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Geology and Earth's History

This document provides an overview of methods used to determine the age of geological formations and events in Earth's history. It discusses several key concepts: - The principle of uniformitarianism, which states that geological processes have operated consistently over time. - Relative dating methods that determine the sequence of geological events without absolute ages using concepts like superposition, cross-cutting relationships, and unconformities. - Absolute dating methods like radiometric dating that measure the radioactive decay of isotopes to determine the absolute age of rocks and fossils in millions of years. - The geological time scale which divides Earth history into standardized intervals like eons, eras, periods to correlate geological events globally.

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141 views19 pages

Geology and Earth's History

This document provides an overview of methods used to determine the age of geological formations and events in Earth's history. It discusses several key concepts: - The principle of uniformitarianism, which states that geological processes have operated consistently over time. - Relative dating methods that determine the sequence of geological events without absolute ages using concepts like superposition, cross-cutting relationships, and unconformities. - Absolute dating methods like radiometric dating that measure the radioactive decay of isotopes to determine the absolute age of rocks and fossils in millions of years. - The geological time scale which divides Earth history into standardized intervals like eons, eras, periods to correlate geological events globally.

Uploaded by

King Solomon
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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CHAPTER 3

A LAND
BEFORE TIME
LESSON 3.1
HISTORY OF
EARTH
THE PRINCIPLE OF
UNIFORMITARIANISM
 James Hutton proposed that the geologic
processes has occurred on the Earth over time.
This process takes a long time.

 Uniformitarianism is the idea that the same


geologic processes shaping the Earth today are
the same as the processes that have acted on
Earth in the past.
Sedimentary rocks, which are formed in layers,
provide useful information in relative dating.

Relative dating is used to determine whether an


object is older or younger than other objects.

To deduce the geologic history of Earth, there


are certain ideas or laws that need to
be considered:
• Law of original horizontality- sedimentary
rocks are originally formed in horizontal
layers.

• Law of superposition- in any undisturbed


sequence of layers of rock, the oldest
layer would be at the bottom, and the
youngest would be at the top.
• Principle of cross-
cutting relationships-
any rocks or fault that
cuts across other rocks
is younger than those
it cuts across.

• Idea of
unconformities-
surfaces of erosion
that separate younger
rocks from older ones.
LESSON 3.2
ABSOLUTE
.

DATING
Absolute dating is the method of measuring the
absolute age of an object.

Scientists analyze isotopes of radioactive elements.

Isotopes are atoms of the same element that have


similar number of protons but different number of
neutrons.

Most isotopes are stable, in that they stay in


their original form. Other isotopes are unstable, in
that they break down into stable isotopes or
other elements. They are called radioactive.
Half-life is the time needed for half of a sample of a
radioactive substance to undergo radioactive decay.
After every half-life, the amount of parent material
decreases by one-half.

Radiometric dating- another dating method


achieved by determining the absolute age of a
sample based on the ratio of parent material to
daughter material.

There are four radiometric dating methods based


on the estimated age of an object: potassium-
argon, uranium-lead, rubidium-strontium, and
carbon-14 methods.
LESSON 3.3
GEOLOGIC
TIME SCALE
Another way to find the relative ages of rocks is
through the use of index fossils.

A fossil is the remnant of any ancient plant or


animal that has been preserved in crystallized
rocks.

The age of the fossil is equal to the age of the


rock from where it is found.
Scientists divided the 4.6 billion years of the
Earth's rich history into different spans of time
to conveniently indicate a major geological or
paleontological event.

This time spans include:


Age (million of years)
Epoch (tens of millions of years)
Period (one hundred million years)
Era (several hundred million years)
Eon (half billion years or more)
LESSON 3.4
EARTH'S PAST
During the Hadean eon, Earth was constantly
exposed to meteorites and volcanic activities.

During the Archean eon, continent formation


began.

The Proterozoic eon was marked by the


existence of multicellular animal life.
During the Mesozoic era, dinosaurs ruled the
surface of Earth.

During the Cenozoic era, humans left their


marks on land, as observed in the stone tools
that were used.
THANK
YOU!

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