ASTRONOMY
HOW THE EARTH WAS MADE
MURCHISON
1) _______________________ (country) was where the rocky outcropping that changed the study of geology.
2) ________________________ is the father of modern geology.
3) The accepted version of how the Earth was created came from the ______________________.
4) Archbishop Usher decreed that the Earth was ____________ years old and created on the afternoon of
____________________ (date)
World of Fire
5) The Earth was formed from the collisions of ___________________ and other space _______________ left
over from the formation of the __________________________.
6) Temperatures on proto-Earth exceeded ________________ degrees, similar to the surface of the
______________.
7) Kelvin used ______________________________ to calculate the age of the Earth.
8) 19th Century scientists were unaware of an important source of heat that was the result of
______________________ _____________________ of elements such as uranium and thorium.
9) _________________________ decays to lead.
10) Today, _____ __________________ years is the accepted age of the Earth. To those in the business, this is
known as __________________ _____________________.
11) Temperatures were so high, the surface of the Earth was _____________________.
12) Some of the oldest rocks found on Earth are located in ______________________ _________________
(country). They are called ___________________ lavas. They formed when lava solidifies
__________________________. This can still be seen taking place today in the ______________________
islands.
13) 4.4 billion years ago, the surface of the Earth began to _______________________ and a thin
______________ formed. ____________________ decay began to slow.
14) _____________________ crystals remain from this time period that contain trace amounts of uranium and
are used to date the age of the Earth.
15) __________________ __________________ was ejected into the atmosphere when rocks began to cool.
16) One theory states that the water for the oceans came from _______________________(rocks from space)
17) 4.1 billion years ago, _______________ vapor mixed with CO2 forming ___________________, which lead
to millions and millions of years of ___________________.
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19) Oceans were _________________ (color) because they were ___________________(metal) – rich.
20) The sky was saturated with _________________ (gas), making the sky appear _____________.
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18) 4.0 billion years ago, ______________ percent of the Earth’s surface was an ocean.
ASTRONOMY
HOW THE EARTH WAS MADE
MURCHISON
21) The average temperature on Earth at this time was ________________ degrees.
22) 3.4 billion years ago, the continental rocks began to form and were composed of
____________________(rock type).
23) Granitic rock (continental crust) is less ______________ than basaltic rock (oceanic crust).
24) Primative, __________________ - _____________________ organisms are believed to have always lived on
the thermal vents at the bottom of the ocean.
25) ______________________________ (organism) are the organisms responsible for producing the O2 that
accumulated in the atmosphere.
26) Stromatolites produce mounds that are ________ foot wide and __________ feet high.
27) Stromatolites use _____________ - energy to produce food (photosynthesis) and produce _______________
as a by-product.
28) 2.5 billion years ago, all beaches would have resembled _________________ _______________ in
Australia.
29) The oxygen dissolved into the _________________ (water) and _____________________ (air) causing
changes.
30) As the oxygen dissolved into the oceans, the oceans turned from green to _________________ (color).
31) The _________________ _________________ formations are the major source of iron production today.
Continental Movement
32) 1.5 billion years ago the Earth began to resemble the ___________________ we know _________________.
33) __________________ ___________________ (person) proposed the first theory of _________________
___________________.
34) in 1930, Wegner died from exposure because he lost his way in a ________________ ______________.
35) Evidence for plate tectonics came from a detailed map of the ____________________ _______________
produced by the US Navy during _______________ ______________ _______ (world conflict)
36) Plate tectonics is driven by the unequal heating of the Earth’s _______________________.
37) The fissure located in Iceland separates the _____________________ _____________________ plate and
the _____________________ plate.
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39) ________________________ was the name given to the first supercontinent.
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38) In one average life-time, Europe and North America will move _________ feet apart. The plates move at 2.5
cm per year, or the rate at which _________________________ grow.
ASTRONOMY
HOW THE EARTH WAS MADE
40) Rodina would have been a ______________________ (lifeless) continent.
MURCHISON
41) Rodina triggered ______________________ earth by blocking the currents that brought ________________
(temp) water from the ______________________ to the poles.
42) The ice reflected more of the _______________ light.
43) Oceans were once covered with ice sheets _________ mile thick. This caused a ______________ mass
extinction of a large number of organisms on Earth.
44) Vast ______________________ eruptions tore Rodina apart. _______________ released from the eruptions
created a temporary _______________________ effect.
45) The __________________________ shale is one of the most important fossil fields in North America.
46) ________________________ million years ago, life exploded with increasing diversity.
47) Oxygen levels became high enough to allow an _________________ layer to form. This allowed life to leave
the oceans because the ozone protected organisms from ____________________ rays from the sun.
48) The Okephenokee Swamp is believed to be an ________________________, a window into the past.
49) For 60 million years, dense _____________________ dominated the Earth.
50) ______________________is the fossilized evidence of this lush, swampy, environment
51) The second mass extinction was caused by a _______________________ eruption in present day Siberia
52) The new supercontinent that formed from the eruption was called ___________________.
53) CO2 and O2 levels rose, raising the temperature which lead to organisms becoming larger.
54) The average size of a dinosaur was larger than a _____________________ ______________________.
55) _____________________ is the largest diamond company in the world.
56) _____________________ is the name of the diamond bearing rock
57) 65 million years ago, ______________ percent of species on Earth disappeared
58) The _____________________ layer contains a high concentration of iridium, provided with evidence for a
large meteorite impact.
59) The meteor that hit Earth 65 million years ago was an estimated ____________ miles wide.
60) A massive ___________________ took place at the same time as the meteor strike.
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62) The whole human existence has taken place during a __________________ year warm period.
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61) Mammals began to flourish about _________ million years ago