Geologic Time Table

Question 1

Involves vast amounts of times - millions or billions of years

Answer 1

Magnitude of geologic time

Question 2

Describes the processes in the geologic time

Answer 2

Gradual

Question 3

The basis of the division of the time scale

Answer 3

Life-forms

Question 4

Geologic time divisions called

Answer 4

Geochronological units

Question 5

Most life-forms found as

Answer 5

Fossils

Question 6

Divisions in the geologic time scale

Answer 6

Eons, eras, periods, epochs

Question 7

Longest subdivision; based on the abundance of certain fossils

Answer 7

Eons

Question 8

The four geologic eons

Answer 8

Phanerozoic, Proterozoic, Archaean, Hadean

Question 9

The four geologic eons collectively called

Answer 9

Precambrian

Question 10

Percentage that the Precambrian encompasses in the geologic time

Answer 10

about 88%

Question 11

Next to the longest subdivision; marked by major changes in the fossil record

Answer 11

Eras

Question 12

Three geologic eras

Answer 12

Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Cenozoic

Question 13

The basic unit of geologic time

Answer 13

Period

Question 14

Large interval units of time that encompasses smaller intervals of time

Answer 14

Periods

Question 15

Paleozoic meaning

Answer 15

Old Life

Question 16

Mesozoic meaning

Answer 16

Middle Life

Question 17

Cenozoic meaning

Answer 17

New Life

Question 18

Began with the breakup of one supercontinent and the formation of another; plants became widespread; vertebrate animals colonized the land; abundant ocean-dwelling organisms that required oxygen to live

Answer 18

Paleozoic era

Question 19

Six divisions of the Paleozoic era

Answer 19

Permian, Carboniferous, Devonian, Silurian, Ordovician, and Cambrian

Question 20

Major extinction; reptiles diversify

Answer 20

Permian period

Question 21

First reptiles, trees, seed ferns

Answer 21

Carboniferous period

Question 22

First amphibians; fish diversify

Answer 22

Devonian

Question 23

First vascular plants

Answer 23

Silurian

Question 24

Major diversification of animal life

Answer 24

Ordovician

Question 25

First fish, first chordates (animal with backbone)

Answer 25

Cambrian

Question 26

Pangaea stars to separate into

Answer 26

Laurasia and Gondwana

Question 27

Began approximately 250 million years ago after a major mass extinction

Answer 27

Mesozoic era

Question 28

3 subdivisions of the Mesozoic era

Answer 28

Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous

Question 29

Major event of the Mesozoic era

Answer 29

Breakup of Pangaea

Question 30

When Mesozoic era ended with a major mass extinction

Answer 30

66 million years ago

Question 31

Life forms that dominated the Triassic

Answer 31

Gymnosperms and ferns

Question 32

Seed-bearing plant that bears its seeds on the surface of cones

Answer 32

Gymnosperm

Question 33

Conifers and cycad forests dominate such as

Answer 33

Mosses and liverworts, gingkoes, palm-like cycads

Question 34

Reptiles in the Triassic

Answer 34

Icthyosaurs (4.5-9 m); Plesiosaurs (15 m); Pliosaurs (4-15 m)

Question 35

Dinosaurs dominate such as

Answer 35

Allosaurs, Diplodocus, Brachiosaurus, Stegasaurus

Question 36

Tiny animal of the mid-Jurassic; ancestor of placental mammals

Answer 36

Juramia

Question 37

Indicates that mammals evolved much earlier than previously thought

Answer 37

Juramia

Question 38

The breakup of Pangaea into separate continents was underway.

Answer 38

Cretaceous period

Question 39

The Cretaceous period dated back

Answer 39

135 million years ago

Question 40

Complete separation of Laurasia and Gondwana

Answer 40

Cretaceous period

Question 41

In the first half of the Cretaceous,

Answer 41

warm temperatures, low seasonality, and high global sea levels

Question 42

At the end of the Cretaceous,

Answer 42

severe climate changes, lowered sea levels, and high volcanic activity

Question 43

Dinosaurs that dominated in the Cretaceous

Answer 43

T.rex (carnivore), Triceratops (horned); Trachadon (duck-billed)

Question 44

Plants in the Triassic

Answer 44

Gingko, cycad, and conifer

Question 45

66 million years ago, a 10-km wide meteorite struct the Earth near what is now Mexico.

Answer 45

Meteorite impact theory

Question 46

The impact caused

Answer 46

Shock waves, tidal waves, a tremendous amount of dust into the atmosphere

Question 47

As the dust re-entered the Earth's atmosphere, it would have instantly heated the atmosphere which caused

Answer 47

forest fires

Question 48

Age of the mammals

Answer 48

Cenozoic era

Question 49

Cenozoic era dated when

Answer 49

65,000,000 years ago until the present

Question 50

Two periods of the Cenozoic era

Answer 50

Tertiary, quaternary

Question 51

The other term used to refer to the Cenozoic era

Answer 51

"Era of recent life"

Question 52

The time that the world took on its modern form

Answer 52

Cenozoic era

Question 53

Reptiles in the Cenozoic era

Answer 53

Rattlesnake, chameleon, desert tortoise, turtle, American alligator

Question 54

The epoch determined by its warm climate

Answer 54

Eocene epoch

Question 55

The oldest known fossils of the modern order of mammals appeared during this time period.

Answer 55

Eocene epoch

Question 56

Types of plants that became dominant in the Eocene epoch

Answer 56

Gymnosperms and angiosperms

Question 57

Major boundaries between geological divisions corresponded to

Answer 57

Extinction events in the fossil record

Question 58

O2 began accumulating in the atmosphere and rusting iron-rich terrestrial rocks.

Answer 58

2.7 billion years ago

Question 59

From 2.7 to 2.3 billion years ago, caused the extinction of many prokaryotic groups

Answer 59

:"Oxygen revolution"

Question 60

Groups adapted using

Answer 60

Cellular respiration