Primary method of dating the earth "Isotope-dating"

Half-lifes of Radioactive-isotopes P, H, C, K "-32P = 14.3 days (31P)

-3H = 12.3 years
-14C = 5700 years (12C)
-40K = 1.3 billion years (40Ar)"
Changes of the earth that have occurred over time "-oxygen concentration (
rising)
-sea levels
-temp and humidity,
-meteor impacts
-continental drift"
Laws of the Fossil Record "-Law 1: In sequence of sedimentary rocks, layer
s originally
-Law 2: oldestformed
are lowest,
by lyingyoungest
horizontally
are highest"
Precambrian Era dates "4.5bya - 543bya
-origin of earth to Cambrian Explosion"
Evolutionary
2.cells
3.
4.
5.
6. photosynthesis
Sex
Eukaryotes
multicellularity
happens
form (prokaryotic)
Milestones
form
(bacterial
(cynobacteria-
(protists:
(volvox:
ofconjugation)
themulticellular
single
Precambrian
blue/green)
celledprotist)"
Era
eukaryote)
"1.life arises
Paleozoic Era timeline "543 - 251mya"
Paleozoic Era "-Buildup of many animal and plant forms (Cambrian Explosion: 54
0-510mya)
-ends with earth's greatest mass extinction (permian extinction)"
Reasons for why we observe a Cambrian Explosion of diversity in the fossil recor
d Key
2.
3. Tensinnovations
"1.
of millions
Fossil record
such
of years
asincomplete,
jointed
still appendages
a very
diversification
longand
timejaws
forcould
may
evolution
have
havelead
begun
to to
take
earlier.
escalati
place.
on of biotic interactions and rapid co-evolution. Motile jawed predators select
for defenses ofofprey
-Colonization terrestrial
(e.g. legs,
habitats."
shells, sensory capabilities).
Six Periods of the Paleozoic Era "â ¢ Cambrian(542-510mya):origin of animal phy
â ¢ Ordovician(510-440mya):Colonization of land by plants and arthropods, diverse mari
la
âne¢invertebrates
Silurian(440-409mya):Diversification
Devonian(409-354mya):Diversification
Carboniferous(354-290):Extensive
Permian(290-245):Diversification forests,
of reptiles
of bony
early
first
fishes.
and
vascular
seed
insects.
First
plants,
plants
Largest
tetrapods
originmass
ofandextinction
reptiles
insects
at end of period. 96% of marine animals went extinct. Many terrestrial extinctio
ns as well"
Earth's greatest mass extinction "Permian Extinction: 251 mya"
Mesozoic Era timeline "251-65mya
-age of dinosaurs"
Mesozoic Era "-age of dinosaurs
-evolution of flowering plants
-ends with sudden extinction of dinosaurs"
3 Periods (206-144
-Jurassic
-Cretaceousof(144-65mya)"
Mesozoicmya)Era "-Triassic (245-206 mya)
K-T Boundary "-65mya aka cretaceous-tertiary boundary
-Worldwidediddid
-Dinosaurs
-Mammals iridium
notnotoriginate
layer
go extinct
(small
(birds
mammals
stillco-existed
exist) with dinoâ s)"
Cenozoic Era Timeline "65mya - present"
Cenozoic Era "-Quarternary Period: 1.8mya - present
-2 Epochs: 1.Pleistone and 2. Holocene(lasted 12,000 yrs)"
Time when most large mammals in north/south america went extinct "12,000
yrs ago"
Possible causes of pleistocene extinctions of large mammals "-Climate change
: Could be, but climate had fluctuated between glacial and interglacial periods
many times
-Humans Hunters
without
using
previous
'clovis'
extinctions.
points arrived in North America about 12-13 thous
and years ago. As extinctions on other continents (e.g. Australia) also correlat
e with human arrival, THIS hypothesis seems likely"
Alfred Wegener (1880-1930) "Continental Drift"
Continental
2.Plants
similar fossils
andDrift
animals
on different
match:
"1.Shapes
continents.
match: Close
Continents
matches
lookbetween
like jigsaw
the coastlines
puzzle of
3.Rocks
4.Ice
Southmatches:
America
match: Striations
and Africa
Same types from
of rock
glaciers
at sameonage
southern
on different
continents
continents
about 300mya. No
glaciers of this age in what are now northern continents. Conclusion: Northern c
ontinents were equatorial at that time."
Mechanism of Continental Drift "plate tectonics"