History of the Earth

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/history-of-the-earth

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. How heavy is History of the Earth?Occurred 66 million years ago, linked to asteroid impact
2. What is the age of earth's formation?Approximately 4.54 billion years ago
3. What is the earliest evidence of life?Microfossils dated to around 3.5 billion years ago
4. What happened when Earth first formed?Earth formed about 4.54 billion years ago from dust and gas in space. Collisions made it a hot, molten ball, and later the heavy metals sank to form a core while lighter rocks rose to make the crust.
5. How did life first start on Earth?Life began around 3.5 billion years ago as tiny, single‑cell organisms near deep‑sea vents. These early cells were simple and used chemicals for energy.

Accretion: The process of growth by accumulation of smaller particles or masses.
Prokaryotic Cells: Simple cells that lack a nucleus and other membrane-bound organelles.
Plate Tectonics: The theory that Earth's outer shell is divided into several plates that glide over the mantle.
Paleoclimatology: The study of past climates of Earth.