Education

Lessons and Activities: Understanding the Geologic Time Scale

Objective

To gain a better understanding of the geologic time scale.

Materials

Activity 1: Geologic Time	Activity 2: Relative vs. Absolute Time
Geologic Time Activity Worksheet	Relative vs. Absolute Time Activity Worksheet
Geologic Time Football Field	Pen or Pencil
Pen or pencil
Calculator

Introduction

Activity 1:
Sometimes geologists want to know about an event that occurred before humans were around to record it. They have evidence of when the event occurred by looking at rocks, which contain fossils and other information. To keep all of the events in order, geologists have created the geologic time scale. The geologic time scale is divided into 3 eons, and each eon is subdivided into eras. Eras are then subdivided into periods, which are further separated into epochs. This may sound confusing, but looking at a real geologic time scale and completing this activity will help.

Activity 2:
If your students are not familiar with the geologic time scale, relative dating, or absolute dating, have them perform this short activity.

 

Teaching Strategies

1. Activity 1: If time permits, assign the students to play the role of a certain event in time. Take the students to a football field and have them mark their event by standing in the appropriate place. This will create a better picture for those who learn best through visual techniques.

2. Activity 1: The mathematical difficulty may be increased by assigning more ages of periods and epochs to calculate and correspond to the football field.