Proterozoic

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

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/proterozoic

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. What is the scientific name?Proterozoic Eon
2. What is the time interval?2500 to 538.8 million years ago (Ma)
3. What is the Proterozoic Eon?The Proterozoic Eon is a very long time on Earth, lasting about 2 billion years from 2.5 billion to 538.8 million years ago. It is the third of four eons and comes after the Archean and before the Phanerozoic.
4. Why was the Great Oxygenation Event important?The Great Oxygenation Event was when tiny photosynthetic bacteria released a lot of oxygen into the air and water. This change made the planet able to support animals that breathe oxygen and helped life grow more complex.

Anoxic: Lacking oxygen.
Endosymbiosis: A symbiotic relationship where one organism lives inside another, leading to evolutionary integration.
Ediacaran Biota: The earliest known complex multicellular organisms, appearing in the late Proterozoic.