Historical Geology with Lab
Lab 1: Geologic Time Scale
Major geologic time division
Time Period
Measurement on tape
PreCambrian Time
4,500 – 543 m.y.a.
Phanerozoic Time‐ Paleozoic Era
543 – 248 m.y.a.
Paleozoic Era – Cambrian Period
543 – 490 m.y.a.
Paleozoic Era‐ Ordovician Period
490 – 443 m.y.a.
Paleozoic Era‐ Silurian Period
443 ‐ 417 m.y.a.
Paleozoic Era‐ Devonian Period
417 – 354 m.y.a.
Paleozoic Era‐ Carboniferous Period
354 – 290 m.y.a.
Paleozoic Era‐ Permian Period
290 – 248 m.y.a.
Phanerozoic Time‐ Mesozoic Era
248 to 65 m.y.a.
Mesozoic Era‐ Triassic Period
248 – 206 m.y.a.
Mesozoic Era‐ Jurassic Period
206 – 144 m.y.a.
Mesozoic Era‐ Cretaceous Period
144 ‐ 65 m.y.a.
Phanerozoic Time ‐Cenozoic Era
65 m.y.a. ‐ today
Cenozoic Era ‐ Tertiary Period
65 – 1.8 m.y.a.
Cenozoic Era ‐ Quaternary Period
1.8 m.y.a. ‐ today
Suggestion: Start from the “TODAY” line and work your way back through Earth’s history.
b. Use the internet or your textbook to determine the time of each events in the list below.
Enter the age in m.y.a. in the space provided. Write down each of the following events on
your timeline using a marker.
i. Humans appear
_________
ii. First land plants
_________
iii. First fish
_________
iv. First flowering plants
_________
v. First dinosaurs, mammals
_________
vi. First birds
_________
vii. First multicellular organisms
_________
viii. The first prokaryote
_________
ix. First reptiles
_________
x. Extinction that wiped out approximately 95% of all species
_________
xi. Primates appear
_________
xii. First eukaryote
_________
xiii. First amphibians
_________
xiv. First insects
_________
xv. Oxygen starts to accumulate in atmosphere
_________
c. Draw in colored pencils an example of the major organisms to evolve for each
period. Lightly color each era a different color using colored pencils.
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