Exam 9: Precambrian Earth and Life History the Proterozoic Eon

Both the presence of banded iron formations and red beds are evidence that the atmosphere and hydrosphere changed from oxidizing to reducing in the Proterozoic.

Neoproterozoic glacial deposits are found on all continents except ____________________.

Glaciers were rare during the Proterozoic, as temperatures were too warm.

Humans cells are eukaryotes.

Approximately 1.1 bya, Laurentia began splitting apart along the ____________________ ____________________.

The Ediacaran fauna of Australia is an example of preservation of some of the earliest known fossils.

Continental red beds formed before banded iron formations.

The Ediacaran fauna of Australia includes many examples of organisms with hard shells and internal body parts.

Describe and discuss the formation of the Proterozoic Banded Iron Formations (BIFs). What are they composed of? Why are these BIFs economically important?

What is one primary reason that there was so little diversification of life during the Archean and Paleoproterozoic?

Compare and contrast the phases of a Wilson Cycle. What types of rocks and tectonic structures are distinctive of each phase?

____________________ are deposits that geologists use to indicate glaciation has occurred, but these conglomerates resemble other conglomerates that could have originated from other processes.

The Earth's atmosphere became enriched in O₂ during the ____.

Multicelled organisms first appeared in the fossil record about 4.0 billion years ago.

Banded iron formations precipitated in oxygen-rich ocean waters.

Discuss the formation of eukaryotic organisms from prokaryotic organisms. What was required for this transformation to occur?

Summarize the major differences between the Archean and Proterozoic. When did the Proterozoic begin and end?

The evolution of Laurentia can be described as continental growth by the accretion of younger terranes to an Archean core.

The opening and closing of an ocean basin is also referred to as a(n) ____________________.

Which modern day animal has ancestors represented in the Ediacaran fauna?