Earth’s History Quiz: Thursday, March 19, 2015
Geologic Time Scale (Webquest, in class timeline)
 When did Earth form? Other important dates/events
 How species changed over time (due to the atmosphere and Earth changing, started simple and became more complex)
 Ice cores: What are they? What can scientists learn from them?
Fossils: (Bill Nye video questions, “Getting Into the Fossil Record” online activity, etc.)
 Form in what type of rock? How do they form?
 Besides in rock, what other three substances can fossils form in?
 Who studies them?
 The fossil record- How do we use it? What does it tell us? (fossils helped scientists develop the geologic timescale)
 Body vs. Trace Fossils
 Explain WHY a turtle would fossilize better than a caterpillar
Relative age of rocks/fossils (based on layers) *this was on the last test!!
 Law of Superposition (oldest layers on the bottom, new layers form on top)
 Pictures with: igneous intrusions, faulting, folding, tilting, erosion, uplifting
o Put in order from oldest to youngest
Absolute age of rocks/fossils (based on radiometric dating)
 Radiometric dating: in class and homework problems
o use provided information and the “Percent of Parent Remaining” table to solve for the absolute age of a rock or
fossil sample
 Bracketing (on the “Radiometric Dating Information: notes)
o If a layer of sedimentary rock sits between igneous rock layers that we can determine the age of, we can estimate the
age of the sedimentary rock
 What is a half-life?
 Interpreting a chart of radioactive decay methods (we did this for SEVERAL P.O.Ds!)
I posted an “Earth’s History Practice Test” to Study Island that you can take to help you study!! Anyone who completes this practice
test by 10:00 PM Wednesday, March 18 will earn extra credit (based on your test score)!
Earth’s History Quiz: Thursday, March 19, 2015
Geologic Time Scale (Webquest, in class timeline)
 When did Earth form? Other important dates/events
 How species changed over time (due to the atmosphere and Earth changing, started simple and became more complex)
 Ice cores: What are they? What can scientists learn from them?
Fossils: (Bill Nye video questions, “Getting Into the Fossil Record” online activity, etc.)
 Form in what type of rock? How do they form?
 Besides in rock, what other three substances can fossils form in?
 Who studies them?
 The fossil record- How do we use it? What does it tell us? (fossils helped scientists develop the geologic timescale)
 Body vs. Trace Fossils
 Explain WHY a turtle would fossilize better than a caterpillar
Relative age of rocks/fossils (based on layers) *this was on the last test!!
 Law of Superposition (oldest layers on the bottom, new layers form on top)
 Pictures with: igneous intrusions, faulting, folding, tilting, erosion, uplifting
o Put in order from oldest to youngest
Absolute age of rocks/fossils (based on radiometric dating)
 Radiometric dating: in class and homework problems
o use provided information and the “Percent of Parent Remaining” table to solve for the absolute age of a rock or
fossil sample
 Bracketing (on the “Radiometric Dating Information: notes)
o If a layer of sedimentary rock sits between igneous rock layers that we can determine the age of, we can estimate the
age of the sedimentary rock
 What is a half-life?
 Interpreting a chart of radioactive decay methods (we did this for SEVERAL P.O.Ds!)
I posted an “Earth’s History Practice Test” to Study Island that you can take to help you study!! Anyone who completes this practice
test by 10:00 PM Wednesday, March 18 will earn extra credit (based on your test score)!