1) Explain why Earth and other planets were not solid when they formed during the
beginning of the Precambrian, approximately 4,600 million years ago (MYA). What was
this particular time period called, and why is this time period not really considered a part of Earth’s geological history?
A: The beginning of the Precambrian is known as the Hadean era. The planet had just been born and it was boiling hot. Volcanoes exploded all over the place, there were constantly rocks and asteroids shooting down from space, Due to the way the solar system was created / formed and the planets were constantly crashing in to each other. Also this time period is not apart of geological history because the earth was still molten then and geological process hadn't started yet.
2)Describe the two most important events in the history of animal life that occurred at the
beginning and at the end of the Paleozoic era. (2 pts) List and briefly outline the six different periods into which the Paleozoic era is divided. (6 pts)
A:In the beginning of the palezoic era, there was a enormous increase in diversity in multicelled animals. At the end of the era, the complete oppsite happened, instead of increasion in an animal species, there was an extreme decrease - almost all the marine animals became extinct.
The six periods:
1)Cambrian (545 million years ago)
2) Ordovician (490 million years ago)
3)Silurian (445 million years ago)
4)Devonian (415 million years ago)
5) Carboniferous (355 million years ago)
6)Permian (290 million years ago)
3)Describe how the Triassic period was a transitional time period during the Mesozoic era. Explain why the boundary between the Triassic and Jurassic periods is similar to the boundary between the Permian and Triassic periods.
A:
During the Triassic period, the seafloor began to move around; it separated some of the land-including Pangaea. Also during that period, the first stony corals began to develop, which helped marine life.
The Permian and Triassic period are similar because of the movement of the seafloor and the advancement to land/marine life.
4)Recall from previous activities in this lesson which era is sometimes referred to as the Age of Mammals. Locate and click on this section of the geologic time scale, and list the other possible names that could have been used to describe this era, and why.
A:The Cenozoic is the age of mammals.
Recall from previous activities in this lesson which era is sometimes referred to as the
Age of Mammals. Locate and click on this section of the geologic time scale, and list the
other possible names that could have been used to describe this era, and why.
Other possible names to describe the Cenozoic could be:
“The age of life forms”
“The age of snakes”
“The age of proliferation”