Geologic Time

Geologic Time Scale

- Earth’s history is divided into different units of time based on such things as the different
lifeforms that lived only during that unit of time. This is called the geologic time scale.
- Subdivisions of Geologic Time
- The four main subdivisions of geologic time, in order from largest to smallest are:
Eon: very long
Era: long
Period: medium
Epoch: small
- Eon: This is when there are lots of certain types of fossils. It is the largest subdivision of time.
Each one covers hundreds of millions of years.
- Era: Different eras have very big differences in the type if fossils. The change between eras is
marked by catastrophic extinction events.
- Period: Different periods have differences in fossils that occur worldwide but are not as
significant as the differences between eras. Different periods are decided by the layer of rock
the fossils are found in.
- Epoch: Different epochs have some differences in lifeforms but these differences may not be
the same in every part of the world.

Four “Eras”
- The four major blocks of time that geological time is divided into are:
Precambrian Time (not an era)
Paleozoic Era
Mesozoic Era
Cenozoic Era

Organic Evolution
- Fossil records show that species have changed over time. This is organic evolution.
- Environmental changes can affect how likely an organism is to survive.
- Organisms that are not adapted to changes are less likely to survive or reproduce.
- Over time, this can cause changes to species.
- Most commonly, a species is a group of organisms that normally reproduce only with other
members of that group.
- For example, dogs are a species as they only mate with other dogs.
- Occasionally, two animals from different species can mate and produce offspring.
- For example, a lion can mate with a tiger to produce a liger.
- However, this offspring is unable to produce further offspring of its own.

Natural Selection
- Charles Darwin, following his trip around the world from 1831 – 1836, proposed the theory of
natural selection.
- This is a process where organisms which are better suited to an environment have a better
chance of surviving and reproducing.
- Darwin knew that organisms produce more offspring than can survive and they have to
compete for resources such as food.
- He also knew that there were often differences between different organisms within the same
species, and that these differences could help or hurt an organism’s chances of survival.
- The organisms that were better suited to the environment, lived longer and produced more
offspring.
- Organisms that were not suited would not live as long and produce fewer offspring.
- Gradually, there would be more organisms in the species with the characteristics that are
better adapted to the environment.
- Over time, Darwin said, this could cause a species to change over time.

Artificial Selection
- This is when humans breed domestic animals with certain desirable traits or characteristics to
create new breeds of animals such as dogs, cats, cattle, and chickens.

Trilobites
- Trilobites are small organisms with a hard outer shell.
- They range from 2cm to 7cm in length and 1cm to 3cm in width.
- Trilobites lived in the oceans for more than 200 million years.
- Trilobites that lived in different periods have different characteristics.
- Some species became extinct, while new ones evolved.
- Scientists can use these differences and changes to tell us about how trilobites from different
periods responded to changes in their environment.
- For example, the position of their eyes can tell us where they may have lived.
Eyes at the front of the head – Active swimmer
Eyes at the back of the head – Bottom dweller
Small / No eyes – Lived deeper than light could penetrate

Plate Tectonics
- Moving of Earth’s Plates to form mountains and close seas could have caused the extinction
of trilobites.
- This is what happened at the end of the Paleozoic Era when Earth’s continents came together
to from the one large landmass – the supercontinent Pangaea.

Precambrian Time
- Precambrian time is the longest part of Earth’s history, but the part we know least about.
- It lasted from around 4,540 million years ago to about 541 million years ago. (The numbers in
the book are a little different.)
- It ended with the Cambrian Period of the current eon and the “Cambrian explosion” which
saw profound changes in Earth’s life forms over a relatively short period time.
- We know so little because rocks from Precambrian time are buried so deep that they have
been changed by heat and pressure and fossils cannot withstand these changes.
- There are also very few fossils from this time as most organisms did not have hard parts (like
the trilobites exoskeleton) which makes it less likely for them to be preserved as fossils.

Early Life
- Many studies of early history involve stromatolites which are formed by cyanobacteria
colonies.
- Cyanobacteria are blue-green algae that first appeared about 3.5 billion years ago.
- Cyanobacteria used photosynthesis, during which oxygen was produced.
- This helped to change the Earth’s atmosphere.
- Also at this time, the ozone layer began to develop, protecting the Earth from ultraviolet rays,.
- Scientists hypothesize that it is these changes that allowed single-celled organisms to develop
into more complex organisms.
- Invertebrates (무척추 동물) appeared at the end of Precambrian time.

Unusual Lifeforms
- A group of unusual looking animals also existed in Precambrian time.
- The first fossils of which were found in the vecaran Hills in southern Australia.
- These animals are known as Ediacaran fauna. (p165)

Paleozoic Era
- Warm shallow seas covered large areas of land.
- Many lifeforms lived in the water.
- Some developed shells, making it easier to be preserved as fossils.
- Vertebrates also evolved during this era.
- The first vertebrates were like fish, and some were big enough to eat large sharks.
- Forests appeared in the Devonian Period and vertebrates began to adapt to life on land.
- Fish had lungs as well as gills.
- Amphibians might have evolved from ancient fish that had lungs and leg-like fins like the
Panderichthys.
- Being able to survive in oxygen-poor waters, made living on land possible.
- By the Pennsylvanian Period, some a amphibians evolved and laid eggs with a protective
membrane.
- This meant the eggs did not need to be laid in a wex`2t environment.
- These animals became reptiles. They also had a hard skin that prevented loss of fluids. This
allowed them to survive farther from water in dry climates.

Mountain Building
- Mountain ranges such as the Appalachians in the USA were formed in the Paleozoic Era as
continental plates collided with volcanic islands or each other.

End of an Era
- More than 90% of marine species and 70% of land species became extinct at the and of the
Paleozoic Era.
- This may have been because of a change in climate and lower sea levels.
- The mountain building caused seas to close and deserts to spread.
- Middle and Recent Earth History

The Mesozoic Era

- Dinosaurs lived at this time.
- There were rapid movements in the earth’s plates.
The Breakup of Pangaea
- Pangaea broke up into two land masses in the Triassic Period.
- They were Laurasia and Gondwanaland.
- During the Mesozoic Era these started to break up into the continents we have today.
- Reptiles became the most noticeable type of animal on land in the Mesozoic era.

Dinosaurs
- The first, smaller, dinosaurs appeared in the Triassic Period.
- Larger dinosaurs appeared in the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods.
- In the Mesozoic Era new species of dinosaurs evolved while others became extinct.
- By studying fossils of footprints, we can calculate how fast they walked or ran.
- The Gallimimus could run at 65km/h
- Some studies show that dinosaurs may have been war-blooded and not cold-blooded like
reptiles today. They may have been more similar to mammals and birds.

Good Mother Dinosaurs

- Fossil records also show dinosaurs nurtured their young and travelled in herds to protect them.
- Maiasaura built nests to lay eggs and raise its offspring.

Birds
- Birds appeared in the Jurassic Period
- They may have evolved from small, meat-eating dinosaurs.
- The first bird was the Archaeopteryx. It had wings and feathers as well as other features that
are not shared with modern birds.

Mammals
- Mammals first appeared in the Triassic Period.
- The earliest mammals were small mouse-like creatures.
- Mammals are warm-blooded vertebrates with hair whose mothers produce milk.
- This allows them to survive changing environments.

Gymnosperms
- Gymnosperms are plants that first appeared in the Paleozoic Era that produce seeds but no
flowers, like pines and gingko trees.

Angiosperms
- Angiosperms are flowering plants that first evolved in the Cretaceous Period. They produce
seeds with hard coverings, which allows them to survive in many environments.
- Angiosperms include magnolia and oak trees.

End of an Era
- The Mesozoic Era ended with mass extinction of species both on land and in water, including
dinosaurs.
- It is believed a comet or asteroid collided with Earth causing a large dust cloud that blocked
out the Sun, which caused many, but not all, species to become extinct.
- All organisms today are descendants of those that survived this extinction event.

The Cenozoic Era

- Cenozoic means “recent life”. Paleozoic means “ancient life” and Mesozoic means “middle
life”.
- It began 65 to 66 million years ago and continues today. (It is the era we are living in).
- Cenozoic Era
Many mountain ranges began to be formed
Climate became much cooler
Ice ages occurred
Paleogene, Neogene and Quaternary Periods
- All of Earth's written history has occurred in the Holocene Epoch of the Quaternary Period.

Times of Mountain Building

- Mountain ranges that were formed include the Himalayas in Asia, the Alps in Europe, and the
Andes in South America.
- The Himalayas formed as India moved northward and collided with Asia, Pushing the land up
into mountains.

Flora
- The great diversity of modern-day flora is a result of the explosive expansion of the
angiosperms (flowering plants) that began during the Late Cretaceous.
- As differences in climates increased, flora became more and more provincial. - own unique
type for their special region
- Deciduous angiosperms became more common in colder regions, whereas evergreen varieties
prevailed in the subtropics and tropics.

Fauna
- Expanding grass lands favored grazing animals (horses, camels, deer, elephants)
- Many mammals became larger, wh.ile others evolved to live in the sea (whales, dolphins)
- As landmasses broke up many species became isolated and evolved separately from other
parts of the world (Australia).
- This is why today Australia has many animals that don’t exists anywhere else in the world.
- These include marsupials which are mammals that carry their young in a pouch, ex)
kangaroos, wombats, koalas, and quokkas.

Humans
- Homo erectus lived between 0.4 million and 1.9 million years ago.
- Homo sapiens (modern humans) emerged in Africa around 300,000 years ago.
- Humans have caused the extinction of other mammals by competing for food and hunting
them.
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Multi-celled organisms
- Any living thing made up of more than one cell. ex) Humans, Onions, Cats, Flowers
- Cell division is used for growth and development, repairing and healing by replacing old cells
with new ones.

Single-celled organisms
- Any living thing made up of just one cell.
 ex) Amoeba, Bacteria, Algae, Fungi, Yeast
- Cell division is used for Asexual reproduction.
- Some cells divide more often than others
ex) cells in the embryo, skin cells and blood cells.
- Other cells divide rarely, or never at all.
ex) nerve cells, brain cells, cardiac cells. skeletal muscle cells.
- Two types of cell division
Mitosis – The division of somatic cells
Meiosis – creation of new germ cells
- Somatic cell
- A body cell (Soma is the Greek word for ‘body’)
- Genes will not be passed on to future generations.
- Germ cell
- A cell that will become a gamete (sperm or egg)
- Genes can be passed on to future generations.
- Diploid
- A cell with two chromosome sets in each of its cells
- All body (somatic) cells are diploid
- Haploid
- A cell with one set of chromosomes in each of its cells.
- All gametes (sperm, eggs) are haploid.

Cell cycle
- A typical cell goes through a process of growth and development, and reproduction called the
cell cycle.
- Most of the cycle is called interphase.
- The longest phase in the cell cycle is called interphase.
- Three stages of interphase:
- G1 – Growth 1
Cell creates organelles and begins metabolism
- S – Synthesis of DNA
Copies of chromosomes are made
- G2 – Growth 2
Cell grows in preparation for division

Mitosis
- During mitosis, the nucleus of the cell divides, forming two nuclei with identical genetic
information.
- The original cell no longer exists, only the two new daughter cells.
- The daughter cells are identical to each other, and identical to the original cell.
- Four stages of mitosis:
Prophase
Metaphase
Anaphase
Telophase
Prophase
- The cell begins the process of division.
- The chromosomes condense.
- Nuclear envelope disappears.
- Centrioles divide and migrate to opposite poles of the cell.

Metaphase
- The spindle fibers attach themselves to the centromeres of the chromosomes and align the
chromosomes at the middle of the cell.

Anaphase
- Spindle fibers shorten and the centromere splits separating the chromatids.

Telophase
- Last phase of mitosis
- Chromosomes migrate to opposite ends of the cell
- Two new nuclear envelopes form
- Chromosomes uncoil.

Cytokinesis
- The Cytoplasm of a single cell divides into two daughter cells.
- Not a phase of mitosis but a necessary process for completing cell division.

Results of Mitosis
- A nucleus is divided and two identical nuclei are produced with same number and type of
chromosomes.
- Every cell in you body, except sex cells, has a nucleus and 23 pairs of chromosomes.
- Cell division allows growth and replacement of damaged cells.

Reproduction
- How an organism produces other of its same kind.
- Sexual:
(usually) requires two organisms
New organism is different from parents
- Asexual:
New organism is produced from one organism.
New organism’s hereditary material (DNA) is identical to parent organism’s hereditary
material.

Cellular Asexual Reproduction

- Organisms with eukaryotic (has a nucleus) cells asexually reproduce by mitosis and cell
division. – Many plants can reproduce asexually.
- Organisms without a nucleus cannot do mitosis. ex) Bacteria

Fission
- Bacteria reproduce asexually by fission.
- Still results in two identical organisms.
Budding
- A type of asexual reproduction made possible because of mitosis and cell division.
- A new organism grows from the body of the parent organism.
- When the bud on the adult becomes large enough, it breaks away to live on its own.
ex) Hydra, Corals, (some) Sponges, (some) Flatworms, and Yeast

Regeneration
- The process by which an organism regrows damaged or lost body parts using mitosis.
ex) Sponges, Starfish, Hydra, Jellyfish, Planaria (a type of flatworm)
- Can use regeneration for asexual reproduction, too.

Sexual Reproduction and Meiosis

- Sexual reproduction is when two sex cells (Egg and Sperm) some together.
- Also called Gametes / Germ cells
- The sperm fertilizes the egg.

Sex Cells
- The sperm are formed in the male reproductive organs.
- The eggs are formed in the female reproductive organs.
- The cell that forms is called a zygote.
- After fertilization, mitosis occurs and the organism grows.

Mitosis vs. Meiosis

- Mitosis starts with diploid cells and creates more diploid cells.
- Mitosis divides the nucleus once.
- Meiosis starts with diploid cells and creates haploid cells.
- Meiosis divides the nucleus twice.

Meiosis
- How sex cells are made.
- Two divisions of the nucleus:
Meiosis I
Meiosis II
- Before it happens:
- Interphase:
Growth
DNA duplication

Prophase I
- Each duplicated chromosome comes near its similar chromosome.

Metaphase I
- The pairs of duplicated chromosomes line up in the middle of the cell.
- The chromatids do NOT separate in Anaphase I
- Instead, the pairs of chromosomes will eventually be separated.

Anaphase I
- The two pairs move away from each other to opposite ends of the cell.
- Each duplicated chromosome still has two chromatids. (Still look like Xs)

Telophase I
- The cytoplasm begins to divide
- Two newly formed nuclei.
- Cytokinesis happens after this phase.
- Each new cell has one duplicated chromosome from each similar pair.

Meiosis II
- The Two new cells will further divide, resulting in 4 sex cells.
- has one-half the number of chromosomes in its nucleus that was in the original nucleus.
ex) One diploid human cell with 46 total chromosomes will result in 4 haploid cells with 23
chromosomes each.

New sex cells

- The new sex cells are not only unique from the original cell they came from, but they are also
unique from each other.

Mistakes in Meiosis
- Sometimes the chromosomes don’t separate correctly during Meiosis.
- This is called nondisjunction.
- This results in cells with too many or too few chromosomes.

DNA
- Deoxyribonucleic Acid contains information for an organism’s growth and function.
- The shape looks like a twisted ladder called a double index.
- Each side of the ladder is made up of sugar-phosphate molecules.
- The back bone of the DNA strand is made from these alternating phosphates and sugars.
- The rungs of the ladder are made up of other molecules called nitrogen bases.
- 4 kinds of nitrogen bases:
Adenine (A)
Guanine (G)
Cytosine (C)
Thymine (T)
- The amount of cytosine in cells always equals the amount of guanine.
- The amount of adenine always equals the amount of thymine.
- These bases always pair together
A-T
C-G

Copying DNA
- DNA is copied before Mitosis or Meiosis.
- HOW?
The two sides of DNA unwind and separate.
Each side then becomes a pattern on which a new side form.

Genes
- A section of DNA on a chromosome.
- Hold the instructions for making a specific protein.
- Most of your characteristics depend on the kinds of proteins your cells make.
ex) hair color, height, how things taste

Transcription
- The first step in getting from a gene to a protein.
- Takes place in the nucleus.
- The information stored in a gene’s DNA is transferred to a similar molecule called
RNA(ribonucleic acid)

RNA
- RNA is different to DNA. If DNA looks like a ladder, RNA looks like a half a ladder.
- RNA has the bases A, G, and C like DNA, but has the base Uracil (U) instead of thymine (T),
so A “matches” with U instead of T.
- The three main kinds of RNA are messenger RNA (mRNA), ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and
transfer RNA (tRNA).

mRNA (messenger RNA)

- Contains the information for making a protein.
- It carries the information, or “message”, from the DNA out of the nucleus into the cytoplasm.

Translation
- The second step in getting from a gene to a protein.
- Takes place in the cytoplasm
- The mRNA interacts with a specialized complex called a ribosome (made of
rRNA[Ribosomal RNA])

Ribosome
- “reads” the sequence of mRNA bases
- Each sequence of three bases, called a codon, usually codes for one particular amino acid.
- Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins.

tRNA
- Transfer RNA assembles the protein, one amino acid at a time.
- Protein assembly continues until the ribosome encounters a “stop” codon (a sequence of three
bases that does not code for an amino acid).

Gene Mutations
- A permanent change in the DNA sequence that makes up a gene.
- Usually harmful, causing death.
- Some times do not have any effect.
- Some can be beneficial.
- Gene mutations can be classified in two major ways:
Hereditary mutations: inherited from a parent and are present through out a person’s life in
virtually every cell in the body.
Acquired mutations: occur at some time during a person’s life and are present only in certain
cells, not in every cell in the body.