Outcrop along Salsbury Crags near Edinburgh, Scotland, that James Hutton studied as he formed his ideas of geologic time in the late 1700s.

Geologic Time

1. Read: the study questions for this topic, listed at https://croninprojects.org/Vince/Course/PhysGeol/Geo1405-GeolTime-Q2020.html and keep them in mind as you read the following assignments. Most, if not all, of the answers will be in the reading assignments for this topic.
2. View the pre-lab video Dating of Rocks, Fossils, and Geologic Events at https://goo.gl/k3LPxG
3. View three short videos by Dave McConnell and friends —
   The Geological History of Earth,
   Unconformities: Finding Missing Time, and
   Numerical Time (Candy and Radioactive Decay).
4. Scan: Earth, chapter 9, section 9.1 Creating a Time Scale: Relative Dating Principles, in its entirety.
5. Read: AGI/NAGT Lab Manual, chapter 8, the cover page and the following sections: Introduction; The Geologic Record; Principles for Determining Relative Age; and Contact Relationships, Pages 207-213.
6. Do: AGI/NAGT Lab Manual, Activity 8.2 Determining Sequence of Events in Geologic Cross Sections, pages 223-224. If you get stuck, contact your Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) or Dr. Cronin and they'll try to help you get unstuck. Submit a PDF of your completed activity sheet to the Geologic Time assignment in Canvas — submission instructions HERE.
7. Scan: Earth, chapter 9, sections 9.2 (Fossils: Evidence of Past Life) and 9.3 (Correlation of Rock Layers).
8. Read: AGI/NAGT Lab Manual, chapter 8, section The Geologic Time Scale, Pages 212-217.
9. Do: AGI/NAGT Lab Manual, Activity 8.3 Using Fossils to Date Rocks and Events, page 225. If you get stuck, contact your Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) or Dr. Cronin and they'll try to help you get unstuck. Submit a PDF of your completed activity sheet to the Geologic Time assignment in Canvas — submission instructions HERE.
10. Read: Earth, chapter 9, section 9.4 Numerical Dating with Nuclear Decay (p. 277-281 in the paper version of the text)
11. View the video introducing the material in the chapter 8 of the AGI/NAGT Lab Manual at https://goo.gl/k3LPxG.
12. Read: AGI/NAGT Lab Manual, chapter 8, Determining Numerical Ages by Radiometric Dating, p. 216-220
13. Do: AGI/NAGT Lab Manual, chapter 8, Activity 8.4, Numerical Dating of Rocks and Fossils, p. 226. If you get stuck, contact your Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) or Dr. Cronin and they'll try to help you get unstuck. Submit a PDF of your completed activity sheet to the Geologic Time assignment in Canvas — submission instructions HERE.
14. Do: AGI/NAGT Lab Manual, chapter 8, Activity 8.5, Infer Geologic History from a New Mexico Outcrop, p. 227-228. If you get stuck, contact your Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) or Dr. Cronin and they'll try to help you get unstuck. Submit a PDF of your completed activity sheet to the Geologic Time assignment in Canvas — submission instructions HERE.
15. Read: Earth, chapter 9, section 9.6, The Geologic Time Scale

Mastering Geology Reminder

Before the deadline on October 16, complete the Dyamic Study Module called Geologic Time and HW09 by going to Mastering Geology through the Canvas space associated with this lecture section (202030 GEO 1405 01 - The Dynamic Earth)

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