Geological Time Scale Flashcards

1
Q

Two types of dating

A
  • chronostratic

- chronometric

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2
Q

Chronostratic

A
  • relative time
  • time split into levels
  • 3 bones 10 ft apart -> deepest one is oldest
  • earth is in layers
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3
Q

Chronometric

A
  • absolute time
  • earth is 4.5 billion years old (measured)
  • numerical ages
  • radioisotopes
  • carbon dating
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4
Q

Different packets of time

A

Eon
Era
Period
Epoch

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5
Q

Eons

A
Archean eon (earth began)
Proterozoic eon (single celled organisms)
Phanerozoic eon (stuff happened (land + O2))
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6
Q

Phanerozoic eon

A
  • Paleozoic era (543 mya) (invertebrates)
  • Mesozoic era (248 mya) (reptiles)
  • Cenozoic era (65 mya) (mammals)
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7
Q

Hadean eon (when + geology)

A

4600 mya

  • molten/liquid earth (hell)
  • vaalbara (1st supercontinent) (only land)
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8
Q

Archean eon (when + geology + fossils)

A

4-2.5bya (?)

  • formation of earth’s crust
  • atmosphere of CH4, NH3, CO2
  • volcanic activity
  • protocontinents
  • 1st fossils (rocks)
  • metamorphic/igneous rocks
  • bacteria microfossils
  • salty ocean
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9
Q

Proterozoic eon (when + geology + fossils)

A

2500-570mya

  • 2 supercontinents
  • oxygen from stromatolites
  • ice sheets (1st glaciers) (reached equator)
  • microfossils from 1 billion year old bitter springs (Australia)
  • snowball earth
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10
Q

Cambrian period (when)

A

540-485mya

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11
Q

Ordovician period (when + geology)

A

490-470mya

  • north of tropics is almost entirely ocean
  • limestone + dolomite
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12
Q

Silurian period (when + geology)

A
  1. 7-416mya
    - glaciers
    - rise in sea levels
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13
Q

Devonian period (when + geology + fossils)

A

416-358mya

  • euramerica + Gondwana
  • Appalachian mountains
  • fossils (teeth/fish + plants)
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14
Q

Carboniferous period

A

Mississippian

Pennsylvanian

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15
Q

Mississippian period (when)

A

354mya

Upper Carboniferous

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16
Q

Pennsylvanian (when)

A

323mya
Lower Carboniferous
-name from coal

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17
Q

Permian period (when + geology)

A

299-251mya

  • glaciation (beginning)
  • hot + dry (end)
  • pangea formed
18
Q

Triassic period (when + geology + fossils)

A

251-199mya

  • Pangea began separating
  • warm + dry
  • no polar ice caps
  • desert
  • mud stone preserved marine reptiles
  • sand dunes + evaporites
19
Q

Jurassic period (when + geology + fossils)

A

199mya

  • soil deposits + oil shales
  • tectonic activity formed mountain ranges
  • limestone
  • plants -> sedimentary rocks
20
Q

Cretaceous period (when + geology + fossils)

A

145-166mya

  • went from 18% land to 28% land
  • warm + humid
  • lots of volcanic activity
  • high sea levels
  • evaporites (proof of climate change)
  • longest period
21
Q

Paleogene period (when + geology)

A

65-23mya

  • continents moved to modern positions
  • tropical is cooler
  • sea levels down
22
Q

Neogene period (when + geology + fossils)

A

23-2.6mya

  • continents crashed
  • stellar sea cow skull
  • neogene = new born
23
Q

Pleistocene epoch (when + geology + fossils)

A
  1. 6mya-11700 years ago
    - Ice age
    - complete/almost complete skeletons (no time to decompose)
24
Q

Holocene epoch (when + geology)

A
  • 12000 years ago-now
  • tundra (forest)
  • bye glaciers
25
Q

Hadean eon (life)

A

None

26
Q

Archean eon (life)

A

Unicellular
Cyanobacteria
Stromatolites
Prokaryotes

27
Q

Proterozoic eon (life)

A

No changes from archean eon
Algae
Single-celled organisms
Eukaryotes (nucleus)

28
Q

Cambrian period (life)

A

Hunting techniques
Claws
Underground
Cambrian explosion

29
Q

Ordovician period (life)

A

Adaptive
Primitive fish
Red/green algae
Cephalopods

30
Q

Silurian period (life)

A

Spread of jawless fish
Freshwater fish
First plants/fungi

31
Q

Devonian period (life)

A

Fish
Coral
Insects/spiders
Plants with seeds + roots (forests)

32
Q

Mississippian period (life)

A
Sharks
Amphibians
Crinoids
Seed ferns
Conifers
33
Q

Pennsylvanian period (life)

A

Reptiles
Land vertebrates
Freshwater
Spore bearing plants

34
Q

Permian period (life)

A
Terrestrial plants
Reptile lineages
Reefs
Coral + sponge species
Swamp forests
Gymnosperms
35
Q

Triassic period (life)

A
Fewer evolutionary advances
Ferns
Considers 
Cycads
Coelophysis
Plateosaurus
First dinosaurs
First mammals
36
Q

Jurassic period (life)

A
Invertebrates
-insects
-reefs
Vertebrates
-dinosaurs
-birds
-fish
Plants
-jungles
-podocarps
37
Q

Cretaceous period (life)

A

Dinosaurs

Flowers

38
Q

Paleocene period (life)

A
Lower temp killed unicellular organisms
First whales
First horses
Birds
Grass
39
Q

Neogene period (life)

A

Grass
Deciduous
Early primates

40
Q

Pleistocene epoch (life)

A
Large mammals
-wooly mammoth
-mastodon
Large plants
-big seeds
41
Q

Holocene epoch (life)

A

Mammals die

Humans

42
Q

When were the extinctions (6)

A
Beginning of Ordovician
End of Ordovician
End of Devonian
End of Permian
End of Cretaceous
Now