1. An extinct species
Fossils (bones, teeth, skulls, eggs, excrement, footsteps) of dinosaurs (65 million years ago) were
found 150 years ago. Gideon Mantall found teeth and bone fossils in rock quarry → larger than other
animals → large, extinct reptile → also found tropical plants → England once had a tropical climate.
Seismosaurus (45 metres):
- largest dinosaur
- lived approx. 150 million years ago
Tyrannosaurus (12 metres, 5 tonnes):
- large biting machine
- swallow 70 kilo in one go
- lived between 67 and 65 million years ago
Diplodocus (30 metres, 20 tonnes):
- forests disappeared
- gigantic food processor
- lived between 155 and 145 million years ago
2. Planet Earth
The universe consists of stars, of which the sun: a glowing hot sphere of gas that produces vast
amounts of energy through nuclear reactions, around which planets rotate. The closest to the sun
consist of solid rock, other consist of gas. It takes 8 minutes before the light in our solar system reach
the earth.
The earth, Venus and Mars are 1) approx. the same size, 2) consist of the same material, 3) have a
similar structure and 4) are close to the sun. The earth consists of 2 types of crust. Ocean floor consists
of heavy volcanic rock (basalt) → earth’s crust is approx. 4000 lower than the continental crust
(granite and sedimentary rock). Venus and Mars mainly consist of basalt.
Living organisms preserved for millions of years in organic sedimentary rock → some CO2 taken out
of atmosphere → preserved in earth’s crust → rock formation.
Dust and debris circled the sun as it formed in a cloud of gas and dust. The earth was formed 4.5 billion
years ago by the clumping together of large pieces of rock and ice with dust and gas.
Debris collided → enormous amount of energy released → warming earth up to 5000 oC → everything
melted.
The earth has slowly been cooling down and the earth’s core, mantle and crust have formed. Water
vapour and CO2 were released into the atmosphere due to volcanic activity. Water was formed by
condensing water vapour.
3. The face of the earth is changing
620 million years ago (Precambrian) – continents moved away from each other
- continents shaped and located differently
- more CO2 and less oxygen
- no ozone layer → only organisms (no hard parts yet) living under water
270 million years ago (Permian) – continents moved towards each other
- fish, molluscs and shellfish like trilobites lived in the oceans
- land surface (on which reptiles lived) covered in plants and trees → rising oxygen level
- super continent Pangaea formed
- sheer size continents → large part bone dry with desert climate and raging winds. Only the edges were
influenced by sea.
100 million years ago (Cretaceous) – continents moved away from each other
- warmest on earth
- sea level 300 m higher
- ammonites lived in sea, squid with striking shell that floated in seawater
- calcium skeletons of algae built up on ocean floor → thick layers of limestone
- dinosaurs, plants and flowers on land
18 000 years ago (Quaternary) – some continents moved away and some towards each
other
- large ice cap covered northern Europe and North America
- sea level 100 m lower (ice age)
- fossils found at bottom of North Sea and cave paintings in southern Europe (Stone Age) →
mammoths and sabre-tooth tigers lived in tundras, south of land ice
4. The earth’s diary
Fossils (bones, teeth, skulls, eggs, excrement, footsteps) of dinosaurs (65 million years ago) were
found 150 years ago. Gideon Mantall found teeth and bone fossils in rock quarry → larger than other
animals → large, extinct reptile → also found tropical plants → England once had a tropical climate.
Seismosaurus (45 metres):
- largest dinosaur
- lived approx. 150 million years ago
Tyrannosaurus (12 metres, 5 tonnes):
- large biting machine
- swallow 70 kilo in one go
- lived between 67 and 65 million years ago
Diplodocus (30 metres, 20 tonnes):
- forests disappeared
- gigantic food processor
- lived between 155 and 145 million years ago
2. Planet Earth
The universe consists of stars, of which the sun: a glowing hot sphere of gas that produces vast
amounts of energy through nuclear reactions, around which planets rotate. The closest to the sun
consist of solid rock, other consist of gas. It takes 8 minutes before the light in our solar system reach
the earth.
The earth, Venus and Mars are 1) approx. the same size, 2) consist of the same material, 3) have a
similar structure and 4) are close to the sun. The earth consists of 2 types of crust. Ocean floor consists
of heavy volcanic rock (basalt) → earth’s crust is approx. 4000 lower than the continental crust
(granite and sedimentary rock). Venus and Mars mainly consist of basalt.
Living organisms preserved for millions of years in organic sedimentary rock → some CO2 taken out
of atmosphere → preserved in earth’s crust → rock formation.
Dust and debris circled the sun as it formed in a cloud of gas and dust. The earth was formed 4.5 billion
years ago by the clumping together of large pieces of rock and ice with dust and gas.
Debris collided → enormous amount of energy released → warming earth up to 5000 oC → everything
melted.
The earth has slowly been cooling down and the earth’s core, mantle and crust have formed. Water
vapour and CO2 were released into the atmosphere due to volcanic activity. Water was formed by
condensing water vapour.
3. The face of the earth is changing
620 million years ago (Precambrian) – continents moved away from each other
- continents shaped and located differently
- more CO2 and less oxygen
- no ozone layer → only organisms (no hard parts yet) living under water
270 million years ago (Permian) – continents moved towards each other
- fish, molluscs and shellfish like trilobites lived in the oceans
- land surface (on which reptiles lived) covered in plants and trees → rising oxygen level
- super continent Pangaea formed
- sheer size continents → large part bone dry with desert climate and raging winds. Only the edges were
influenced by sea.
100 million years ago (Cretaceous) – continents moved away from each other
- warmest on earth
- sea level 300 m higher
- ammonites lived in sea, squid with striking shell that floated in seawater
- calcium skeletons of algae built up on ocean floor → thick layers of limestone
- dinosaurs, plants and flowers on land
18 000 years ago (Quaternary) – some continents moved away and some towards each
other
- large ice cap covered northern Europe and North America
- sea level 100 m lower (ice age)
- fossils found at bottom of North Sea and cave paintings in southern Europe (Stone Age) →
mammoths and sabre-tooth tigers lived in tundras, south of land ice
4. The earth’s diary
