Geologic Time Scavenger Hunt Name: Class Period: For this activity, go to the resource page on our class website. Find the link titled Understanding Geologic Time which can be found under the Plate Tectonics heading. You can also type in the following address: http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/education/explorations/tours/geotime/gtpage1.html As you navigate through Geologic Time, keep your eyes open for answers to the following questions. 1. If you wrote a book on Earth s history and each page represented 1 year, how thick (miles) would the book be? 2. If you read 1 page of this book every 2 minutes, how many years would it take to finish the book? 3. In the book, find and describe what is happening 248,000,000 years ago. 4. How many years ago did the dinosaurs go extinct? 5. Using the timeline (which represents 6 events during the past 100 years of US history) write the correct order of events from earliest to most recent. Earliest Most recent 6. Circle the best answer choice: The timeline of events above represents the (relative order, actual dates) of when each occurred. 7. What year was the internet invented? 8. Find the triceratops skeleton. Did the triceratops come before or after mammals were found on Earth?
9. Find the word superposition. What does it mean? 10. Where do we find fossils and what evidence can they provide? 11. Tell one interesting fact about each fossil listed below: a. Trilobite b. Brachiopod c. Eurypterid d. Ammonite 12. We can apply the Law of Superposition to fossils. Which of the fossils listed above is the earliest (oldest)? 13. Which of the fossils is the youngest? 14. The Law of Superposition only gives us relative ages. What is the process used to give an absolute date to a rock/fossil? 15. Through radiometric dating, what is the absolute age for the brachiopod fossil? 16. What does Archean mean and what happened during this time?
17. Write the meaning of each Era listed and describe what animals became abundant during that time: a. Paleozoic b. Mesozoic c. Cenozoic 18. The periods represent major changes of life on Earth. What happened during the Carboniferous period? 19. As you read through the periods be sure to look at the names of animals that lived during that period. Find the Therapsid and tell which period held the largest mass extinction in the history of life. Please take the quiz at the end of the Interactive and write your answer for each question below. Quiz Questions: 1. Scientific evidence suggests the Earth is a) less than 1 million years old b) less than 1 billion years old c) more than 4 billion years old d) more than 6 billion years old e) none of the above
2. Evidence for past events in Earth's ancient history are provided by: a) rocks and the fossils within them b) history books c) time lines d) the clothes people wore e) the biodiversity of North America 3. The Law of Superposition allows us to determine: a) which rock layers are the oldest b) the relative age of layers of rocks and the fossils in them c) the exact or absolute age of rock layers d) a and b are correct e) a and c are correct 4. Radiometric dating allows us to determine: a) which rock layers are the oldest b) the relative age of layers of rocks and the fossils in them c) the exact or absolute age of rock layers d) a and b are correct e) a and c are correct 5. The divisions of time in the Geologic Time Scale represent: a) the Law of Superposition b) the results of radiometric dating c) major changes in biodiversity d) multiples of 35 million years e) all of the above Standard 7.2.3 : Characterize the immensity of geologic time and recognize that it is measured in eras and epochs. Standard 7.2.8: Compare and contrast fossils in a given location to explain how Earth processes have changed environments over time. Proficiency: All questions complete and 5 on quiz = 3+ 17-18 questions complete and 5 on quiz = 3 16 or less complete and/or 4 on quiz = 2 16 or less complete and/or 3 or less on quiz = 1 Your score: Proficiency Level: