Geologic Time and Earth's History

Question 1

Two facts about Aristotle

Answer 1

He lived from 384-322 B.C, and he stated fossils were the remains living organisms. In addition, land and sea changes of long periods of time.

Question 2

Three facts about Archbishop Ussher

Answer 2

He lived from 1581 to 1664 and he used biblical events, which he then stated that all speices were made by God, and that earth was created on October 23, 4004 B.C.

Question 3

Two facts about Nicholas Steno

Answer 3

He lived from 1636 to 1686 and he developed the first three laws used in relative dating methods.

Question 4

Two facts about Georges Louis De Buffon

Answer 4

He lived from 1707 to 1788 and he used temperate mesaurements of Earth to calculate age to be at least 75,000 years old.

Question 5

Three facts about Georges Cuvier

Answer 5

He lived from 1769 to 1832 and he developed theory of catastrophism. In addition, he stated 6 catastrophes occurred in the past and Noah’s flood being the last one.

Question 6

Two facts about John Holy

Answer 6

He lived from 1857 to 1933 and he used salinity measurements of oceans to calculate age to be at least 90 million years old.

Question 7

Three facts about James Hutton

Answer 7

He lived from 1726 to 1797 and was known as the father of geology. In addition, he developed uniformitarianism-geologic eventshappening today most likely occurred in the past, with enough time small changes can have huge effects.

Question 8

Two facts about Charles Lyell

Answer 8

He lived from 1797 to 1875 and he published the book “Principles of Geology” in the 1830’s showing Hutt’s work.

Question 9

What is relative dating?

Answer 9

Puts geologic events in order from youngest to oldest based on their position in the geologic position. In addition, it created the geologic time scale.

Question 10

What is absolute dating?

Answer 10

Gives us specific and detailed discriptiosn of when something happened. Helped there be dates on the geologic time scale.

Question 11

What are all the time units?

Answer 11

A = annum (years), Ga = giga annum (billion years), Ka = Kilo annum (thousands of years), Ma = mega annum (million years)

Question 12

What is the principle of Superstition?

Answer 12

In a undeformed sequence of sedimentary rocks from the youngest layers being at the top and the oldest at the bottom.

Question 13

What is the principle of Original Horizontality?

Answer 13

When all water-lain sediments deposit horizontaliy under the influence of gravity.

Question 14

What is the princple of Orignal lateral Continuity?

Answer 14

When sediments extend laterally in every direction.

Question 15

What is cross-cutting relationships?

Answer 15

Is when the fault or intursion that cut through another rock is younger than that rock.

Question 16

What is a fault?

Answer 16

Is a fracture in the crust.

Question 17

What is an intrusion?

Answer 17

Igneous features in the crust.

Question 18

What is a dike?

Answer 18

A vertical igneous intrusion.

Question 19

What is a sill?

Answer 19

A horizontal igneous intrusion.

Question 20

What is a batholith?

Answer 20

A solidified magma chamber.

Question 21

What is the principle of inclusion?

Answer 21

When inclusions are older than the rock that contains them.

Question 22

What are uncomformites?

Answer 22

They are gaps in the rock record.

Question 23

What is an angular uncomformity?

Answer 23

Tilted or folded sedimetary rocks that are overlain anymore flat strata.

Question 24

What is radiotmeteric dating?

Answer 24

The decay of radioactive isotopes.

Question 25

What is the principle of radiometric dating?

Answer 25

radioactive isotopes decay immediately and continuously at constant rates and it measures time since the rock first formed. In addition, as times passes there will be more daughter atoms and less parents isotopes.

Question 26

What is a half-life?

Answer 26

The amount of time it takes for half of the atoms of the parent isotope to decay.

Question 27

What is a nonconformity?

Answer 27

A unconformity between two very different rock.

Question 28

What is a disconformity?

Answer 28

A break in the rock record caused by erosion or non-deposition of sediment.

Question 29

What is the principle of Faunal?

Answer 29

When fossil organisms succeed one another in a exact and determinable order.

Question 30

How is the geologic time scale divided?

Answer 30

It is divded into eons, then eras, then periods, then epochs

Question 31

What were three important events that happened during the Precambrian era?

Answer 31

At 4.5 bya our moon formed, at 5.2 bya our planet had a rich oxygen atmosphere, and at 1,3 bya the first multi-celled organisms formed (soft-bodied).

Question 32

What were three important events that occurred in the Paleozoic era?

Answer 32

First life formed that contained skeletons aslo known as trilobites. The advantes they had was they had protection against UV radiation and protection against predators. Land plants also flourished during this era. Aorund 96% of all species became extinct at the end of this era. And Pangea formed at the end of this era as well.

Question 33

What were three important events that happened during the Mesozoic Era?

Answer 33

Pangea started to break up, reptiles were the first organisms to adapt to dry land, dinosaurs dominate land and ammonites dominate the sea. (In addition there was another mass extinction that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs which was 65% of all life)

Question 34

What were three important events that occurred during the Cenozoic era?

Answer 34

The grand canyon forms (12 ma), humans appear (4 ma), and ice age animals become extinct.

Question 35

What does Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic mean?

Answer 35

Cenozoic means recent life, Mesozoic means middle life, and Paleozoic means early life.