History of Life on Earth

GENERAL BIOLOGY 2
 Answer the following questions:

1. How old is the Earth?

2. What is the biggest time frame in the GTS?
3. What is the smallest time frame in the GTS?
 The Geological Time Scale (GTS)

A. Four eras - Precambrian; Paleozoic; Mesozoic;

Cenozoic
B. Periods under the Paleozoic era - Cambrian,
Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous,
Permian
C. Periods under the Mesozoic era - Triassic,
Jurassic, Cretaceous
D. Periods under the Cenozoic era - Tertiary and
Quaternary
 The Geological Time Scale (GTS)

A. The Geologic time is divided into four large

segments called Eons: Hadean, Archean,
Proterozoic and Phanerozoic.
B. The Phanerozoic is divided into Eras: Paleozoic,
Mesozoic, and Cenozoic.
C. Extinction events and appearance of new life forms
characterized the divisions among Eras.
D. Smaller divisions, called Periods, characterized by
a single type of rock system, make up each Era.
E. Some Periods are further divided into smaller time
frame called Epochs.
Mnemonics!
 Mnemonics! - ERA

PREss Precambrian
The
PALe Paleozoic
Button
To
MESsage Mesozoic
The
CENter Cenozoic
 Mnemonics! - PERIOD

CAMels Cambrian
Often Ordovician
SIt Silurian
Down Devonian
CARefully, Carboniferous
PERhaps Permian
Their Triassic
Joints Jurassic
Creak Cretaceous
 Mnemonics! - EPOCH

Put Paleocone
Eggs Eocene
On Oligocene
My Miocene
PLate, Pliocene
PLEase Pleistocene
HOney! Holocene
 Cambrian Explosion

 It is the belief that there was a sudden, apparent

explosion of diversity in life forms about 545 million
years ago.
 The explosion created the complexity of multi-celled
organisms in a relatively short time frame of 5 to 10
million years.
 This explosion also created most of the major extant
animal groups today.
 Cambrian Explosion

 The start of the Cambrian was characterized by the

breaking up of supercontinent Gondwana into
smaller land masses opening up new environmental
niches where organisms can colonize and specialize.
 READ: Anthropocene

 Human impact has pushed Earth into the

Anthropocene - http://goo.gl/fxggQf
 What Is Anthropocene and Are We in It? -
http://goo.gl/mq7I9V
 Welcome to the Anthropocene -
http://www.anthropocene.info
 What are the evidences that
suggest that we are entering/ have
entered a new epoch?

HISTORY OF EARTH
 ICS-IUGS

 The International Commission on Stratigraphy is the

largest and oldest constituent scientific body in the
International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS).
 Its primary objective is to precisely define global
units (systems, series, and stages) of the
International Chronostratigraphic Chart that, in
turn, are the basis for the units (periods, epochs, and
age) of the International Geologic Time Scale; thus
setting global standards for the fundamental scale
for expressing the history of the Earth.
Evidence we’ve started an ‘Anthropocene’

 We’ve pushed extinction rates of flora and fauna far

above the long-term average. The Earth is now on
course for a sixth mass extinction which would see
75% of species extinct in the next few centuries if
current trends continue
 Increased the concentrations of CO2 in the
atmosphere by about 120 parts per million since the
industrial revolution because of fossil fuel-burning,
leaving concentrations today at around 400ppm and
rising
Evidence we’ve started an ‘Anthropocene’

 Nuclear weapon tests in the 1950s and 60s left traces

of an isotope common in nature, 14C, and a naturally
rare isotope, 293Pu, through the Earth’s mid-
latitudes
 Put so much plastic in our waterways and oceans
that microplastic particles are now virtually
ubiquitous, and plastics will likely leave identifiable
fossil records for future generations to discover
Evidence we’ve started an ‘Anthropocene’

 Doubled the nitrogen and phosphorous in our soils

in the past century with our fertilizer use. According
to some research, we’ve had the largest impact on the
nitrogen cycle in 2.5bn years
 Left a permanent marker in sediment and glacial ice
with airborne particulates such as black carbon from
fossil fuel-burning
1. Geologically speaking with reference to the
entire history of the earth, the dinosaurs went
extinct…
A. Shortly after the formation of Earth
B. In the first billion years of Earth’s history
C. In the most recent 2% of the history of Earth
D. Before the first fish formed
2. Relative to the percent of time dominating
the surface of Earth which organisms have the
longest reign?
A. Dinosaurs
B. Plants
C. Prokaryotes
D. Eukaryotes
E. Humans
3. The Earth is ________ years old.
A. 6,000
B. 46,000,000
C. 4,600,000,000
D. There is no way to know
4. 100,000 years in the geologic history of
Earth would be considered
A. Immensely long
B. A drop in the bucket
C. Half of Earth's history
D. An extremely significant amount of time
5. Understanding geologic time is significant
because it helps us
A. Understand humans’ impact on our environment
B. Understand the evolution of organisms over time
C. Understand the possibility for life on other planets
D. Understand the process of evolution
E. All of the above
6. Which organism first dominated Earth?
A. Dinosaurs
B. Insects
C. Plants
D. Fish
E. Bacteria
 ASSIGNMENT

1. What are fossils? How are they formed?

2. List down the types of fossils and given examples.
3. How do we measure the age of fossils?
4. What are mass extinctions? How many mass
extinctions events happened in the GTS?