Earth History

Introduction

If the age of the Earth was compared to the length of the Golden Gate Bridge (about 6000 ft), then the 600 years of human civilization would measure about 0.10 in (about the thickness of a car key). For another example, if Earth's history were condensed into a 24 hour day, human history would begin at 11:58:43 pm. To put it into perspective, the origin of our species dates back approximately 300 thousand years but represents only 0.007% of the entire history of the planet (4.5 billion years)! 

Human history may be very short but a lot occurred before humans evolved on Earth. In this webquest you will explore the geologic time scale (pages 8 and 9 of your ESRT) and some of the significant events that have occurred in Earth’s history.

 

Task

Using the websites listed below and other reliable sources of your choosing you will:

  • Explore and familiarize yourself pages 8 and 9 of your Earth Science reference Table.

  • Understand the breakdown and scale of geologic time throughout Earth’s history.

  • Read and learn about major geologic and biologic events that have occured over the last 4.6 billion years and understand when they occured.

Process

PROCESS

  1. Read through and explore all five provided resources.

  2. Search through the internet and available texts for additional resources

    1. Check with your teacher if you are unsure about the reliability of a source

  3. Write a minimum of 5 paragraphs explaining the breakdown of geologic time into eons, eras, and periods. Include the key difference in the eons, the reason for the boundaries between the eras, and key events that happened in each era along with what period those events occurred in. 

  4. Write a minimum of 3 paragraphs giving a brief geologic history of New York. Where on the globe has NY traveled throughout the course of history, what major fossils and landscapes can be found here, and any other major geologic events. 

  5. Complete the chart below. Resource number 4 will be most helpful for this but other sources can supplement that information.

 

RESOURCES 

  1. https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/education/explorations/tours/geotime/gtpage1.html 

    • This website is highly interactive. It walks you through the school of time and order of events. There are sections that will focus on key events. It will also go through the rock record and how to read it. This website it laid out differently than most and will take time to read through and discover information.

  2. https://www.nysed.gov/sites/default/files/programs/state-assessment/earth-science-reference-tables-english-2011.pdf 

    • This link will bring you directly to our Earth Science Reference Table in PDF format. Pages 8 and 9 detail information about geologic time periods, key events and fossils. It is very important to familiarize yourself with these pages as this will be your resource for geologic time throughout the year. The information on these pages is very concise and will need to be supplemented with the other websites.

  3. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/prehistoric-time-line 

    • This website will detail the eons and eras of the time scale. This will work well with pages 8 and 9 or your ESRT. Information will be broken down into categories. There is information about life on earth, fossils, and the rock record. This will work well with your ESRT but may not line up exactly. 

  4. https://fossils.valdosta.edu/home_time.html 

    • This site is an interactive map. You can click through different eras and periods. Once clicked the continents on the map will move to location they were at during that time period. Then you can hover over the different features such as glaciers and mountains. This will cause the map to light up in the locations where those existed during that time period. 

  5. https://www.nps.gov/subjects/geology/time-scale.htm 

    • This website had a lot of information condensed into a small space so it is useful for a quick reference. It is very similar to our ESRT but simplified. It will work well with the previous site to put events in the context of where the continents were at that time. It also focuses specifically on North America.
       

Era

Period

Ex. 1

Ex. 2

Ex. 3

Ex. 4

Ex. 5

Description of tectonic plate locations.

Description of fossils from this time period.

Ceno- zoic

Quaternary

              

 

 Tertiary            

Meso- zoic

Cretaceous

              

 

 Jurassic            

 

 Triassic            

Paleo- zoic

Permian

              

 

 Penn.            

 

 Miss.            

 

 Devonian            

 

 Silurian            

 

 Ordovician            

 

 Cambrian            

 

Evaluation

Criteria 1: Content Knowledge (40 points)

 

Performance Level

Description

4

The student demonstrates a thorough understanding of geologic time, including the principles of relative dating, the geologic time scale, and the major events in Earth's history. The student provides accurate and detailed explanations, supported by evidence from reliable sources.

3

The student demonstrates a good understanding of geologic time, including the principles of relative dating, the geologic time scale, and the major events in Earth's history. The student provides mostly accurate explanations, supported by evidence from reliable sources.

2

The student demonstrates a basic understanding of geologic time, including some of the principles of relative dating, the geologic time scale, and the major events in Earth's history. The student provides limited explanations, with some inaccuracies or lack of supporting evidence.

1

The student demonstrates a limited understanding of geologic time, with significant gaps in knowledge regarding the principles of relative dating, the geologic time scale, and the major events in Earth's history. The student provides minimal explanations, with inaccuracies and lack of supporting evidence.

 

Criteria 2: Research Skills (40 points)

 

Performance Level

Description

4

The student demonstrates excellent research skills by effectively locating and selecting reliable sources of information on geologic time. The student accurately cites all sources used and demonstrates a deep understanding of how to evaluate the credibility and relevance of sources.

3

The student demonstrates good research skills by locating and selecting reliable sources of information on geologic time. The student mostly cites sources used and demonstrates a good understanding of how to evaluate the credibility and relevance of sources.

2

The student demonstrates basic research skills by locating and selecting some sources of information on geologic time. The student inconsistently cites sources used and demonstrates a limited understanding of how to evaluate the credibility and relevance of sources.

1

The student demonstrates limited research skills by relying on unreliable or irrelevant sources of information on geologic time. The student does not cite sources used and demonstrates a lack of understanding of how to evaluate the credibility and relevance of sources.

 

Criteria 3: Critical Thinking (20 points)

 

Performance Level

Description

4

The student demonstrates excellent critical thinking skills by analyzing and synthesizing information on geologic time to draw well-supported conclusions. The student effectively applies the principles of relative dating and the geologic time scale to interpret and explain the sequence of events in Earth's history.

3

The student demonstrates good critical thinking skills by analyzing and synthesizing information on geologic time to draw supported conclusions. The student applies the principles of relative dating and the geologic time scale to interpret and explain the sequence of events in Earth's history.

2

The student demonstrates basic critical thinking skills by analyzing and synthesizing some information on geologic time to draw limited conclusions. The student attempts to apply the principles of relative dating and the geologic time scale to interpret and explain the sequence of events in Earth's history.

1

The student demonstrates limited critical thinking skills by failing to effectively analyze and synthesize information on geologic time to draw conclusions. The student does not apply the principles of relative dating and the geologic time scale to interpret and explain the sequence of events in Earth's history.