Guide 7A Geologic Time
Products
Quiz, Media, & Portfolio Directions
Review Geologic Time Contents
Geologic Time Objectives
Precambrian
Describe how researchers study early earth, including stratigraphy and geochronology; and provide the approximate time span, geologic changes, and representative organisms of the Precambrian Supereon.
Phanerozoic
Provide the approximate time span, geologic changes, and representative organisms of the Phanerozoic Eon, including the Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic Eras; and tell the dinosaur story including evolutionary origins, structural features, major taxonomic groups, new avenues of research, and theories for their extinction.
Tentative & Durable
Explain how scientific knowledge can be both tentative and durable, providing examples of knowledge that exemplifies both of these characteristics; and diagram the common bones shared by vertebrates, including the significance of homologous structures in determining species relatedness.
Fossils
Demonstrate how a fossil forms and explain the types of information that can be determined from fossil evidence; and explain what a living fossil is and how the rate of change can vary in different species over time.
Geologic Time Quiz
Quiz Directions
Complete all four sections and take the quiz on Canvas.
Use the learning objectives above to guide your studying.
Geologic Time Media
Introduced in Phanerozoic section of this guide:
Geologic Timeline
Based on the information on this Phanerozoic Eon webpage and the previous Precambrian Supereon page, construct a timeline that shows the relative lengths of geologic time and representative organisms. This can be paper, digital, or other materials.
Include:
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The order and relative lengths of the Precambrian Supereon and its three Eons (Hadean, Archaen, Proterozoic) and the Phanaerozoic Eon and its three Eras (Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic.
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Indications of the approximate time (Eon or Era) when these organisms appear in the fossil record: earliest bacteria, cyanobacteria, eukaryotes (complex single cells), multicellular organisms, the first animals, fish, land plants, reptiles/amphibians, mammals/birds.
The Precambrian will be very long relative to the Phanerozoic Eon; you may need to have a creative way of looping the timeline. The eras are also different relative lengths.
This can be challenging, but an effective way to learn the order of geologic time. The time spans can be found through Wikipedia and other online sources. Be aware, they often don’t show the relative lengths, many illustrations shorten the Precambrian for convenience.
Media Directions
To be completed after taking the quiz on Canvas.
Once you have completed your geologic timeline in this guide, upload it to Canvas. Your timeline can be submitted as a PDF, a word document, a photo of the notes, or even a video. Multiple assignment formats are supported.
Animal Portfolio
Portfolio Directions
Continue adding your quiz answers and media pieces to the final animal biology portfolio. Match your work with one of the nine course learning outcomes. You can review the portfolio requirements here.
Geologic Time
If you would like to learn more about the topics introduced in this course, please visit the resources page.
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Module 7 Overview
This Guide
7A: Geologic Time