Lab 9- History of life Assignment (2) (1) (1)

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Georgia State University *

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Geology

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Apr 3, 2024

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Name: TA: Lab 9- History of Life and Geologic Time GEOL 1122 Watch all iCollege videos and use the handout to answer these questions, plus the questions in the PowerPoint file. Learning Objectives ● Understand how geologists divide geologic time ● Understand what environments on Earth preserve geologic history and how we use them to piece together the history of Earth ● Learn major events in geologic time and how they have driven the evolution of life Part 1: Depositional Environments (handout) 1a) Ancient remains of corals and clams were found in limestones across Kansas. What does this indicate about the paleoenvironment of that area? (1 pt) With corals and clams found in limestones, this could indicate that this paleoenvironment could be from marine and shallow sea origins. b) The limestones contained shattered and broken shell fragments. What might this indicate about the energy of that paleoenvironment? (1 pt) This could indicate that the energy of the paleoenvironment was extremely high. 2a) How does coal form? (1 pt) Coal is formed through the deposition of plants and other organic matter, b) What does the appearance of coal indicate about an area's paleoenvironment? (1 pt) The appearance of coal indicates that the paleoenvironment has a terrestrial area because coal is typically formed from the deposition of terrestrial plants. c) What fossils might you find represented in coal deposits? (1 pt) Most likely plants since that's how coal forms. Part 2: Geologic Timescale (handout) 3) What percent of geologic time does the Precambrian represent? (1 pt) About 88% of geologic time does the Precambrian represent.
Part 3: History of Life (handout and videos) 4a) This is a stromatolite fossil. Based on the eon you identified when stromatolites firs appeared, why were stromatolites so important for the development of other organisms and Earth as a habitable planet? (Hint: Think about how they lived via photosynthesis). (1 pts) Stromatolites were important for the development of other organisms because they produced a lot of oxygen and were a leading mechanism for future organisms. b) What does the discovery of these fossils tell geologists about the depth of paleoenvironments in which stromatolites were formed? Explain your reasoning. (2 pts) The discovery of these fossils provided geologists with a more accurate timeline of paleoenvironments. 5) Did dinosaurs and humans co-exist on Earth? Explain your reasoning. (1 pt) No, dinosaurs and humans did not co-exist on Earth. Dinosaurs became existed around 65 million years ago while humans only started existing around 7 million years ago. The timing doesn’t add up. 6) Plants invaded land before animals. Why might the colonization of plants be important as a precursor to animals on land? (1 pt) The colonization of plants is as important as precursors to animals on land because of the oxygen they provide as well as their ability to become food for those animals. 7) Did mammals co-exist with dinosaurs? If so, how and why did the extinction of dinosaurs affect the evolution of mammals in the era following that extinction? (2 pts) Unlike humans, mammals did co-exist with dinosaurs. Those mammals became prey for the dinosaurs, which delayed their evolution and ability to grow in masses, so when the dinosaurs stopped existing, those ancient animals were able to finally adapt and change. 8)
This is a fossilized Archaeopteryx. a) In which era did it appear? (1 pt) This fossilized Archaeopteryx appeared in the Mesozoic era. b) Why is it important as a fossil that “links” change between different groups of organisms? (1 pt) A fossil that link change between different groups of organisms are important because they show geologists the timeline of life, and can be able to detect where some organisms share common traits which can help understand how organisms went through evolution. c) Using this recreation of Archeopteryx , what evidence can you see that relates to this connection? (1 pt) An archeopteryx looks like a mix between a bird and a dinosaur. The wings have feather- like covering just like modern-day birds, however, its head/beak area is very dinosaur- looking. The claws are also very reptile looking as well as its long tail. 9) Archaeopteryx is preserved in a lagerstätten deposit in Germany. What is a lagerstätten? Name another similar deposit from the Paleozoic that contains evidence of diverse early multi- cellular life. (2 pts) A lagerstätten is a type of deposit that contains extremely well-preserved fossils. Another similar deposit from the Paleozoic era is the Burgess Shale.
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