Time Traveling!

Yesterday we took advantage of the great weather and "no dress code day"and students created an evolutionary timeline (to scale).  Our timelines were 46 meters long.  Each meter represented 100 million years, each centimeter represented 1 million years.  Be sure to thank your friends who joined our class during their free period to add more events to the timelines.

Once all of the events (see below) were added, we started our time traveling at the formation of the Earth. Which ever student researched the event, presented his/her information to the class.  We also used this time to review what we have learned about cells, photosynthesis and the water cycle.

C Period's Timeline.  

Adding details to the Cambrian Explosion

G period's Timeline

4600 Formation of the approximately homogeneous solid Earth
4300 Atmospheric water is broken down by ultraviolet light to give off oxygen atoms which are incorporated into an ozone layer and hydrogen molecules which escape into space
3800 The Earth's crust solidifies---formation of the oldest rocks found on Earth
3800 Condensation of atmospheric water into oceans
3500--2800 Prokaryotic cell organisms develop
3500--2800 Beginning of photosynthesis by blue-green algae which releases oxygen molecules into the atmosphere and steadily works to strengthen the ozone layer and change the Earth's chemically reducing atmosphere into a chemically oxidizing one
1500 Eukaryotic cell organisms develop
1500--600 Rise of multicellular organisms (Cambrian explosion)                              
545 Cambrian explosion of hard-bodied organisms
500--450 Rise of the fish---first vertebrates
430 Waxy coated algae begin to live on land
420 Millipedes have evolved---first land animals
375 The Appalachian mountains are formed via a plate tectonic collision between North America, Africa, and Europe
375 Appearance of primitive sharks
350--300 Rise of the amphibians
350 Primitive insects have evolved
350 Primitive ferns evolve---first plants with roots
300--200 Rise of the reptiles
300 Winged insects have evolved
280 Beetles and weevils have evolved
250 Permian period mass extinction
230 Roaches and termites have evolved
225 Modern ferns have evolved
225 Bees have evolved
200 Pangaea starts to break apart
200 Primitive crocodiles have evolved
200 Appearance of mammals
145 Archaeopteryx walks the Earth
136 Primitive kangaroos have evolved
100 Primitive cranes have evolved
90 Modern sharks have evolved
65 The Chicxulub impact occurs
65 K-T Boundary---extinction of the dinosaurs and beginning of the reign of mammals
60 Rats, mice, and squirrels have evolved
60 Herons and storks have evolved
55 Rabbits and hares have evolved
50 Primitive monkeys have evolved
28 Koalas have evolved
20 Parrots and pigeons have evolved
20--12 The chimpanzee and hominid lines evolve
4 Development of hominid bipedalism
4--1 Australopithecus exist
3.5 The Australopithecus Lucy walks the Earth
2 Widespread use of stone tools
2--0.01 Most recent ice age
1.6--0.2 Homo erectus exist
1--0.5 Homo erectus tames fire
0.2--0.03 Homo sapiens neanderthalensis exist
0.05--0 Homo sapiens sapiens exist
0.04--0.012Homo sapiens sapiens enter Australia from southeastern Asia and North America from northeastern Asia
0.025--0.01 Most recent glaciation---an ice sheet covers much of the northern United States
0.017 Homo sapiens sapiens paint the Lascaux cave
0.01 First permanent homo sapiens sapiens settlements
0.01 Homo sapiens sapiens learn to use fire to cast copper and harden pottery
0.006 Writing is developed in Sumeria