Homework #7 - Juan Carlos Maravilla
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Uploaded by CaptainGooseMaster773
Name Juan Carlos Maravilla
Date March 14, 2024
Geology 170 (Age of Dinosaurs) – Spring 2024
Homework #7 – A Quick Review of Earth’s History; Three Mass Extinction Events Shaping the Mesozoic
(38 pts.)
Students are expected to complete and submit original work and to act with integrity in completing all assignments. A zero (0) grade will be given to all parties for any duplicated or copied work, no matter what the source. This would be in addition to a Course Grade Penalty and/or referral to the Office of Student Conduct for further actions.
1.)
True/False.
The Earth was formed in the Hadean Eon. (1 pt.)
a.
True
2.)
According to lecture, name three (3) significant events that shaped the Proterozoic Eon. (3 pts.)
Snowball Earth, accumulation of the Supercontinent Rodinia, and the breakup of Rodinia shaped the Proterozoic Eon.
3.)
List the major Eons, Eras, and Periods for each Era, from the oldest to the newest geologic time period. Each geologic time period should be listed with the approximate geologic time they occurred in millions of years ago (or mya), as described in lecture (5 pts.)
Eons: Hadeon (4.54 mya), Archean (4.0 mya), Proterozoic (2.5 mya), and Phanerozoic (541 mya)
Eras: Paleozoic (541 mya), Mesozoic (252 mya), and Cenozoic (66 mya), all during the Phanerozoic Eon
Periods:
Paleozoic Era: Cambrian (541 mya), Ordovician (485.4 mya), Silurian (443.3 mya), Devonian (419.2 mya), Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian and Mississipian) (358.9 mya), and Permian (298.9
mya)
Mesozoic Era: Triassic (252 mya), Jurassic (201 mya), and Cretaceous (145 mya)
Cenozoic Era: Paleogene (66 mya), Neogene (23 mya), and Quaternary (2.6 mya)
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4.)
Provide the one (1) accepted hypothesis explaining why life exploded in the oceans during the Cambrian Period. (1 pt.)
Ponds sparked life in the oceans, with DNA replication occurring in a thin pond with hydrogen, methane, and ammonia.
5.)
According to lecture, why is the Late Permian Mass Extinction event especially significant in Earth’s history? (1 pt.)
The Late Permian Mass Extinction event is the largest extinction event in history, with 70% of land animals and 82-96% of oceanic creatures dying. Climate change due
to volcanic gases was a large contributor to the extinction.
6.)
List three (3) similarities and/or differences were there between the Late Permian, Late Triassic, and Late Cretaceous Mass Extinction Events. (3 pts.)
-
Similarity: Volcanism contributed to carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
-
Similarity: A lot of animals went extinct
-
Difference: Different animal species died for each time period
7.)
According to lecture, describe what led to the Late Permian Mass Extinction
event. Give two (2) examples of animals and/or plants that went extinct and two (2) examples of animals and/or plants that survived. (3pts.)
The Siberian traps led to the Late Permian Mass Extinction. Trilobites and Buzz Saw Sharks went extinct, while reptiles and mammals survived.
8.)
Put the following major events in Earth’s history through the Mesozoic Era in order by numbering them 1 through 20, with 1 being the earliest event and 20 being the most recent.
(6 pts.)
__8___The Earth’s Moon is created
_18___Trilobites go extinct
__1___The Universe forms
__2___The Milky Way forms
___3__The Solar System forms
_10___Jellyfish and other soft bodied invertebrates dominate the oceans
___20_Dinosaurs and ammonites go extinct
__13__The first insects appear
__6___Oceans form on the Earth’s surface
_11___Placoderms and other jawed fish dominate the oceans
__7___Cyanobacteria produce oxygen
__12__First vertebrates invade the land
__16__Marine reptiles appear
__14__Widespread of coal swamps
__19__First dinosaurs appear
___5__Volcanism creates a new atmosphere
__15__The first turtles appear
___9__Tectonic plates form and start to move at Earth’s surface
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___4__The Earth forms
__17__First mammals appear
Name one (1) other significant event that occurred on Earth, which contributed to the dinosaur’s
success:
The Great Oxidation Event.
9.) Explain how
the causes of climate change during the Mesozoic Era are different than those we see today. (2 pts.)
Climate change during the Mesozoic Era was caused by natural disasters like volcanic eruptions and gases, rising sea levels, and deccan traps. Causes of climate change today are usually accelerated by human activity like burning fossil fuels, producing emissions, and cutting down the forest.
10.) What feature appeared in the eastern portion of North America during the Cambrian Period?
What is this feature famous for today? (2 pts.)
The Inland Sea appeared during the Cambrian Period. This feature is famous for the many Cambrian fossils found in the region. There was a lot of life such as vertebrates and fish there.
11.)
True/False. Trilobites were common in the oceans during the Mesozoic Era until they went completely extinct during the Pleistocene Epoch. (1 pt.)
b.
False Explain your answer:
Trilobites went extinct by the end of the Permian Period, which was the end of the Paleozoic Era and before the Mesozoic Era.
12.) Explain how
climate change is a common cause of mass extinction events. (2 pts.)
Climate change (especially related to high temperatures) makes it intolerable for many species to survive. For example, global warming of ocean waters during the Late Permian Mass Extinction caused a decrease in oxygen in the oceans, leaving oceanic creatures unable
to breathe and continue surviving, leading to the mass extinction.
13.)
True/False. Dinosaur fossils can be found in rocks that are from the Cenozoic Era. (1 pt.)
b. False Explain your answer:
Dinosaur fossils are found in rocks from the Mesozoic Era.
14.) Describe how a background extinction rate is different than a mass extinction rate. Provide the normal and mass extinction rates, as described in lecture. Remember that ‘rate’ means ‘speed.’ (5 pts.)
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Description of how the two types of extinction rates are different: The mass extinction rate is faster and larger than the background extinction rate.
Background (or normal) extinction rate:
Around 1 species per million per year.
Mass extinction rate:
Around 100 million species per million species per year.
15.) How does the ‘rate’ or ‘speed’ of extinction relate to the percentage of animals and plants that go extinct? (2 pts.)
The normal rate of extinction is 1 species for each million species going extinct per year. A mass extinction rate is 100 or more species for each million going extinct per year. The current percentage of species going extinct is closer to a mass extinction rate rather than a normal one.
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