Timeline assignment

For this assignment you must complete a timeline of the Earth which is to a single, linear scale, covers the time from the formation of the Earth until today, and is at least 10 feet (3 meters) long. You must include the events and organisms listed below. Additionally, you must include five other events or organisms which you think are significant in the evolution of life on Earth, from between the formation of the Earth and the rise of human civilization. On a separate sheet, include a brief statement (fewer than 100 words) for each of these five events or organisms explaining why you think that it is significant.

For each event or organism, you must include a start date according to current science. Dates should be given to two significant figures (ask me if you are not familiar with significant figures). You may use the abbreviations Ga (billion years ago), Ma (million years ago) and ka (thousand years ago).

Each entry must include a date, a label, a brief description of the evidence (e.g. fossil, fossil pollen, fossil tracks, molecular clock, stable isotope, biochemical marker) the first genus (for events below marked with an asterisk*) or first species (for events below marked with two asterisks**), and a source. An example of an appropriate label might be:

85 Ma. First carnivorous plant. Fossil. Palaeoaldrovanda splendens. (http://bestcarnivorousplants.com/aldrovanda/papers_online/Fossil.htm)

You will be graded on your scale and the correctness of your numbers, the quality and diversity of your sources (Do not cite my lectures. Wikipedia is fine for some well-established numbers, "history of the Earth" websites and articles are OK, but science blogs and press releases are better), and the quality of your five extra events.

Required Events and Organisms (not in chronological order).