Geologic Time Scale Quiz

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Questions and Answers

What is the name of the period in Earth's history that corresponds to the time of "Snowball Earth glaciation"?

Cryogenian Period

What is the name of the first multicellular organisms that appeared during the Ediacaran Fauna?

Soft-body and marine

What is the name of the period before the Phanerozoic Eon?

Precambrian

What specific event marks the beginning of the Phanerozoic Eon?

The Cambrian Explosion Signup and view all the answers

What epoch marks the beginning of the Quaternary Period?

Holocene Signup and view all the answers

What is the main characteristic of the Quaternary Period in terms of life on Earth?

End of Ice Ages; human populations grow Signup and view all the answers

What is the name of the epoch that precedes the Holocene?

Pleistocene Signup and view all the answers

What major event occurred at the end of the Paleogene Period, marking the beginning of the Neogene?

Mass extinction of all non-avian dinosaurs Signup and view all the answers

What significant development in plant life occurred towards the end of the Late Cretaceous?

Grasses first evolve Signup and view all the answers

What type of animals were dominant during the Late Jurassic?

Sauropods and ammonoids Signup and view all the answers

What kind of animals were most common during the Early Permian?

Reptiles Signup and view all the answers

What type of vegetation characterizes the Pennsylvanian Period?

Extensive coal-forming vegetation in swamps Signup and view all the answers

What are some significant events that occurred during the Middle Devonian?

Earth's earliest forests - Gilboa and Cairo, NY; Abundant fishes and brachiopods; Earliest ammonoids Signup and view all the answers

What are some key features of the Silurian Period?

Abundant eurypterids in NY; earliest sharks; Earliest land animals (arthropods) Signup and view all the answers

Besides the emergence of the first vascular plants, what other major event occurred during the Early Ordovician?

Earth’s first reef-containing corals, first land plants Signup and view all the answers

What noteworthy event happened during the Middle Cambrian?

Peak trilobite diversity Signup and view all the answers

At the end of the Late Devonian, what major extinction event occurred?

Extinction of many marine organisms, possibly caused by climate change due to spread of forests Signup and view all the answers

What is the oldest undisputed evidence for life on Earth?

Stromatolites Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Geologic Time Scale

Earth's history is divided into eons, eras, periods, epochs.
Precambrian Eon spans from 4.6 billion years ago to 541 million years ago.
Archean Eon: Oldest known rocks, oldest evidence of life (stromatolites).
Proterozoic Eon: Oxygen Revolution, first multicellular organisms (Ediacaran fauna).
Phanerozoic Eon: From 541 million years ago to present, defined by significant fossil record diversification of life, marked by 5 mass extinction events.
Paleozoic Era: Abundant marine life, rise of amphibians, forests.
Mesozoic Era: Dinosaurs dominate, rise of mammals, early flowering plants.
Cenozoic Era: Mammals diversify, dominance of humans.

Life on Earth

Early life forms were primarily single-celled.
Oxygen revolution significantly changed Earth's atmosphere and enabled more complex life.
Multicellular organisms first evolved during the Proterozoic Eon.
The Cambrian explosion marks a rapid diversification of life in the early Paleozoic.
Mass extinction events significantly altered the course of evolution.

Fossils and Time Distribution

Fossils are used to understand the order and relationships of past life.
Distribution of fossils in rock layers correlates with geologic time intervals.
Examples of fossils are shown on the image.

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Description

Test your knowledge on Earth's history through its geologic time scale. Explore the divisions of eons, eras, and significant events such as the Cambrian explosion and the rise of mammals. Understand how life evolved along with Earth's changing environment.