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“… it is highly important for us to gain some notion, however imperfect, of the lapse of years.”

Charles Darwin: On the Origin of Species 1859 Chapter 9: On the Imperfection of the Geological Record

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Experience DEEP TIME…with its…

and its PATTERNS of staggered ORIGINS

PATTERNS of FOSSIL AGES

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Trilobites

Ferns

Brachiopods

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Ammonites

Achaeopteryx

Seymouria

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When did they live?

Long ago?

How long?

All at once?

When?

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Animals of the Past: Patterns in the Fossil

Record

Notice the origins… Notice the time…

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What’s “65 mya” ?

65 millions of years ago

How much is 65 mya?

How much is ONE mya?How many human lifetimes is

this?LET’S WORK IT OUT….

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Here’s One Month…

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If each day is one inch long…

… how long is a week?

… a month?

… a year?

1”

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If ONE YEAR is 365 inches, how many feet is that?

365/12 = ~30 feet - or 10 YARDS

Right! A FOOTBALL FIELD!

Therefore, if 1 day = 1 inch, 10 years = 1 football field!

10 x 10 Yards = ?

100 YardsSo… What’s 100

yards?

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Looking 10 years - Back in Time!

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IF… 1 day = 1 inch, 10 years = 1 football

field!

5,700 miles!

And a million years would be…

Can you VISUALIZE THAT?

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So, let’s try a different scale…

Let’s take 10 years of your life,and reduce it to 1 millimeter!

Not easily…

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If you do this, 1 football field would equal 1 million years!

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…and hundreds of millions of years

are much easier to visualize

Let’s try this…

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You can plot 100s of millions of years on a map of your local area…

For example, 500 mya would only be about 30 miles away

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…or plot billions of years within your state

the past 500 million years

the past 4.6 billion years

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All of this in fairly familiar territory…

When you shrink 10 years of your lifeinto one tiny millimeter…

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a million years equals

a football field!

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And 50 million years would be about

3 miles away

So 500 million years would be about 30 miles away…

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LET’S DO IT!Calculating distances for

mya:• If 1 mm = 10 yrs, then 1 fbf = 1 mya• x1000: 1000 mm (= 1 meter) = 10,000 yrs• x100: 100 meters = 1,000,000 yrs = 1 mya• 1 meter ≈ 1 yard, so…• 100 m ≈ 100 yards = 1 football field = 1

mya• x10: 10 fbf = 1000 meters = 1 km = 10

mya• 10 mya = 1 km = 0.6 mile

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Calculating distances for mya…

Continued…• 10 mya = 1 km = 0.6 mile

• So 100 mya = 6 miles so… 6 miles = 1 100 mya

• So… Desired Distance = 6 miles for Desired Time 100 mya

• SO… DD = DT x 0.06• Example: If DT is 65 mya: DD = 65 x 0.06

DD = 3.9 miles• OR… Use the table provided!

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Geolgical Time Scale

FBF km mi mya mi cm

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Finding MAP Distance on Map

Find the map scale: 1.9

cm

5 miMeasure its

length:So, on this map, 1.9 cm = 5 miles

Map Distance = 1.9 cm

Desired Dist. 5 mi OR… MD = DD x 0.38 Example: If Desired Distance is 13.2

mi., MD = 13.2 x 0.38 = 5.02 cm

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Or… Check the Geolgical Time Scale

FBF km mi mya mi cm

This Map Scale: 5 mi = 1.9 cm

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And plot that Map Distance as the radius of a circle or arc centered from your school…13.2 miles ≈ 5 cm

(for 220 mya) ordistance from SJSUto Cupertino!

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Now, when you see the 10s of millions of years

that separate the origins of the different

classes of vertebrates,

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you will have a much better sense of the vastness of that time.

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In order to get more familiar with those vertebrate classes,

and when their first fossils appeared,

You may be asked to make your very own

“Chronology of Fossil Vertebrates”

Your Own Vertebrate Timeline

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You will use this chart showing basic vertebrate traits for all the groups…

PLUS a set of distinct

new modificationsNew Traits, added when

each new group appears…

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Chronology of Fossil

VertebratesOn this timeline grid, mark when the first fossils for each class appeared, starting at the lower left, and shifting to the right with each class -as shown here…

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Chronology of Fossil

VertebratesNow label each of those first fossils, along with their additional traits

Notice how many millions of years between the beginnings of each group…

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Chronology of Fossil

VertebratesThen draw vertical lines from each “first fossil” up to the top line that represents “NOW” (except for the Pre-mammals, that became extinct about 60 mya), and LABEL EACH.

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You could vary the thickness of each line to show relative diversity in each group

through time, and/or, you

could find and add pictures of

typical members of each group.

ADDED FEATURES:

Or, make a larger version - for the wall

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Notice, by the way, that each class has the same traits as the previous class…

PLUS a set of distinct

new modificationsthat are unique to each

new class…

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We ALSO find many fossils showing gradual transitions from class to class…

fish to amphibian…

X Tiktaalik - fishwith wrist bones!

XX

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Transitions from pre-mammal to mammal…

Early Pre-Mammals

Early Mammals

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Transitions from pre-whales to whales…

with hippos astheir closest

living cousins!

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Transitions from pre-humans to humans…

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THIS all suggests a biological connectedness…

LIKE THIS…

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And what is this biological connectedness called?

Right….EVOLUTION!

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Did this experience give you a better sense of

geological time?

Did this experience reveal patterns of fossils

that you didn’t realize before?

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I hope you enjoyed these…

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Appendix: Geological Time Scales

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Geological Ages - 2004

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Geological Time - Over Time (since 1937)

The next 2 slides show how the increased precision of

radiometric dating over the years has stabalized the timing for the major geological periods

- with little change since 1990…

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Geological Time - Over Time (since 1937)

PALEOZOIC MESOZOIC

1990

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Geological Time - Over Time (since 1937)

CENOZOIC

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LOOKING FOR TEACHERS TOBETA-TEST

PATTERNS IN TIMEon the ENSI website

Try it, and please send me your feedback

All levels - 5th through college