The Study of Earth’s History
Directions: Read the sections on pages 234 – 237 in your textbook ALOUD with your table group. Lab
facilitators may read or you may take turns reading. Answer the following questions together as you read
each section.
1. What is the “key concept”? ____________________________________________________
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The Early Study of Geology (1700s)
2. Who wrote Theory of the Earth? _______________________________________________
3. What is uniformitarianism? ____________________________________________________
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4. What are 2 examples of uniformitarianism? ___________________ ___________________
Uniformitarianism vs. Catastrophism
5. In Hutton’s time, how old did people think the Earth was? ___________________________
6. To explain Earth’s history, most scientists supported _______________________________.
7. What is catastrophism? _______________________________________________________
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8. What do YOU THINK would be an example of catastrophism? ________________________
9. Why did Hutton think catastrophism is the wrong theory? ___________________________
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A Victory for Uniformitarianism (1800s)
10.What were Charles Lyell’s books called? _________________________________________
11.What theory did Charles Lyell support? __________________________________________
Modern Geology – A Happy Medium
12.During the late 1900s, what scientist challenged uniformitarianism? ___________________
13.What do scientists today realize about the shaping of Earth’s surface? _________________
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14.Most geologic change is ________________________ and _______________________, but
catastrophes that cause _________________________ changes have also happened during
Earth’s history.
15.What catastrophe do scientists think caused the disappearance of the dinosaurs 65 million
years ago? ________________________________________________________
Paleontology – The Study of Past Life
16.Scientists study the rate of geologic change to get a picture of Earth’s past. They also study
the ________________________ that lived on Earth and the conditions in which they lived.
17.The science that deals with the study of past life is called ___________________________.
18.What data do paleontologists use? _______________________________________
19.What are fossils? ____________________________________________________________
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20.Where can fossils of sea life be found? _____________________________________ What
does this tell you about those places? ___________________________________________
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