Download SC.7.E.6.4 - Earth`s Evolution - I Do - Teacher(1)

Earth’s Evolution
& Rock Dating
• SC.7.E.6.4 EXPLAIN AND GIVE EXAMPLES OF HOW
PHYSICAL EVIDENCE SUPPORTS SCIENTIFIC
THEORIES THAT EARTH HAS EVOLVED OVER
GEOLOGIC TIME DUE TO NATURAL PROCESSES.
ESSENTIAL QUESTION:
What methods allow scientists to tell the
age of rocks and what does this tell us
about the Earth’s history?
Wednesday, April 6
•
Please open your journals to the notes you took during
your independent study
•
Come to the front…pick up a quiz that matches the
standard you covered during your independent study on
Monday
•
Complete the Quiz on the left side of your journal. You
may use the notes you took!
•
Return the Quiz paper to the front and place in the
correct pile!
•
Pick up, or ask for a sheet on Evolution of Earth.
Warm Up
Paleontologists discovered fish fossils in the
arid deserts of western Egypt. What does the
fossil evidence most likely indicate about this
area’s geologic past?
a)
The desert was once a vast ocean.
b)
A giant ocean wave carrying sea life crashed
onto the desert.
c)
Mountains in the region once provided water
from snowmelt.
d) The
area was moved from the ocean to the
desert by plate tectonics.
I Do Guided Notes
Relative Dating:
Determining
the order of
past events,
but NOT
exact dates.
The Law of Superposition
• In
horizontal
layers of
sedimentary
rock, each layer
is older than
the layer above
it and younger
than the layer
below it.
Relative Dating Fossils
Younger fossils will
be found in the top
layers of rock.
Older fossils will be
found in the bottom
layers of rock.
Folding:
The bending of rock layers due to
pressure.
Faulting:
The breaking of rock layers by transform fault
lines.
•
The arrow shows where
a fault line
(earthquakes) moved
the rock layers. When
did this happen?
Absolute Dating:
Finding the approximate age of a
rock using the radioactive atoms
inside them.
Radioactive Dating
• Certain
elements decay (break down) at
certain rates.
(Ex. Carbon 14, Uranium)
• Scientists
know how long certain atoms
take to decay.
• They
compare the amount of atoms left to
the beginning amount to calculate its age.
Earth’s Age
• Using
radioactive dating,
scientists have identified rock as
old as 4.28 billion years old.
• With
this evidence and more, the
approximate age of the Earth
has been calculated as 4.5 billion
years old.
Earth’s Evolution
• The
Earth’s surface has been
slowly but constantly changing in
all of that time.
• Earth used to be covered by a
supercontinent named Pangea.
Evidence: Rock with the same
composition and the same age can be
found on different continents today.
WE DO
Collaborative
Activity
Revisiting the Bellringer
Paleontologists discovered fish fossils in the
arid deserts of western Egypt. What does the
fossil evidence most likely indicate about this
area’s geologic past?
a)
The desert was once a vast ocean.*
b)
A giant ocean wave carrying sea life crashed
onto the desert.
c)
Mountains in the region once provided water
from snowmelt.
d) The
area was moved from the ocean to the
desert by plate tectonics.
You Do Time!
Mini-Quiz #1
On an expedition to Antarctica, scientists have
discovered fossils of plants that are found in tropical
rainforests. What statement best explains this
discovery?
a)
Tropical plants grow on Antarctica during summer
months.
b)
Antarctica used to be located closer to the equator.
c)
Fossilized remains were carried by ocean currents.
d)
The ice age froze the tropical plants in ice.
Mini-Quiz #2
In 1912, Alfred Wegner first proposed his hypothesis of
continental drift. He gathered a great deal of data and
observations to support his claim that the continents
were in motion. Which statement would best support
Wegner’s hypothesis?
a)
Glaciers are found on parts of continents that are
close to the poles.
b)
The movement of the continents cannot be
measured in our lifetimes.
c)
South America and Africa fit together like a puzzle.
d)
North America and South America are connected.
Mini-Quiz #3
The oldest rock formation identified on Earth is found on the
shoreline of Hudson Bay in Canada. This rock formed 4.28 billion
years ago. Which information does a scientist need to most
accurately determine the age of a rock?
a)
the percentage of each mineral that makes up the rock
b)
the thickness of younger rock layers that cover the rock
c)
the amount of each radioactive element present in the rock
d)
the amount of weathering present on the surface of the rock
Mini-Quiz #4
•
The picture below shows the
Rock layers that make up the
Grand Canyon.
What does the law of superposition
say about how the Grand Canyon
has changed over time?
A. The Grand Canyon was once
underwater because the newest
rocks are found at the bottom-most
layers.
B. The Grand Canyon divided into
layers of different rocks because of
cracks that arose from volcanic
eruptions.
C. The Kaibab Limestone used to
be underground but was elevated
as the layer pushed upward
through Earth’s crust.
D. The top layer may once have
been Redwall Limestone, but over
time sediment continued to build
up and now Kaibab Limestone is
the top layer.
Mini - Quiz #5
Compare the images of the
Appalachian Mountains on the left
and the Himalayan Mountains on
the right. The Appalachian
Mountains formed before the
Himalayas.
What do these pictures
indicate about how Earth’s
mountains change over time?
A. Mountains erode over
time.
B. Mountains do not change
over time.
C. High-mountain lakes form
over time.
D. Mountains become
rougher over time.
Mini-Quiz #6
Paleontologists discovered fish fossils in the arid deserts of
western Egypt. What does the fossil evidence most likely
indicate about this area’s geologic past?
A. The desert was once a vast ocean.
B. A giant ocean wave carrying sea life crashed onto the
desert.
C. Mountains in the region once provided water from
snowmelt.
D. The area was moved from the ocean to the desert by
plate tectonics.
Mini-Quiz #7
Coal, a fossil fuel made from the remains of swamp plants, has
been found in Antarctica. Which of the following is the most
reasonable explanation for how this is possible when 98% of
Antarctica is now covered in ice?
A. The coal was transported by animals that ate the swamp
plants.
B. The climate of Antarctica has become milder due to its
closeness to the ocean.
C. The climate of Antarctica was probably much warmer in the
past than it is today.
D. The coal was transported through large convection currents
and uplift in the mantle.
Mini-Quiz #8
Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are
common on the western edge of the
Pacific Ocean. Which theory does this
pattern of geological phenomena
support?
A. Weathering
B. The rock cycle
C. Plate tectonics
D. Biological evolution
Mini-Quiz #9
Scientists have found many marine fossils on mountains
far from any ocean or sea. What is the best explanation
for these fossils?
A. Meteors with marine fossils landed on the mountains.
B. Wind carried fossils from the seashore to the
mountains.
C. The mountains were made out of land that was once
below the ocean.
D. Predators caught marine prey and carried it to the
top of the mountains.
Mini-Quiz #10
What methods
allow scientists to
tell the age of rocks
and what does this
tell us about the
Earth’s history?