| Study Questions | Guide #12 (F04) |
| GEOL 125: Earth History | Dr. Hammond |
Draw a graph showing the relationship between mean global temperature and solar radiation (relative to the present). What is meant by the term 'multiple stable states', and why is it possible that more than one stable temperature can be achieved?
Draw a graph showing the relationship between mean annual temperature and O-18/O-16 in precipitation. How can we use the O-18/O-16 ratio in a core of glacial ice to estimate the mean annual temperature at that location in the past?
How did changes in climate influence the development of plants and mammals during the Cenozoic? How did this favor the development of human ancestors?
What are potential impacts of global warming?
What physical characteristics distinguish primates from other mammals? What characteristics distinguish humans from other primates, and how have humans utilized these characteristics to expand their ecological niche and adapt to a wide range of environments?
Where on the Earth did the early Anthropoids probably originate? What explanations have been proposed for a route(s) for humans to enter the Americas?
What explanation have geologists proposed for the Biblical flood, and when did this occur?
What is deterministic behavior? What is chaos? What provides stability in dynamic systems?
Draw a graph that illustrates your prediction of human population vs. time in the future.
General questions related to the entire semester:
What tools does an earth scientist use to study the history of the earth? (you should be able to list at least 10 of these - you might start by looking at the table of contents for the text)
List major events in the history of the Earth and the Universe, along with their approximate time of occurrence, either absolute age or geologic age (choose your favorite 15).
Terms to know
| Anthropoid | primate | herbivore |
| mammals | binocular vision | Cro-magnon man |
| purgatorius | Homo Sapien | Neanderthal |
| opposable thumb | deterministic | non-linear |
| Lucy | mammary gland | |
| stochastic | multiple stable states | overkill hypothesis |