Unit 5

Front 1

1. how do we use the name for precambrian?

Back 1

it is informal name for the earliest chapter in Earth's history

Front 2

2. which range of Earth's history is represented by the Precambrian in billions of years?

Back 2

4.6 billion years ago and it ended 542 million years ago

Front 3

3. which two rock types represent the most of the Precambrian outcrop surfaces?

Back 3

igneous and metamorphic rocks

Front 4

4. which type of fossil is most representative of the Precambrian?

Back 4

most are single celled organisms

Front 5

5. where is found the largest North American Precambrian exposure?

Back 5

Hudson Bay Canada

Front 6

6. where can we find exposures of Precambrian rocks in Texas?

Back 6

llano Carrizo mountain near Houston and the Franklin Mountains at El Paso

Front 7

7. how do we use the term basement rocks?

Back 7

it's the usual name for Precambrian rocks

Front 8

8. define a precambrian shield

Back 8

expose portion of the basement the continent that is composed of precambrian rock

Front 9

9. define a platform

Back 9

it's buried or covered services of a shield

Front 10

11. what is the Canadian Shield?

Back 10

the exposed portion of the North American Craton

Front 11

10. define a craton

Back 11

is this is the nucleus of a continent made up of a shield and a platform

Front 12

12. what are the only representative rocks from the very beginning of the Hadean eon?

Back 12

no rock record on Earth only meteoroids

Front 13

13. what is Earth's oldest particle known and what is its age in billions of years

Back 13

zircon crystal 4.404 billion years

Front 14

14. what time. In billions of years is representative by the archean eon?

Back 14

4.0 billion years - 2.5 billion years

Front 15

15. which country do we find Earth's oldest crustal rocks?

Back 15

Quebec Canada

Front 16

16. describe the effect of the moon on Earth's surface and oceans during the early Archean eon

Back 16

the moon was much closer it would cause the earth's crust to rise and fall 200 feet everyday and the oceans tides will rise and fall 1000 feet

Front 17

17. when did a large number of meteorites stop pelting the earth?

Back 17

4 billion years ago

Front 18

18. what type of tectonic feature can create continental crust?

Back 18

island archs

Front 19

19. describe the rocks surrounding a typical Precambrian geologic province

Back 19

granite

Front 20

20. what is greywacke sandstone and what type of environment would it represent?

Back 20

is sandstone composed of abundant clay and volcanic rock found in deep water

Front 21

21.what is green stone?

Back 21

its former volcanic rock rich and chlorite

Front 22

22. what do greenstone belts represent?

Back 22

zones of rock rich and chlorite

Front 23

23. where do we find the United States' oldest crustal rocks and what is the formation name?

Back 23

komatiites in the minnesota river valley morton gneiss

Front 24

24. at what period of time with Earth's first ice age in billions of years?

Back 24

2.7 - 2.5 billion years ago

Front 25

25. what is a tillite? Sometimes it is also called this?

Back 25

it is sedimentery deposit set include rocks from ice berg sometimes they are called drop stones

Front 26

26. how do we subdivide the Proterozoic Eon?

Back 26

early, middle, and late

Front 27

27. what are banded iron formation?

Back 27

they are alternating layers of iron, oxide, and chertz deposited in the sea

Front 28

28. why do we no longer find banded iron formations after 2.0 billion years?

Back 28

because of the free oxygen

Front 29

29. what tectonic events occurred near Missouri during the middle Proterozoic Eon?

Back 29

mid continental rift

Front 30

30. what mineral resources do the Keweenawan basalts contain?

Back 30

copper and silver

Front 31

31. which super continent was created with the grenville province?

Back 31

rodina

Front 32

32. how long was a typical day during the middle Proterozoic?

Back 32

18.2 hours

Front 33

33. what famous Texas feature was created with the Grenville province?

Back 33

Enchanted Rock

Front 34

34. what is the Snowball Earth theory?

Back 34

a time when the entire Earth is covered by ice

Front 35

35. which super continent was created during the late Proterozoic Eon?

Back 35

pannotia

Front 36

36. all living matter is composed of at least four elements; what are the elements?

Back 36

carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen

Front 37

37. what is S. E. T. I.?

Back 37

search for extraterrestrial intelligence

Front 38

38. what would be a primordial soup?

Back 38

organic compounds found by a variety of processes, from molecules that accumulate in shallow oceans

Front 39

39. what is a microsphere?

Back 39

simple organic molecules that show great organizational complexities

Front 40

40. how often has man been able to create life from chemicals?

Back 40

never

Front 41

41. what was miller able to create?

Back 41

20 amino acids

Front 42

42. what is meant by chemical fossils?

Back 42

fossil life detected by using non radioactive isotopes of carbon 12 and carbon 13 from carbon forms

Front 43

43. what is the difference between an autotroph and a heterotroph?

Back 43

an autotroph produces foods inorganically and a heterotroph is an organisms that must consume organic molecules for survival

Front 44

44. what is cyanobacteria?

Back 44

it is an aquatic bacteria that uses photosynthesis

Front 45

45. In what type of rock are most very early Precambrian fossils found?

Back 45

apex chert

Front 46

46. What is the approximate age in billions of years of some of the oldest body fossils found?

Back 46

3.4 65 million years

Front 47

47. What are stromatolites?

Back 47

it is cyanobacteria of other bacteria that forms colonial associations

Front 48

48. What are eukaryotes?

Back 48

they have more advanced cells than bacteria cells have a nucleus and contain organelles such as mitochondria

Front 49

49. What are architarchs?

Back 49

cysts of algae

Front 50

50. Based on the fossil record, what represents the oldest known multicellular organism?

Back 50

metazoan and plants

Front 51

51. What are metazoans?

Back 51

multicellular animals

Front 52

52. What type of fossil evidence do we have for very old metazoans?

Back 52

animal burrows

Front 53

53. What are at ediacaean fossils?

Back 53

they are soft body with no jaws and no predators

Front 54

54. Describe the climatic environment where Ediacraran organisms lived.

Back 54

they were shallow, cold marine environments with no predators