Page 145 - The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 11 and 12: Science, 2008 (revised)

d2.2 use a research process to investigate the geo- logical history of an area in Ontario (e.g., use a sequence diagram, geological maps showing main geological units or associated rock types, and/or surficial/bedrock geology maps to investigate the Oak Ridges Moraine or Niagara Escarpment) [IP, PR]
d2.3 investigate various types of preserved geo- logical evidence of major changes that have taken place in Earth history (e.g., fossil evidence of mass extinctions, topographic evidence of past glaciations, evidence of plate movement in igneous rocks with magnetic reversals) [PR]
d2.4 produce a model or diagram to illustrate how geological time scales compare to human time scales (e.g., major events in Earth’s geo- logical history or the geological history of their region compared to major events in human history or students’ own lifespans) [PR, C]
d2.5 produce diagrams to illustrate the develop- ment of various types of unconformities preserved in a sequence of strata (e.g., angular unconformity, disconformity, nonconformity) [PR, C]
d2.6 design and build a model to represent radioactive decay and the concept of half-life determination [IP, PR]
d2.7 investigate interactions over time between physical, chemical, and biological processes, and explain how they have affected environmental conditions throughout Earth’s geological history (e.g., the impact of increasing amounts of atmospheric oxygen on stromatolites; the impact of increasing amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide on global warming; the influence of plants on the water cycle, other life forms, the atmosphere, weathering, and erosion) [PR, AI, C]
D. Understanding Basic Concepts
By the end of this course, students will:
d3.1 describe evidence for the evolution of life through the Proterozoic, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic eras, using important groups of fossils that date from each era (e.g., stromatolites, trilobites, brachiopods, crinoids, fish, angio- sperms, gymnosperms, dinosaurs, mammals)
d3.2 describe various kinds of evidence that life forms, climate, continental positions, and Earth’s crust have changed over time (e.g., evidence of mass extinction, of past glaciations, of the existence of Pangaea and Gondwanaland)
d3.3 describe some processes by which fossils are produced and/or preserved (e.g., original preservation, carbonization, replacement, permineralization, mould and cast formations)
d3.4 compare and contrast relative and absolute dating principles and techniques as they apply to natural systems (e.g., the law of superposition; the law of cross-cutting relationships; varve counts; carbon-14 or uranium-lead dating)
d3.5 identify and describe the various methods of isotopic age determination, giving for each the name of the isotope, its half-life, its effective dating range, and some of the materials that it can be used to date (e.g., uranium-lead dating of rocks; carbon dating of organic materials)
d3.6 explain the influence of paradigm shifts (e.g., from uniformitarianism to catastrophism) in the development of geological thinking
d3.7 explain the different types of evidence used to determine the age of Earth (e.g., index fossils; evidence provided by radiometric dating of geological materials or lithostratigraphy) and how this evidence has influenced our under- standing of the age of the planet
RECORDING EARTH’S GEOLOGICAL HISTORy
1
Earth and Space Science
SES4U