1. Geologic Time
SOL 5.7

2. What is Geologic Time?
Geologic time is the measure of Earth’s past based on geologic evidence.
Earth’s history is broken down into sections based on the fossils found in the sedimentary rocks.

3. Geologic Time Scale Geologic time is measured in MILLIONS of years.
Remember, the Earth is about 4.8 BILLION years old.

4. Era Big time periods are named Eras ( air – uhs )
There are three eras we will talk about
1. Paleozoic ( pale – ee – oh – zo -ick )
2) Mesozoic ( mess – oh – zo – ick )
3) Cenozoic ( sen – oh – zo – ick )

5. Eras Paleozoic – Life from it’s beginnings up to dinosaurs.
Mesozoic – Dinosaurs. “The age of Reptiles”
Cenozoic – Mammals. “ The age of Mammals “

6. Eras Paleozoic means ancient life Mesozoic means middle life
Cenozoic means recent life
Scientists who study these fossils are called paleontologists.

8. Periods
Eras are divided into periods based on the types of rocks and fossils found in them.

9. Time
The age of the eras and periods are measured with a scale on the bottom of the chart in millions of years.