Life Science Indicator S.HS Part A
Life Science Indicator S.HS Part A
The student understands geological time is used to understand the Earth’s past.
The Geologic Time Scale
notice these points…. 1.the timeline is approximately 4.5 billion years….the current accepted age of the Earth 2.there are 4 eras 3.the oldest and the longest era is the Precambrian….approximately 4 billion yrs 4.the last 3 eras are approximately ½ billion years combined, or 500 million years (much shorter)
Did you notice the proportional size differences of each era!
88% of the time is Precambrian {
and these points….. 1.the rocks formed during the Precambrian have very few fossils ….. not much life existed back then 2.stromatolites and blue-green algae
Stromatolites are mounds of prokaryotic algae and cyanobacteria.
Look at the next slide and notice….. When (how long ago) does abundant life begin to show up in the rock record?
600 million years ago or the beginning of the Phanerozoic 1.the Phanerozoic means “visible life” – it is an eon made up of 3 eras A.paleozoic – “ancient life” B.mesozoic – “middle” life C.cenozoic – “recent” life
Key points…. the geologic time periods are based on major geologic events that took place A.mass extinctions B.glaciation periods C.climate changes
Extinction events Glacial event
The Earth has changed over time! 1.Short term changes (occur during a human’s lifetime) a)earthquakes – change the surface of the land b)volcanic eruptions 2.Long term changes (long time for them to occur) a)erosion – the Grand Canyon b)mountain building – the Rockies
Earth’s atmosphere has changed over time! 1.original atmosphere look like the gas that comes out of volcanoes a)water vapor b)carbon dioxide c)nitrogen d)NO OXYGEN 2.oxygen begins to accumulate in the atmosphere about 2.5 billion years ago a)primitive organisms used photosynthesis - algae
Radioactive Dating a method for age dating rocks/fossils radiometric dating – rocks radiocarbon dating – fossils parent to daughter ratio tells us how old the rock/fossil is radioactive dating allows us to assign dates to specific rock layers
Kansas has sedimentary rock like limestone or halite (rock salt) both are formed in shallow seas Kansas was under water at least 4 times in history…the last was during the Cretaceous period