15.4 + 15.6 + 15.7 + 15.9 Major Events in History of Life, Continental Drift , Mass Extinctions, Fossil Record

Question 1

Macroevolution

Answer 1

evolutionary change above the species level, encompassing the origin of a new group of organisms through a series of speciation events and the impact of mass extinctions on the diversity of life

Question 2

Earth’s age can be split into ____ of geological time

Answer 2

4 eons

Question 3

What are the 4 eons of geological time

Answer 3

1) The Hadean Eon
2) The Archaen Eon
3) The Proterozoic Eon
4) The Phanerozoic Eon

Question 4

The Hadean Eon

Answer 4

origin of Earth

Question 5

What was the year range of the Hadean Eon?

Answer 5

4 - 4.6 bya

Question 6

What was the year range of the Archaen Eon?

Answer 6

2.5 - 4 bya

Question 7

What happened during the Archaean Eon?

Answer 7

1) Life started with prokaryotes
2) Surge in Oxygen
3) Start of Photosynthesis

Question 8

When did life with prokaryotes start?

Answer 8

3.5 bya

Question 9

When was there a surge in oxygen?

Answer 9

2.7 - 2.2 bya

Question 10

What did the surge of oxygen cause?

Answer 10

was detrimental to many organisms

Question 11

What was the year range of the proterozoic eon?

Answer 11

0.6 - 2.5 bya

Question 12

What occured during the Proterozoic Eon?

Answer 12

1) First Eukaryotic Cell
2) First Multicellular Eukaryotes
3) Cambrian Explosion

Question 13

When did the first eukaryotic cell appear?

Answer 13

1.8 bya

Question 14

When did the first multicellular eukaryotes appear?

Answer 14

1.3 bya

Question 15

When did the Cambrian Explision occur

Answer 15

0.6 bya

Question 16

Cambrian Explosion

Answer 16

the huge emergence of animals

Question 17

What was the age range of the Phanerozoic Eon?

Answer 17

0.6 bya - present

Question 18

What occured during the phanerozoic eon

Answer 18

Colonization of Land

Question 19

Colonization of Land

Answer 19

organisms inhabit land/water

Question 20

What did the colonization of land occur?

Answer 20

0.4 bya

Question 21

Geologic Record

Answer 21

a time scale established by geologists that divide Earth’s history into 4 eons; Hadean, Archean, Proterozoic, and Phanerozoic - and further subdivides into eras, period, and epochs

Question 22

When was the Paleozoic Era?

Answer 22

541 million years ago

Question 23

Paleozoic Era

Answer 23

contain fossils of lineages that led to present day organisms and extinct organisms

Question 24

What were the early organisms in the Paleozic Era?

Answer 24

aquatic organisms

Question 25

What were the later organisms in the Paleozoic Era?

Answer 25

land organisms

Question 26

Mesozoic Era is also known as

Answer 26

the middle animal era and the “age of reptiles”

Question 27

The Mesozoic era was the end of the

Answer 27

cretacous

Question 28

Mesozoic Era

Answer 28

saw first mammals and flowering plants and is when dinosaurs became extinct

Question 29

Did all dinosaurs become extinct during the Mesozoic Era?

Answer 29

no; all except for birds

Question 30

The extinction of the dinosaurs was one of the

Answer 30

5 mass extinctions

Question 31

Cenozoic Era is aka the

Answer 31

recent animal era or the “age of mammals “

Question 32

When did the Cenozoic Era occur?

Answer 32

66 million years ago

Question 33

The Cenozoic Era is split into ___ because…

Answer 33

epochs because there is more known about it

Question 34

Pangea

Answer 34

the supercontinent that formed near the end of the Paleozoic Era, when plate movements brought all the landmasses of Earth together

Question 35

What did Pangea end

Answer 35

the paleozoic era

Question 36

What did Pangea cause

Answer 36

the permenian extinction

Question 37

When did Pangea start to break up

Answer 37

during the Mesozoic Era

Question 38

Mass extinctions

Answer 38

occur when global environmental changes are rapid and disrupt more than 50% of Earth’s species

Question 39

How many mass extinctions are there?

Answer 39

5

Question 40

What are the most known extinctions?

Answer 40

the extinctions ending the Permian and Creatcous periods

Question 41

When did the Permian Extinction occur?

Answer 41

252 million years ago

Question 42

What was the Permian Extinction a boundary between?

Answer 42

the paleozoic and mesozoic eras

Question 43

What did the Permian extinction wipe out (percentages)?

Answer 43

Wiped out 96% of marine species and 70% of terrestrial life

Question 44

What was the Permian Extinction caused by

Answer 44

Caused by volcanic eruptions, ash, noxious gasses, less oxygen etc.

Question 45

When did the Cretaceous Extinction occur?

Answer 45

66 million years ago

Question 46

What did the Cretacous Extinction wipe out (percentages)?

Answer 46

Wiped out half of marine species and some terrestrial plants and animals

Question 47

Was the Earth dominated by dinosaurs during the Cretacous Extinction?

Answer 47

no

Question 48

What was the Cretacous Extinction caused by?

Answer 48

Iridium found in clay in sediments that separate the Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras from a large asteroid

Question 49

Will there be a 6th mass extinction

Answer 49

there might be one

Question 50

Why would there be a 6th mass extinction

Answer 50

bc of human activities and global warming/climate change