Roping geologic time randall richardson, the university of arizona after having talked about the geologic time scale, i ask for two volunteers from the class to hold a rope that is 50 feet long. Time, space, and energy phenomena can be observed at various scales using models to study systems that are too large or too small. Correlation establishing the equivalence of rocks of similar age in different areas. Apr 15, 2020 geologic time, the extensive interval of time occupied by the geologic history of earth. Geologic time activity compare geologic time to the length of a football field, which is 100 yards long. At gsa youll find the resources, confidence, and connections you need to reach fulfilling new heights in your geoscience career.
The geologic time scale is the calendar for events in earth history. Before you assign this activity, you may want to try it, depending on the age of the. Paper timeline today, you will create a scale timeline of earths history on a long sheet of adding machine paper scale. This activity allows students to practice matching significant events with the eon, era and period they occurred in. It subdivides all time into named units of abstract time calledin descending order of durationeons, eras, periods, epochs, and ages. A big diference in age between two adjacent formations, such as a cretaceous sandstone overlying a cambrian limestone with ages determined from fossils contained in the rocks, or from radiometric dates indicates the presence of a time gap or. Using a short video and a handson group activity, this lesson plan aims to break down the geologic time scale. After making a relative time scale, assign dates to the events that you chose, so that it is an absolute time scale. The sweep of the minute hand around the dial twelve times from. Geologic time scale analogy friends of the james river park.
About the eras and periods that make up the geological timescalesome of the key geological and biological events over the last 4. Relate changes of earths organisms to divisions on the geologic time scale. Thousands and millions of years are used on a geological time scale. Listen to episode 12 on podbean, itunes, youtube, or your favorite podcast place.
Student participates minimally, is ontask 75% of class time. They are also directed to design a board game that would teach players about the geological time scale. To complete this exercise, you will need a roll of toilet paper preferably a roll with sheets, but any other will work, about onehalf hour before class to mark up your geologic time scale and about 510 minutes of class time. Each inb activity is designed to help students compartmentalize information for a greater understanding of the concept. Explain 1015 min students will be given a short inclass assignment to complete asking them questions about their timescales and the activity. To understand evolution, humans must think in units of time much larger than those we use to define our lives. Eon era period epoch date at boundary ma million years ago holocene neogene previously quaternary 0. The geologic time scale lays out the entire history of the earth, divided into eons, eras, periods, epochs, and ages. The authors have been at the forefront of chronostratigraphic research and initiatives to create an international geologic time scale for many years, and. Now lay the rope out in your classroom for the next part of the activity.
Geological timeline challenge paleontological society. The cretaceous period is a notable period in geologic history. This vast span of time, called geologic time by earth scientists, is difficult to comprehend in the familiar time units of months and years, or even centuries. Learners construct a geologic timeline the size of a football field.
Period a basic unit of the geologic time scale that is a subdivision of an era. The enumeration of those geologic time units is based on stratigraphy, which is the correlation and classification of rock strata. Triassic period the first geologic timespan within the mesozoic era, dating from 248206. After all, evolutionary change occurs too slowly to be measured in days, months, or years. Major mountainbuilding activity happened during this period. Remember, these events only show chronological order, not exact dates. After reading a passage about geological time and fossil evidence, earth historians write answers to six questions about what they learned. This is the time when an organism first appears in the fossil record and when it becomes extinct. The dot scale of geologic time is adapted from an idea by charly zuppann of the indiana geological survey, bloomington, indiana the kentucky geological survey is a research and publicservice center of the university of kentucky. They work in small groups to calculate the yardage for significant events in the earths history and then as a class pace out all of the events.
The chinle formation in the painted desert began forming over 200 million years ago. This is a crosscurricular stem activity to help students visualize the immense amount of time needed for certain evolutionary events to take place. Have the students walk with you to when rocks first appear on. In this pack you will find information and activities to help your class grasp the concept of geological time, just how old our planet is. How then do scientists reckon geologic time, and why do they. Kentucky geological survey 228 mmrb, university of kentucky lexington, kentucky 405060107 phone.
If your students are not familiar with the geologic time scale, relative dating, or absolute dating, have them perform this short activity. Then, cut out the printed events and arrange these events along your time scale according to their date. The authors have been at the forefront of chronostratigraphic research and initiatives to create an international geologic time scale for many years, and the charts in this book present the most upto. A time span on the geologic time scale beginning about 65.
Explanations of stability and change in natural or designed systems can be constructed by examining the changes over time and forces at different scales, including the atomic scale. Geologic time activity worksheet ottawa hills high school. The study of the geological time scale is necessary to every student of earth and other sciences. The geologic time scale and sequence of geologic events sc.
Index fossils activity geologic time scale with index fossils. A football field is not necessary but makes this activity a lot more engaging for students. Rather than include all of that information here, you can either use a textbook or online resource as a guide, or you can allow the illustrator ahem to do most of the work for you. In map view, when the bottom of one formation is in contact with two or more underlying formations, the contact is an angular unconformity.
Students will use their knowledge of earth science to answer questions about the geologic time scale. I personally have my kids assemble their timelines and then use their completed timelines on the quiz as an open book okay, open timeline quiz. The geologic time scale is roughly divided into four major erasprecambrian, paleozoic, mesozoic, and cenozoic. It includes independent tasks, opportunities for questioning and summary activities to examine progress. Student is ontask 90% of time, working positively towards completion of assignments.
A geologic time scale article pdf available in newsletters on stratigraphy 452. Divisions of geologic time major chronostratigraphic and. Many scientists also find it instructive to note the time period when certain groups of organisms were most abundant or were dominant. Geological timeline activity significant developments and extinctions of plant and. Over these billions of years since earths formation, layers upon layers of rock, called rock strata, have been piling up. This episode, we discuss the history of our planet, and how scientists have converted the complex rock record into the iconic geologic time scale. Joe gillman the age of the earth on the geological clock, the age of the earth is represented by the 12 hours on the face of the clock.
Students also have a chance to practice the math concept of proportions. The life and landscape around you are the products of change through geologic time. A time span on the geologic time scale between the precambrian and mesozoic eras. Gsa geologic time scale geological society of america. To place all the scattered pages of earth history in their proper chrono. Modern geologic time scales also include the hadean eon 4. Geologic time scale missouri geological survey fact sheet number 12 112016 missouri geological survey director. In part b of the activity you will construct a time line that is a scale model of the time scale that will show. Geologic time scale not to scale eon era period epoch age events phanerozoic cenozoic quarternary holocene 10 ka pleistocene 1.
The shapes of bird eggs a major analysis of bird eggs reveals that egg shape. In this activity, students in groups of three will construct a vertical representation of a geologic time scale and research facts, events, and organisms that differentiate between time scale eras, periods, and epochs. Understanding geologic time geologic time activity worksheet. Students also have a chance to practice the math concept. The geologic time scale lesson includes a powerpoint with activities scattered throughout to keep the students engaged. Geologic time scale activity lets make a scaled timeline of earth history. Near middle of page teacher resources page with activities. Informative project for ess regarding the geoligical time scale, and the beginning of earth itself. Pdf while studying the physical geography of the earth, it is necessary to. Explain how geologic time can be divided into units. Students recreate and comprehend the geologic time scale. Geologic time scale 2012 publication arthur holmes, the father of the geologic time scale once wrote holmes 1965, p.
Understand the scale of earth history in relation to human timescales. Using studentcreated metaphors to comprehend geologic time. Geologic time scale events activity flashcards quizlet. Geologic time scale south carolina aquarium online. Example time scale relative time scale absolute time scale i was born. I say that one end is the beginning of the earth 4. Formal geologic time begins with the archean eon 4.
Use the geologic time scale to the right to find the missing dates and fill in the blanks under the. This science printable challenges students to identify the era cenozoic, mesozoic, paleozoic, or precambrian in which each organism listed in the table first appeared on earth. Toilet paper analogy for geologic time activity collection. Scaling this large amount of time to our calendar year, each of the 12 months of the geologic calendar year represents 383 million years 4. Geological timeline activity manhattan beach unified. A scientific working group at an international meeting of geologists just recommended including it in the geologic time scale.
Visit the deep time web activity and the web geological time machine see part a above to find out the name of the geologic time period that corresponds to this year. Index fossils activity geologic time scale with index. Generally speaking, each year has 365 days, so each day represents 12. Significant developments and extinctions of plant and animal life can be shown on a geologic time scale. The students will also be interacting with their journals using inb templates for the geologic time scale. Students can be easily confused by the multiple divisions of the geologic time scale. See more ideas about earth science, earth science lessons and science lessons. Student is idle in class, does not distract others but does not participate. Be careful to mark down when that event began, not when it ended. Million years before present era, system, or event relative to a calendar year date time precambrian 4600 earth formed from planetary nebula 11 0.
To introduce students to the vastness of geologic time and the concept of scale. The geological time scale worksheet is suitable for 6th 9th grade. Objectivesby the end of this activity, students will be able to. Since publication of a chart showing divisions of geologic time in the seventh edition of the usgs guide suggestions to authors hansen, 1991, no other time scale has been officially endorsed by the usgs. Geologic time the earth is very old 412 billion years or more according to recent estimates.