LIFE SCIENCES
GRADE 10
EVOLUTION
Theory
Compiled by
V. Ramlaul
©
EVOLUTION
FORMATION OF FOSSILS
An organism will die, and the soft tissue will get eaten away by bacteria. The organism will get covered
by sediment. Over millions of years more and more sediment covers the remains of the organism.
Pressure and heat from the compression of sediment will eventually turn the remains into a fossil.
ASTEROID IMPACT
An asteroid is any of numerous small planetary bodies that revolve around the Earth.
iridium, an element belonging to the Platinum Group of precious Metals, is very rare in Earth’s crustal
rocks, but it is present in higher concentrations in meteorites. Meteorite impacts on Earth have been
linked to the discovery of abnormally high concentrations of iridium in rock layers belonging to specific
geological time periods. These time periods, where the presence of iridium in crustal rocks spikes,
coincide with the major extinctions of plant and animal life on Earth. Consequently, iridium anomalies
along with other impact evidence such as shocked quartz and tektites, have led some scientists to
conclude that meteorite impacts were directly related to major earth extinctions.
An asteroid impact would have devastating effects on life. As the meteor passes through the
atmosphere, frictional heat upon entry would incinerate objects on the surface, causing wildfires and
immediate death and destruction of about twenty five percent of all biomass. The actual impact
would result in major earthquake tremors, followed by tsunamis, changes in sea levels, massive
volcanic eruptions, high winds and acid rainfall, the latter of which would not only affect life on land
but also cause killing of fish in marine environments. Volcanic eruptions may even occur on the
opposite side of the Earth from where the actual impact occurred. Such eruptions are believed to
have taken place when an asteroid formed the K-T impact crater and there was simultaneous
Life Sciences – Grade 10 EVOLUTION All Rights Reserved.
-3-
volcanism, known as the Deccan Traps, where India is today. All of these catastrophic events would
have far reaching global effects. Material ejected from the actual impact site (dust, ash, debris) would
rise through the troposphere and the stratosphere, blocking sunlight for months. Global temperatures
would fall and Earth would be in a state similar to a nuclear winter. Oxygen levels would significantly
decrease as well. The absence of sunlight would initiate a chain of events, ultimately ending in global
mass extinction for any life that survived the initial impact. Photosynthesising land plants and
phytoplankton are the first to succumb to the absence of sunlight. Herbivores, dependent upon plants,
would die, followed by carnivores. This is inevitable since plants exist at the bottom of the food chain
with many other life forms dependent on plants. Any species unable to adapt to theses sudden
changes in their environment would die out. Mass dying would occur on land as well as in oceans,
where marine species depend on the phytoplankton for their existence.
When the polluting dust from the impact finally settles out of the Earth’s atmosphere, global warming
would then begin. A greenhouse effect, caused by the increased presence of carbon dioxide and
nitrous oxides, along with less UV blocking ozone in the atmosphere, would lead to rising global
temperature.
All of the above scenarios make the struggle for survival almost insurmountable with large
percentages of life disappearing forever.
SIXTH MASS EXTINCTION (homework)
Scientists believe that we are presently in the sixth mass extinction, due to human activity and how
we are changing the environment in a relatively short time, too short for many organisms to adapt.
Name a few human activities that are a direct cause of ecosystem stress and are therefore
causing a loss of many species in the modern world.
Discuss the impact of the human population on biodiversity and the natural
environment.
The answers to these two questions are on the Memo for the Worksheet.
©
-4-
GEOLOGICAL TIME SCALE
Below are examples of different types of geological time scales:
©
-5-