CHAPTER 1

EARTH: HISTORY AND

GEOLOGIC TIME
 EARTH’S HISTORY
PETROLOGY
● a branch of geology that
deals with the origin,
composition, structure, and
classification of rocks.
 EARTH’S HISTORY
STRATIGRAPHY
● the study of rock layers
(strata) and layering
(stratifications).
 EARTH’S HISTORY
PALEONTOLOGY
● studies the life that existed prior to, or
sometimes at the start of, the Holocene
epoch (the current geologic epoch).
● includes the study of fossils to
determine how they have evolved and
interacted with the environment.
 EARTH’S HISTORY
GEOLOGIC TIME SCALE
● represents the interval of time
occupied by the geologic history
of the Earth.
● provides a meaningful time
frame within which events of the
geologic past are arranged.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF EARTH’S HISTORY

PRECAMBRIAN EON
comprises about 88% or a total
span of roughly 4.1 Gya.
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF EARTH’S
HISTORY
PRECAMBRIAN EON
ERA – 1. HADEAN
the “chaotic eon”
comes from Hades meaning “hell”
Earth’s surface was continually
bombarded by meteorites and the very
hot mantle caused severe volcanism.
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF EARTH’S
HISTORY
PRECAMBRIAN EON
ERA – 1. HADEAN
Earth would look very inhospitable
ocean and atmosphere were
formed, and the core, as well as the
crust, were stabilized.
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF EARTH’S
HISTORY
PRECAMBRIAN EON
ERA – 2. ARCHEAN
Earth was probably warm
atmosphere contained mostly
methane and little to no oxygen
most of Earth was covered with
ocean
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF EARTH’S
HISTORY
PRECAMBRIAN EON
ERA – 2. ARCHEAN
continent formation happened
profusion of volcanoes
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF EARTH’S
HISTORY
PRECAMBRIAN EON
ERA – 2. ARCHEAN
the sky was orange due to
abundance of methane
the sea was green because of iron
and shorelines were marked with
stromatolites
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF EARTH’S
HISTORY
PRECAMBRIAN EON
ERA – 3. PROTEROZOIC
the longest period that lasted
almost half the age of Earth
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF EARTH’S
HISTORY
PRECAMBRIAN EON
ERA – 3. PROTEROZOIC
the time of great changes:
oxygenation of the atmosphere
origin and diversification of eukaryote life
appearance of multicellular animal life
the motion of continental drift
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF EARTH’S
HISTORY
PHANEROZOIC EON
ERA – 1. PALEOZOIC
many fossils were found in layers of
sedimentary rocks
marine invertebrate probably lived near the
shores of shallow water
fossils of trilobites and brachiopods were
found preserved in rocks
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF EARTH’S
HISTORY
PHANEROZOIC EON
ERA – 1. PALEOZOIC
middle of this era, marine life forms
had developed shells
first animal to succeed adapting itself
to breathe air was an amphibian that
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF EARTH’S
HISTORY
PHANEROZOIC EON
ERA – 1. PALEOZOIC
land plants also began to develop
giant ferns and marsh plants provided
food to land animals which increase in
number
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF EARTH’S
HISTORY
PHANEROZOIC EON
ERA – 1. PALEOZOIC
clams and snails increased in number
fish became more abundant
late part of this era showed the
appearance of reptiles that look like
amphibians but can lay eggs on dry land
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF EARTH’S
HISTORY
PHANEROZOIC EON
ERA – 1. PALEOZOIC
towards the end of this era, the land
climate changed
many kinds of plants, such as land ferns
grew and the remains were believed to
form the huge coal deposits in many parts
of the world.
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF EARTH’S
HISTORY
PHANEROZOIC EON
ERA – 2. MESOZOIC
formation of continents happened
new bodies of water were formed
footprints, eggs, bones and other
fossils of reptiles that existed in this era
were found
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF EARTH’S
HISTORY
PHANEROZOIC EON
ERA – 2. MESOZOIC
dinosaurs lived during this era which
were believed to be descendants of the
primitive reptiles, however current
theory suggests that they were
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF EARTH’S
HISTORY
PHANEROZOIC EON
ERA – 2. MESOZOIC
some dinosaurs were carnivores, with
bodies adapted to eating other dinosaurs
some were herbivores with digestive
organs adapted for a vegetarian diet
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF EARTH’S
HISTORY
PHANEROZOIC EON
ERA – 2. MESOZOIC
towards the end of this era more
continents broke up
reptiles were the first true terrestrial
vertebrates which flourished during this
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF EARTH’S
HISTORY
PHANEROZOIC EON
ERA – 2. MESOZOIC
many reptile groups became extinct
the only surviving reptiles today are
turtles, snakes, crocodiles and lizards
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF EARTH’S
HISTORY
PHANEROZOIC EON
ERA – 3. CENOZOIC
mountains were uplifted and new life
forms started appearing
volcanic activity was also widespread,
forming immense flows of lava and
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF EARTH’S
HISTORY
PHANEROZOIC EON
ERA – 3. CENOZOIC
warm-blooded animals such as the
marsupials like kangaroo and primitive
mammals roamed the land
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF EARTH’S
HISTORY
PHANEROZOIC EON
ERA – 3. CENOZOIC
fossils showed mammals with tooth
structures for specific diets, limb
structures for various postures, and
increased brain size
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF EARTH’S
HISTORY
PHANEROZOIC EON
ERA – 3. CENOZOIC
modern horse, modern birds and
deciduous trees existed
toward the end of this era glaciers
covered the Northern Hemisphere
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF EARTH’S
HISTORY
PHANEROZOIC EON
ERA – 3. CENOZOIC
humans left their marks on land
some of the earliest records of human
were stone tools
 EARTH’S HISTORY
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF THE RELATIVE
ORDER OR GEOLOGIC EVENTS
1. Principle of Original Horizontality
● sedimentary rocks are deposited as
horizontal or nearly horizontal layers.
● any deviation from horizontality indicates
that deformation occurs after the
deposition.
 EARTH’S HISTORY
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF THE RELATIVE
ORDER OR GEOLOGIC EVENTS
2. Principle of Superposition
● in the sequence of sedimentary rocks, the
layer at the bottom of the sequence is the
oldest, and the successively higher levels
are successively younger.
 EARTH’S HISTORY
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF THE RELATIVE
ORDER OR GEOLOGIC EVENTS
3. Principle of Cross-cutting Relationship
● Geologic features like faults or igneous
intrusions are younger than the cross
they cut across.
 EARTH’S HISTORY
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF THE RELATIVE
ORDER OR GEOLOGIC EVENTS
4. Principle of Inclusion
● if rocks or rock fragments are included
within another rock layer, the rock
fragments must be older than the rock
layer where they are embedded.
 EARTH’S HISTORY
RELATIVE DATING
● places events or rocks in their
chronological sequence or order of
occurrence without knowing their
actual age.
● one can find out which layer was
formed first relative to the other layers.
 EARTH’S HISTORY
RELATIVE DATING
● cannot tell exactly how
many years have passed
since the event happened.
 EARTH’S HISTORY

ABSOLUTE DATING
● places actual ages of rocks
and events.
● the technique used is based
on the decay rate of certain
radioactive isotopes within
fossils, rocks and artifacts.
 EARTH’S HISTORY

ABSOLUTE DATING

● with the knowledge of decay

rate, ratios of parent and
daughter isotopes, the absolute
date may be computed.
 P = Parent Isotope
D = Daughter Isotope
A fossil always will start with its 0 half life followed by the T1, T2 and so
on…
The parent isotope is decreased by 2 in each half life while the daughter
isotope increases.
Ex. Remember: the sum of P and D will always be equal to P of T0

Isotope T0 (0 half Lives) T1 (First half Life) T2 (Second Half Life)

Parent (P) 500P 250P 125P

Daughter (D) 0D 250D 375D

 EARTH’S HISTORY

FOSSILS: EVIDENCE OF PAST LIFE

● Fossil is a remnant
or trace of organisms
of past geologic age.
 EARTH’S HISTORY
CLASSIFICATIONS OF FOSSIL BASED
ON THEIR FORMATION
1. True form fossils
● the entire animals or plants trapped or
preserved in ice, tar, or other material such
as remains of prehistoric elephants or
mammoths that were frozen in the Arctic
tundra of Siberia and Alaska.
 EARTH’S HISTORY
CLASSIFICATIONS OF FOSSIL BASED
ON THEIR FORMATION
2. Mold fossils
● hollow impressions of a living thing in
a rock.
● the mold reflects only the shape and
surface marking of the organisms.
 EARTH’S HISTORY
CLASSIFICATIONS OF FOSSIL BASED
ON THEIR FORMATION
3. Cast fossils
● created when mold fossils get filled
with mineral.
● the minerals harden and form a
replica of the original fossil.
 EARTH’S HISTORY
CLASSIFICATIONS OF FOSSIL BASED
ON THEIR FORMATION
4. Trace fossils or ichnofossils
● impressions on rocks that showed
various activities
● can be footprints, eggs, droppings,
or nests of animals
 EARTH’S HISTORY
WILLIAM SMITH

● an English engineer and canal builder,

discovered that each rock formation in
the canal he worked on contained
fossils and noted that sedimentary
strata could be identified and
correlated by their fossil content.
 EARTH’S HISTORY
PRINCIPLE OF FOSSIL SUCCESSION

● states that fossil organisms

succeed one another in a definite
and determinable order, and,
therefore, any time period can be
recognized by its fossil content.
 EARTH’S HISTORY
INDEX FOSSILS

● fossils recognized as time

indicators used in correlating rocks
of similar age in different regions.
● associated with a particular span of
geologic time.
REMINDER: Chapter Test

Content
Knowledge - 15 points
Process - 10 points
Understanding - 5 points
TOTAL - 30 points