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Clues in Rocks- The fossil record
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Dating fossils
• Relative dating
determines the age of
rocks by comparing
them with those in other
layers.!
• law of superposition
younger layers of rock
are deposited on top of
older layers!
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• Radiometric dating
uses the decay of
radioactive isotopes
to measure the age
of a rock.!
• Uses the half life –
the time it takes for
half of the original
isotope to decay!
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The Geologic Time Scale
geologic time scale a model for the major
events in Earth’s history.!
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primordial soup hypothesis-
organic molecules could have been
made from the elements available
and UV energy from the Sun!
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Miller and Urey showed
that inorganic compounds
could produce organic
molecules, including
amino acids.!
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Later, scientists found that
precursor to nucleotide bases
could be formed from even
simpler molecules in simulated
early Earth environments.!
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Genetic code
RNA likely came before DNA.!
RNA can act like enzymes called
ribozymes and may have carried
out early life processes.!
The first cells
Scientists hypothesize that the first
cells were prokaryotes.!
• Smaller, simpler !
• similar to modern day archaea
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Modern archaea are found in extreme
environments that are similar to early Earth. !
Photosynthesis
Cyanobacteria- Photosynthesizing
prokaryotes that evolved soon after
the first cells.!
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Earth lacked oxygen until about 1.8 billion years
ago. Cyanobacteria eventually produced enough
oxygen to support the formation of the ozone layer.!
Endosymbiont theory- eukaryotic
cells absorbed prokaryotic cells,
which evolved into organelles. !
• Prokaryotes entered as undigested food!
• Their relationship became mutually beneficial. !
• The theory explains the double membranes
around mitochondria and chloroplasts. !
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