Geological Timeline Activity printable pdf download

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Geological Timeline Activity

Significant developments and extinctions of plant and

animal life can be shown on a geologic time scale.

To understand evolution, humans must think in units of time much larger than those we use to define our

lives. After all, evolutionary change occurs too slowly to be measured in days, months, or years. Instead,

it's documented in layers upon layers of rock deposited over the course of 4.6 billion years.

The earth has been significantly altered during this time by climate swings, volcanism, drifting continents,

and other "earth shattering" events. These dynamic conditions, in turn, have influenced every living thing

that has inhabited the planet. Because of this, biology alone cannot fully explain the evolution of life on

our planet. It's necessary to include the physical sciences -- geology, chemistry, and physics -- in order to

understand the conditions in which life arose and evolved.

The story of life is told primarily by its victims. Scientists say that only one in a thousand species that

have ever lived survives today. The other 99.9 percent are extinct, gone forever. With few exceptions, the

lifespan of individual species is short by geological standards, on average between 2 and 10 million years.

No matter how well adapted a creature is to its environment, history has shown that even the most

dominant can be wiped away. Ironically, extinction is a springboard to other life. Even in the most

catastrophic of events, species survive and continue to evolve, often filling niches left by the victims.

Extinction is by and large a natural process in which species, groups, and even whole families of

organisms disappear. Background extinctions, which are ongoing throughout the history of life, eliminate

one family every million years or so. The more destructive and relatively sudden kind of extinction -- the

mass extinction event -- is caused by environmental influences and has a global impact on diversity. All

extinctions identified in this timeline are mass extinction events.

The geologic time scale we use to study the history of the earth and of it life forms is commonly referred

to as "deep time," and it's a concept perhaps as difficult to conceive as deep space. Can humans measure

deep time? Yes. Will we ever truly comprehend such immensity of time? Probably not. But to develop a

better understanding of evolutionary change in its proper historical context, we must try. This timeline

provides a framework for doing so.

Procedure to make a Geological Timeline of Major Events

1. Work in a group of four students.

2. Lay the adding machine tape on the floor where it won’t interfere with other students. Tape the

ends to the floor.

3. Within the first 20 centimeters in the top left corner:

a. Write a full heading – Geological Timeline, names in the group, date, and period

b. Underneath the heading, make a scale.

1 meter = 1 billion years

1 centimeter = 10 million years

1 millimeter = 1 million years

4. Measurement for the timeline will begin with “Today, Starting on the left side of the paper,

measure 20 cm to the right on the line, and make a vertical mark. Label this mark – Today

Today

5. Using the Major Events listed in Table 1, measure and write the major events on your geologic

time line.

6. Each student will answer the Analysis questions; however, you will turn in one timeline per group.

Geological Timeline Activity

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