Lesson 2.

20 The Geologic Time Scale

Earth Materials and Processes

Jayson C. Porras
Teacher
Objectives

At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:

• describe how marker fossils are used to define and

identify subdivisions of the geologic time scale; and

• describe how the Earth's history can be interpreted from

the geologic time scale.
Recall!
• Look around you. Everything you see, from the variety of
living organisms to the environment they live in, is the
product of changes that occur throughout geologic time.
• Do you want to know how we can get a glimpse of the
events that happened millions or even billions of years
ago?
The Geologic Time Scale
• When plants and animals die, their remains and imprints
are buried in rocks or sediments. These preserved
remains or traces are called fossils. Fossils are pieces of
evidence that life has happened in the past. Information
from these fossils are used to construct the geologic time
scale.

• The geologic time scale is a record of the geologic

history of the Earth. It is made up of time units that divide
Earth’s history based on the appearance or
disappearance of life forms (supported by fossil remains)
in specific times. This scale helps us to study and
interpret the history of life on Earth.
• As shown in the diagram below, the geologic time scale is
divided into hierarchical chunks of time. From largest to
smallest, this hierarchy includes eon, era, period, and
epoch. The last column, indicates millions of years ago, it
is represented by Ma which means mega-annum.

• An eon, the largest division of the geologic time scale,

spans hundreds to thousands of millions of years. There
are three major eons, the Archean, Proterozoic, and
Phanerozoic eons. The Phanerozoic eon is the one we
are in today.
• An era is hundreds of millions of years long. The three
major eras in the Phanerozoic eon are the Paleozoic,
Mesozoic, and Cenozoic eras. Mass extinctions mark the
boundaries between the eras. We are in the Cenozoic
era, which began 65 million years ago, after the extinction
of the dinosaurs.

• A period is tens of millions of years long. It is based on

the forms of life existing at that time. For instance, the
tertiary and quaternary periods comprise the Cenozoic
Era. The tertiary period is the beginning of the age of
mammals while the quaternary period is considered the
age of humans.
• An epoch is several million years long. It is the division of
the most recent periods. For example, the quaternary
period, which began with an ice age about 1.8 million
years ago, is divided into two epochs, the Pleistocene and
Holocene epochs. Each epoch has unique geography and
climate, so plants and animals that existed during those
times are unique to each epoch, too.
Learn about it!
• The subdivisions of the geologic time scale are identified
through marker fossils, or guide fossils. A marker fossil is
a fossil of a plant or an animal that existed for a relatively
short period of time. It helps geologists distinguish
between rock strata from different time periods.

• For a fossil to be considered as a guide, it should be

common, can easily be identified at the species level, and
should be distributed at many locations on the Earth.
Also, the shorter the life period of a fossil, the greater the
chances of correlating it with different sediments.
Learn about it!
• Primitive life forms existed on Earth during Precambrian
time and the Paleozoic era. They continue to evolve
through the Mesozoic Era and the current Cenozoic Era.
•
• The diagram below shows the significant events that
happened and the organisms that existed and became
extinct at different periods of time. These events became
clues to the evolving history of Earth through time.
Several theories were formed from these clues, such as
Darwin's theory of Natural Selection and the theories on
events that resulted in the extinction of dinosaurs.
Explore!
• Take note of your surroundings.
• How has the area where you live changed over geologic
time?
• How might it look thousands or millions of years ago?
• What are the plants and animals that are presently living
in your area?
• Do you think that the types of animals and plants have
changed much over time?
What do you think?
• Why is it important to study the events that happened and
the organisms that existed even before the dawn of man?
 Key Points
• Fossils are plant or animal impressions preserved in rocks that
provide evidence of life forms in the past.
• The geologic time scale is a record of the geologic history of
the Earth.
• Geologic time scale is divided into eons, eras, periods, and
epochs.
• Divisions within the geologic time scale are based on the
appearance or disappearance of organisms at specific times.
• A marker fossil is used to define and identify subdivisions of
the geologic time scale. It is a fossil of a plant or animal that
existed for a relatively short period of time.
Test Questions.

1. Which of the following does not belong to the major

divisions of the geologic time scale?
• A. era
• B. epoch
• C. period
• D. year
2. Which of the following are the characteristics of a fossil
that can be considered as a marker fossil?
• A. common, can be easily identified at the species level,
has a wide distribution
• B. common, can be easily identified at the species level,
has a narrow distribution
• C. common, can be easily identified with a common
family, has a wide distribution
• D. common, can be easily identified with a common
family, has a narrow distribution
3. In which of the following periods do humans most likely
evolved?
• A. Triassic period
• B. Tertiary period
• C. Jurassic period
• D. Quaternary period
4. Which of the following statements is not true about
fossils?
• A. Fossils are plant or animal impressions preserved in
rocks.
• B. Fossils provide evidence of life forms in the past.
• C. Fossils are made purely of rocks.
• D. Fossils are living organisms that existed in the past.
5. Which of the following statements is not true about the
geologic time scale?
• A. The geologic time scale is divided into eons, eras,
periods, and epochs.
• B. Divisions on the geologic time scale are based on the
evolutionary changes in organisms.
• C. The geologic time scale spans millions of years.
• D. The geologic time scale is made up of fossils remains.
6. Which of the following periods is the oldest in the
mesozoic era?
• A. Triassic period
• B. Jurassic period
• C. Cretaceous period
• D. Tertiary period
7. Which of the following organisms are matched with the
correct period in which they first existed?
• A. Triassic – first dinosaurs
• B. Devonian – first fishes
• C. Quaternary – first flowering plants
• D. Jurassic – first amphibians
8. In the table below, which fossil is most likely a dinosaur?

• ·X – It is a warm-blooded vertebrate animal that started to

exist on the latter part of the Mesozoic era and continued
to exist after the era
• Y – It is a cold-blooded vertebrate animal that roamed the
earth during the Mesozoic era and became extinct during
the last part of the era
• Z – It is a cold-blooded vertebrate animal that started to
evolve during the Paleozoic era

A. X C. Z
9. In the table below, which fossil is most likely a primate?
• X – It is a warm-blooded vertebrate animal that started to exist
on the latter part of the Mesozoic era and continued to exist
after the era
• Y – It is a cold-blooded vertebrate animal that roamed the
earth during the Mesozoic era and became extinct during the
last part of the era
• Z – It is a cold-blooded vertebrate animal that started to evolve
during the Paleozoic era
A. X C. Y
B. no fossil of a primate is described D. Z
10. In the table below, which fossil is most likely a primitive fish?
• X – It is a warm-blooded vertebrate animal that started to exist
on the latter part of the Mesozoic era and continued to exist
after the era
• Y – It is a cold-blooded vertebrate animal that roamed the
earth during the Mesozoic era and became extinct during the
last part of the era
• Z – It is a cold-blooded vertebrate animal that started to
evolve during the Paleozoic era
A. no fossil of primitive fish is described C. Z
B. X D. Y