7.

1 Study Guide
1. How old is the Earth?
The Earth formed 4.55 Billion years ago
2. Describe the conditions of the Earth in the beginning.
The early Earth was a hot and molten place with no atmosphere
3. How did the moon form?
Around the same time, an asteroid as big as Mars hit the Earth and gauged out a
chunk that became the moon
4. Name the 4 geological eras.

Cenozoic
Mesozoic
Paleozoic
Precambrian

5. Which era lasted the longest?

Precambrian
6. In which era did life appear?
Precambrian
7. What was the name of the first life form?
Cyanobacteria
8. What special characteristic did this life form have that improved the
atmosphere?
The organisms could photosynthesize, putting oxygen into the atmosphere

9. Which era is known as the age of ancient life?

Paleozoic Era
10. How long ago did plants evolve?
400 million years ago (mya)
11. Where did our fossil fuels come from?
They came from the remains of dense forests of club moss, horsetails and ferns
that were common 300 mya
12. In what era were mountains formed?
The six Paleozoic
13. When Pangaea formed, what type of extinction occurred?
90% of all marine animal species
14. In what period did dinosaurs and mammals appear?
Mesozoic
15. In what period did the Rocky Mountains form?
Mesozoic
16. How long ago did the Cenozoic period arise?
65 million years, and counting (includes present time)
17. How did the Great Lakes form?
They formed as ice melts
18. How long has there been a recorded human history?
Less than 5,000 years old
19. Name 2 pieces of evidence that adds to the geological time scale.

 Radiometric Dating- this allows scientists to chemically prove how old

rocks and fossils are
Often, the boundaries between geologic time periods were marked by
mass extinctions
20. How long ago was Grandfather Mountain formed?
750-550 mya
21. Explain what Dr. Riggs discovered through his research of the outer banks.
He discovered that the Outer Banks have experienced numerous
disappearances and reformations within the last 12,000 years using
seismographs and sediment core analysis (combined with radiometric dating of
the cores)
22. What is the current human population?
7 Billion
23. Explain how the human population rise is impacting the Earth.
The human race uses the fresh water the Earth provides, and we need the food
that begins with plants, and we need the clean air to breathe, but as our
population grows, some scientists wonder if the Earth will be able to provide all
the needs of a growing human population.