Which era of geologic time was the longest?
HOLOCENE
PLEISTOCENE
PLIOCENE
MIOCENE
OLIGOCENE
EOCENE
PALEOCENE
To determine which era of geologic time was the longest, we need to compare the durations of each era.
The geologic time scale divides Earth's history into different eras, so we'll start by looking at each era's duration:
1. The Paleocene era lasted approximately 9 million years.
2. The Eocene era lasted approximately 22 million years.
3. The Oligocene era lasted approximately 23 million years.
4. The Miocene era lasted approximately 19 million years.
5. The Pliocene era lasted approximately 5 million years.
6. The Pleistocene era lasted approximately 2.6 million years.
7. The Holocene era is the current era and has lasted approximately 11,700 years (up to the present day).
From the durations mentioned above, we can see that the Holocene era has been the shortest so far. Therefore, the Pleistocene era was the longest era of geologic time.
To determine this, we relied on the findings and research of geologists who study the Earth's history. This information is collected through various methods, including radiometric dating, paleontological analysis, and stratigraphic principles.