few as four of these comets would have been enough to provide water to fill
the oceans.
• Earth’s youngest atmosphere was probably composed of the very light elements
hydrogen and helium. These gases were lost into space. Earth’s gravity was not
strong enough to hold them close to its surface.
• During this time, Earth’s internal structure had yet to differentiate into the solid
inner and liquid outer cores. The very young Earth did not have a magnetic field to
protect the atmosphere. Therefore, it was eroded by the solar wind. The fluid
motion in Earth’s iron-rich outer core created the magnetosphere. After that, the
atmosphere was protected.
• Astronomers think that the young Sun was about one third dimmer than it is
today. Yet, during Earth’s first 500 million years, its young hydrosphere did not
freeze over. Earth did not turn into a giant snowball.
• Many scientists believe that Earth’s young atmosphere was richer in greenhouse
gases. This kept the planet from freezing over. As the Sun became brighter, the
concentration of greenhouse gases declined. They eventually reached modern
levels. This is known as the faint young Sun paradox.
• The interaction between the geosphere and the fluid spheres was vital to the
development of the granite rocks that now make up the continents.
• Earth’s young crust was largely made of basalt. Particles that were weathered
from the crust had more silica. Silica is resistant to chemical and physical attack.
Silica-rich sedimentary rocks built up in the oceans.
• They later melted in subduction zones. As a result, the melted basaltic oceanic
crust became richer in silica from the added melted sedimentary rocks. This
formed andesitic magma.
• This magma has less magnesium and iron than basaltic magma. This less-dense
magma was injected into the continents. It prevented them from future subduction.
This is because they were more buoyant.
• Earth is not the only planetary body in the solar system with fluid spheres. Venus
and Mars both have atmospheres. Like Earth, the mass of each of these planets is
large. The mass of each is large enough to create a gravitational field. This keeps
its atmosphere from escaping into space.
• Judging from their atmospheric pressures, the mass of Earth’s atmosphere is
about 100 times greater than Mars. It is 100 times less than that of Venus.
• There are traces of an atmosphere on Mercury and the Moon. Early in their
formation, they may have had atmospheres. However, because of their weak
gravitational fields their atmospheres were probably lost into space.
• One of Jupiter’s moons, Io, has an atmosphere that is strongly affected by the
Jupiter’s gravitational field. Europa, another of Jupiter’s moons, has a thin oxygen-
rich atmosphere. Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, is icy and rocky. It has an
atmosphere rich in nitrogen with clouds of methane. Its fluid spheres contain rare
features. These include ice volcanoes and liquid hydrocarbon lakes.
• Earth’s fluid spheres are unique among the other planets. Earth is the only planet
with abundant free oxygen. Venus and Mars also have oxygen, but it is tied up in
carbon dioxide molecules.
• Earth also has abundant water in all three states while Venus has a very small
amount of water. Mars shows evidence of ancient stream erosion but no longer has
liquid water on its surface. Mars does have ice at its poles. Because of the different
composition of their atmospheres and their distances from the Sun, the surface
temperatures of each of these planets varies greatly from 480°C for Venus to 15°C
for Earth.

iii. ES.2.11

• Scientists cannot directly sample Earth’s atmosphere from billions of years ago.
Instead, they look for clues about the past makeup of the atmosphere. Some of
these clues are in the chemistry of rocks. These rocks formed in ancient marine
environments. Iron oxide is one compound in these rocks. It tells a lot about the
amount of oxygen in Earth’s ancient atmosphere.
• Iron oxide is an inorganic chemical compound composed of iron and oxygen.
Many varieties exist, including the minerals magnetite (𝐹𝑒3 𝑂4 ) and hematite
(𝐹𝑒2 𝑂3 ).
• When you dissolve an iron tablet in a beaker of tap water, the water change to
reddish brown as the iron tablet dissolves.
• Gradually, reddish-brown particles formes in the water. This gave it a cloudy
appearance. As the particles grows in size, they sink down to the bottom of the
beaker. Over time, more and more particles accumulates on the bottom of the
beaker. The next day, the reddish brown will disappear and the water becomes
clear.
• The change in color you observed is due to the chemical process called oxidation.
Oxidation is the combination of a substance with oxygen.
• Paint or rust proofing is used to protect iron from rusting. They prevent the iron
from coming into contact with moisture and oxygen. This prevents iron oxide from
forming.
• Banded iron formations were made up of alternating dark and light layers of rock.
Some of the layers contain iron-rich minerals. The minerals are hematite and
magnetite which are common. Some of the layers are a fine-grained silica rock
called chert. Chert is a chemical sedimentary rock that forms when tiny quartz
crystals grow from a silica-rich solution. Chert is formed from watery solutions,
often grey in color.
• Banded iron formations are rocks, more than two billion years old, that consist of
oxides, sulfides, or carbonates of iron, thinly interbedded with chert, a silica rich
rock
• Today, banded iron formations can be found all over the world. They are
commonly associated with greenstone belts. They were moved onto the continents
by accretion.
• This is the process by which the cores of ancestral continents grew by the
subduction of adjacent oceanic crust and the welding of crust to the continental
margin.
• Scientists think that during the late Hadean Eon the oceans contained vast
amounts of iron and silica. One source of the iron seems to have been underwater
volcanoes. The iron was released in fluids from hydrothermal vents. There, the
material from the upper mantle mixed with seawater.
• Another source for the iron and silica in the oceans was Earth’s crust. Earth’s
young basaltic crust was rich in minerals that contain iron and silica. Earth’s new
crust was exposed to the warm primitive atmosphere. This caused rocks to weather.
The weathering process released iron and silica from the crust. They found their
way into rivers in solution and in mineral fragments. The rivers eventually
deposited the iron and silica into the oceans.
• Iron was being added to seawater for several hundred million years. However, it
was not being removed. Also, at that time, there were no organisms that required
silica to form shells. As a result, the ocean water became saturated with silica as
well. Iron and silica are the chemicals found in the iron-rich and chert layers that
form banded iron formations.
• Then a change began to occur. Banded iron formations began to appear.
Scientists have determined that this occurred in the following way. Between about
3.5 and 2 billion years ago, the iron and silica began to react with oxygen dissolved
in Earth’s ancient ocean. Iron reacted to form iron-oxide minerals. They built up in
layers on the ocean bottom. Silica in the water also reacted with the oxygen. As a
result, layers of silica-rich chert were formed.
• Banded iron formations developed in two major settings. Some formed in deep
marine environments where volcanism released iron and silica. Others formed in
shallow basins along the margins of continents. Some scientists think that the
layering of banded iron formations reflects the competing influences of
hydrothermal processes and continental fluxes of material.
• Scientists thought that the oxygen must have come from ancient cyanobacteria.
Recall that cyanobacteria are phototrophs. They use photosynthesis to convert
energy from the Sun into food. Oxygen is a by-product of photosynthesis.
• The population of cyanobacteria on Earth increased. As a result, 3.5 to 2.5 billion
years ago, more and more oxygen was released into Earth’s atmosphere.
• The atmosphere and oceans readily exchange gases. As the oxygen content of the
atmosphere increased, the dissolved oxygen content of the surface waters in the
oceans also increased. Oxygen reacted with the dissolved iron and silica in the
ocean. This resulted in the layers of the banded iron formations. Until 2.3 billion
years ago, oxygen was drawn down into the oceans. It replaced oxygen used up in
forming the banded iron formations. This kept the concentration of oxygen in the
atmosphere to low levels. The levels were 1–2 percent of what they are today.
• After about 2 billion years ago, the deposition of banded iron formations began to
slow down. There was less and less dissolved iron in the oceans. The rate at which
iron was resupplied to the oceans had decreased. By 1.8 billion years ago, there
was very little dissolved iron in ocean water. The banded iron formations stopped
forming altogether.
• The cyanobacteria flourished. They continued to produce oxygen. However, the
iron was no longer there to act as a sink for oxygen in the oceans. Less oxygen was
drawn from the atmosphere into the oceans. As a result, oxygen began to build up
in the atmosphere.
• The change from an oxygen-poor atmosphere to an oxygen-rich atmosphere took
place slowly. Scientists think that it took over a billion years.
• They have looked at soils in South Africa dated at 1.9 billion years. The soils
indicate that atmospheric oxygen at the time was 15 percent that of the modern
level. Current levels of oxygen were reached probably about 600 million years ago.
• Along with a buildup of oxygen, came an increase in ozone levels (O3 ). The
increase in oxygen and ozone had important implications for life on Earth. Ozone
absorbs much of the UV radiation that strikes the atmosphere. It formed a
protective layer around Earth. This made the continents a more hospitable area for
organisms to live.

iv. ES.2.12 & ES.2.13

• The time during which Earth has existed is known as geologic time.
• The geologic time scale is a system that scientists use to organize their findings
about Earth’s history. It is also the division of geologic time into units based on
evolutionary events of geologic history.
• Some events occurred only once in Earth’s past. For example, the formation of
Earth and the development of the core, the mantle, and the crust occurred only
once. The development of the atmosphere was also a one-time event.
• Other events are cyclical. Mountain formation, the eruption of volcanoes, and
earthquakes occur often. There have also been many changes in climate and in sea
level.
• It is not easy to define the parts of Earth’s history using processes that repeat
themselves. For this reason, scientists divide geologic time into smaller parts.
• Fossils are evidence of once-living things. These organisms are preserved in
sediments and rocks.
• Different species of organisms have appeared and disappeared over time. Fossils
indicate when this happened. Fossils indicate when this happened.
• Extinct species do not reappear later. Scientists use the arrival and extinction of
different fossils as markers. They are used to identify when certain parts begin and
end.
• The longest units of time in Earth’s history are called eons. Eon is the longest
division of geologic time that contains two or more eras.
• So far, there have been four eons. Each has its own unique story. The Hadean
Eon is the first part of Earth’s history.
• This part of Earth’s history lasted 800 million years. During this time, the Moon
formed, and meteorites bombarded the geosphere. Later, the core, mantle, and
solid crust developed.
• Toward the end of the Hadean, simple life had gained a foothold on Earth. The
Archean Eon lasted from 3.8 to 2.5 Ga. It contains evidence of early cellular life
and photosynthesis.
• Next came the Proterozoic Eon (2.5 Ga–542 Ma). It is marked by the appearance
of early life forms. However, it was the time before abundant life.
• The first major glaciation took place 2.3 Ga. Presently, Earth is in the
Phanerozoic Eon. It has lasted about 542 million years so far. It is a time of
abundant life.
• Eons are divided into shorter units of time called eras where an era is a major
division of geologic time that contains two or more periods.
• The Phanerozoic Eon is divided into three eras. The Paleozoic Era is the era of
ancient life. It lasted about 290 million years. The Mesozoic Era is the era of
middle life. It lasted about 185 million years. The Cenozoic Era is the current era
of modern life. It has lasted about 65 million years so far.
• Changes in the mix of animals and plants in the biosphere define the beginning
and end of each era. These changes can be very dramatic. For example, the
Mesozoic Era is called the Age of Dinosaurs. It ended when most of life on Earth
became extinct. The next era is called the Cenozoic. It included the evolution of
mammals. Many of these mammals live on Earth today.
• Eras are divided into shorter units of time called periods. Each period is named
by the scientists who discovered it. Periods are divisions of geologic time that
contains two or more epochs.
• Sometimes the names are from a particular region. For example, the Cambrian,
Ordovician, and Silurian are names of three periods. They are named after Welsh
tribes. Each period lasts tens of millions of years. They subdivide geologic time in
a way similar to how hours divide a day. Each one also tells a unique part of
Earth’s history.
• For example, the Cretaceous Period was when large dinosaurs were abundant. It
lasted about 80 million years.
• After the Cretaceous Period ended, the number of dinosaurs decreased. A new
period began. This was called the Paleogene Period. Scientists have defined this
period according to the appearance of a large number of mammal fossils.
• Even smaller units of time, known as epochs, it is a short division of geologic
history that contains a notable event. Epochs are often determined by special
events in other parts of the Earth system. They can include times when Earth’s
climate changed. They might be determined by when Earth’s magnetism reversed
or when distinctive layers of rock were deposited
• Scientists use geologic evidence for many events in Earth’s history. Mountains
provide evidence of plate collisions or volcanic activity. The shields that form each
continent tell about how Earth’s crust evolved. Special iron-rich rocks formed in
the oceans tell about how the atmosphere was formed. Also, changes in fossil
groups indicate changes in past climates.
• The Principle of Superposition describes how younger layers of sediments are
deposited on top of older layers. This gives a relative age of a layer of rock. You
can identify a rock layer as being younger or older than the layers next to it.
• To determine the absolute age of a rock, scientists look for radioactive minerals.
These minerals contain radioactive elements. The nuclei of these elements are
unstable. As a result, they break apart over time. This process is known as
radioactive decay.
• The nuclei of radioactive elements break apart because they are unstable. As
particles are released, the original element changes into a different one. The new
element has slightly lighter properties. The atom that undergoes decay is called the
parent atom. The product is called the daughter atom.
• Scientists look at the rate at which a radioactive element in a mineral decays to
determine the age of the rock in which it is contained. The time it takes for half of
the parent atoms to decay into daughter atoms of a different element is called a
half-life.
• Different elements have different half lives. Ones that have very long half lives
decay very slowly. For instance, the radioactive isotope of rubidium has a very
long half-life. It takes about 48.8 billion years for half of it to change to strontium.
• Elements such as this, with very slow rates of decay, are good for finding the
ages of very old rocks.
• Using radioactive decay, scientists have found Earth’s oldest mineral to be zircon.
Zircon contains small traces of the radioactive element uranium. (Uranium decays
to form lead.) Zircon samples have been found that date as far back as 4 billion
years. Zircon is highly resistant to weathering and erosion. Most other minerals
that may have formed in a rock with an ancient zircon would probably have worn
away long ago.
• Some elements have short half-lives. The half-life of radioactive carbon atoms is
only 5730 years. Consider a geologically young sample of carbon that formed 50
million years ago. It would have gone through about 100,000 half-lives of decay by
now. The amount of non-decayed carbon left would be tiny. It would be too hard to
measure accurately. Due to this, radiocarbon dating is not good for all samples. It
is only good for ones that are 70,000 years old or younger.
• Radioactive dating is done mostly on igneous rocks. Radioactive elements are
trapped in certain minerals when magma cools and hardens to form rock. There are
a few types of sedimentary rocks that contain radioactive elements. Many
sedimentary rocks are made from older rocks that have been broken down.
Therefore, radioactive dating is not always the best method for finding the age of
these rocks. The same is true for metamorphic rocks. The radioactive “clock” is
reset in new minerals that form when rocks are deformed. These minerals give a
younger age for the rock than when it originally formed.
• Certain sedimentary rocks are difficult to date when they are made of many
different pieces of rocks from different places and different ages.
• Metamorphic rocks are complicated to date because they form when pressure and
temperature changes the minerals in existing rocks.
• Many igneous rocks provide good radiometric dates. As lava cools to form solid
rock, the radiometric clock starts to tick

v. ES.2.14

• It is thought that this learning outcome will be excluded in the finals.

vi. ES.2.15

• It is thought that this learning outcome will be excluded in the finals.