The History of life on Earth Fill in notes

The geologic timescale This is the ___________________ that scientists use to outline the history of life on

earth Scientists have used _____________ and the _____________ record to determine this

historyo They have determined the age of the earth to be _________________ years old

______________________ Evidence helps them divide this time in to eras which are ______________ by a particular type of organism.

_____________extinctions are also used to divide eras Mass extinctions are times when almost all forms of life becomes

_______________________

Earth changes The earth does not remain_________________________________ Throughout its history, the earth has had changes in temperature, oxygen content, volcanic

activity, and more Super continents

o Throughout the earth’s history, there have been several times that all the continents were joined into______________________

o This is because the continents move as the earth’s crust moves.

Eras of the Geologic TimescalePrecambrian

From_______ billion years to around _____________ million years agoTimeline of the events in the Precambrian Era

o At the beginning the earth was very_________________ than it is today- the atmosphere was made up of gasses of carbon dioxide, water vapor, and nitrogen- __________________________ was present!

o The earth also endured many ______________ eruptions and violent storms.o Life_________________ on earth during this time (3.5 billion years ago)o The _____________ organisms were ______________that did not need oxygen to

survive.o During this time______________ appeared and began producing _____________ using

photosynthesis. This oxygen formed the ____________ layer which protects us form the sun,

and provided atmospheric oxygen that allowed organisms that need oxygen to survive.

_____________________ appeared about 1 billion years ago

Paleozoic Era Began around_________ million years ago and ended around ____________ million years ago Paleozoic comes from the Greek words meaning ________________ life

Timeline of the events in the Paleozoic Era Early fossils from the Paleozoic are rich with fossils from ________________ , ______________

snails, and squid _______________ the first animals with __________________ appeared during this era with

many ________________ appearing Around 470 million years ago___________________ , _______________ , ______________

began- first with plants, then fungi and air breathing animalso By the end of the era, _______________ major plant groups were on earth

________________ flowering plantso Fossils indicate that crawling _____________________ were some of the first animals to

live on land, followed by __________________ and ____________________o The _____________ mass extinction took place at the end of the Paleozoic Era

Mesozoic Era Began around _____________ million years ago and ended around ___________ million years

ago. Mesozoic comes from the Greek word meaning _____________ life

Timeline of the Mesozoic Erao Reptiles who survived the Permian extinction diversified and dominated the land thus

this era is known as the “age of ____________”o _____________ appeared during this timeo The first _____________________ also appeared during this Erao The largest mammals were only the size of miceo Another mass _______________________ occurred at the end of the Mesozoic era

which killed off the dinosaurs and many other organisms.Cenozoic Era

Began around ___________ until now Cenozoic comes from the Greek words meaning ____________________ lifeTimeline of events in the Cenozoic Era

The mammals that survived the Mesozoic extinction diversified and grew in sizeo This era is often called the age of ______________ because mammals have

dominated this erao Flowering plants ______________ as well as many new kinds of birds and insects

and other life o ___________________ appeared 200,000 years agoo Earth’s climate has_____________ many times during the Cenozoic Era including

several ______________

o The Cenozoic will eventually end when the earth undergoes another set of _______________________ though no one knows when this might be

When was that?Fill in the geological Eras with the letters of the events that occurred during that Era.

A. Prokaryotes formB. Cells with nuclei formC. Began 65.5 million years agoD. First bird appearE. Large mammals appearF. The ozone layer developsG. Dinosaurs dominate the earthH. Plants become established on landI. Crawling insects appear on landJ. Many reptile species appearK. Organisms suffer larges mass extinction everL. Began around 540 million years agoM. Cyanobacteria began producing oxygenN. Began 4.6 billion years agoO. Age of mammalsP. Mass extinction of dinosaurs

Precambrian Era

Paleozoic Era

Mesozoic Era

Cenozoic Era

Time Period Map

Day 2Archaeopteryx Fossil

Fossil FormationFill in notes

Just how do we know so much about the past?I. What is a fossil?

a. The preserved ____________________ or _______________ of an organism that lived in the past

II. Types of fossilsa. ____________________ fossil

i. Remains that are buried in sediment that ____________________ ______________ ___________________

ii. Minerals dissolved in the water __________________ the remains, such as bones and turn them into rock

b. ______________________ remainsi. Organisms that are preserved in substances ______________ sediment

ii. Examples1. Mammoths that died thousands of years ago are preserved in

_______________2. Insects preserved in ____________ _______________ (amber)

iii. This type of fossil may contain traces of ______________ and other substances that are not bone

c. ____________________ and _____________ i. Sometimes hard parts, such as shells and bones, are buried in sediments and

then gradually _____________1. This leaves an ________________ where the item dissolved.

ii. A mold is a hollow ________________ in sediment in the shape of an organism.iii. A cast is a _________________ of the shape of the organism that is made from

a mold.III. Determining the age of a fossil

a. Scientists must determine the age of fossils if they are to ______________ the history of life on erth

i. Scientists us two ways to determine fossil age: relative dating and radioactive (absolute) dating

b. ____________ datingi. Scientists use relative dating to determine which of two fossils is ___________

ii. They use the layers of rock in which fossils were found to help them 1. The ______________ rocks are near the top while _____________ rocks

are at the bottoma. Therefore, you find more recent fossils _________

____________ of older fossilsiii. Relative dating can only be used when rock layers are _____________________iv. Relative dating does not tell scientists the ______________ __________ of a

fossilc. ______________ dating

i. This allows scientists to determine the actual age of a fossilii. Rocks contain certain ______________ elements, which break down over time.

Scientists use the amounts of these radioactive elements to determine the age of the rocks and fossils

IV. What do fossils tell us?a. ___________________ organisms

i. We are able to __________ about animals that no longer exist by looking at their fossils

b. The geologic time scalei. Scientists use the relative and radioactive dating techniques to discover when

certain organisms lived and died- this allows them to determine what happened during periods of time and to separate time periods by what happened in them.

Fossil activity

6 envelopes with dinosaur bones in them – cut into pieces

Groups of 3-4 will work together. Each group gets an envelope of bone

Step 1: Pick out 3 bones

Step 2: answer questions1. Can you tell how the pieces go together2. What does the animal look like3. Did the animal live on land or water4. Was the animal a carnivore or a herbivore5. Explain what information you based your answers on

Step 3: repeat steps 1-2 until organism is complete

Day 3

Darwin video by national geographic channelhttp://natgeotv.com/uk/dawkins-darwin-evolution/videos/darwin-evolution-natgeo

Darwin fill in notes on next page

Who was Charles DarwinFill in notes

1. The world around Darwina. Charles Darwin was born in____________

i. Important things that happened in 18091. Robert fulton patented the _____________2. _____________ is head of france3. Jean-Baptiste _____________ published his views on evolution4. Edger allen ________ and Abraham Lincoln were __________

ii. The 19th century was the first century in which ___________ was a ______________

1. William Whewell first used the term ________________ in 18332. Many new scientific discoveries were being made by people such as

Louis ____________ and Thomas ________________ - as well as by many famous chemists and physicists

2. Who was Charles Darwin?a. Darwin was the _______ of six children of a country doctorb. Darwin was expected to become a ________ like his father and grandfather

i. He became a apprentice doctor in 1825 and enrolled in the university of Edinburgh in the field of __________________

1. He disliked surgery and neglected his ___________2. He became interested in studying nature – known as a ______________

ii. Darwin enrolled in the university of Cambridge after two years in medicine- he planned on becoming a ______________

iii. While at Cambridge, Darwin became interested in the competitive world of _____________, which led him to enroll in a course on _______________

1. This course helped him develop his love for science and his interest in the ______________________

a. This also caused him to neglect his studies and when finals came around he only performed well on his____________ exam

2. After graduation, he was recommended for the trip aboard the HMS __________ - his father though it a waste of time, but in the end he was allowed to go

3. Journey on the HMS Beagle a. The Beagle was supposed to survey the ______________ of south America- this journey

ended up taking _____ years and also took the ship to _______________ b. During the five years, Darwin studied ___________________, ______________, living

organisms, and people of south Americac. He also _______________ many organisms, most of which were ______________ to

science at that time.i. This ensured his fame as a ______________

d. Darwin studied many ____________ species of organisms including several species of _____________ on the _________________ islands

4. The Galapagos Islandsa. The Galapagos islands are a series of islands in a _____________b. On these islands, Darwin saw several ________________ species of finches,

mockingbirds, and tortoises.c. He realized that these animals must have originally come from ____________

___________ but some were __________ found on the continentd. Darwin saw ________ species of finches on the islands – all were similar ________for

___________ ___________ and eating habitsi. He also noticed that these finches were ______________ ___________ to one

species he had seen in south America5. Darwins other observations

a. Darwin grew up on a ___________ and noticed the animals around him- each one was selectively bred for certain _____________

i. This is especially true with horses- __________ horses are bred to be fast- this means that breeders choose ________ parents in order to breed a fast horse

ii. People have been____________ choosing traits they want together 1. Look at dog _________ and _________

iii. Darwin theorized that nature may work in the same way- certain characteristics are _________ for _________

iv. Using his observations from the trip on the Beagle and his observations of common animals on the farm, Darwin began to formulate his theory of __________ _________

Day 4

Bell ringerBird Beak Question Which of these bird beaks are for………..

1. Opening pinecones2. Ripping meat from bones3. Scraping plants from pond bottoms4. Sipping nectar5. Eating seeds6. Digging for insects

A) B) C)

D) E) F)

Natural Selection Activity

MaterialsShell macaroniGummy wormsSunflower seedsFruit loops

Feed plateStomach cupsBell

Tools/BeaksClothespinToothpickStrawSpoonTweezersScoop

ProcedurePut students into groups of 4-6Give each student a Beak and instruct them to put one hand behind their back while feedingGive each student a stomach cupPut food plates around the room

Once set up is complete, signal feeding time to begin by ringing the bell. Students will have 15 seconds to accumulate food, have them determine which tool is best for their food. Ring the bell to go to the next station. Repeat this until the students have been to each station

DiscussionDiscuss what happened to members when their tool was unable to pick up food. What happened when foods changed? Why might certain birds survive while others did not/ what would happen if only certain members survived. What would their offspring look like? What if the food was different on a different island? What might happen?

Natural selection Notesi. Definiton:

a. Natural selection _________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________

ii. The four steps of natural selection (describe each)a. Overproduction___________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

b. Variationas:______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

c. Competition:_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

d. Selection:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

iii. Forces behind natural selection (describe each)

a. Environmental change: ____________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

b. Genes and Natural Selection:________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________