Term
| How old is Australia, and how do we know this? |
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Definition
4.4 billion years old
We can measure the age of Australia by "S.H.R.I.M.P." testing (Sensitive High Resolution Ion Microprobe) Zircon crystals. |
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Term
| Why is the Yilgarn Block so special in the story of Australia? |
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Definition
| The Yilgarn Block contains Zircon Crystals which are said to be the oldest pieces of Australia. |
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Term
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Definition
A Stromatolite is a layered structure that is formed in shallow water by the trapping and cementation of microorganisms, cynobacteria (blue-green algae) in particular.
Stromatolites make up some of the most ancient records of life on earth. |
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Term
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Definition
| An Extremophile is an organism (Cynobacteria) that thrives in and may even require physically or even geochemically extreme conditions that are detrimental to most life on earth. |
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Term
| What type of sediments make up Uluru (Ayers Rock)? |
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Definition
| Glacial and Marine sediments |
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Term
| When did "Snowball Earth" take place? |
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Definition
The two occasions occurred: 1. 730-705 Mya
2. 660-635 Mya |
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Term
| What are the four main Earth systems? |
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Definition
- Atmosphere (gas)
- Biosphere (ecosystems)
- Hydrosphere (water)
- Lithosphere (crust & uppermost mantle)
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Term
| What produced Earth's first oxygen? |
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Definition
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Term
| How long did the Earth's Atmosphere take to form? |
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Definition
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Term
| When did Gondwana begin to form up? |
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Definition
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Term
| What makes a continent move? |
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Definition
| Plate Tectonics; magma currents inside the Earth aid in pulling the Earth's crust in different directions. |
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Term
| When did the Western Australian Craton form? |
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Definition
| 2.3 Billion years ago (pg. 7) |
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Term
| When did the North Australian Craton form? |
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Definition
| 1.75 Billion years ago (pg. 7) |
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Term
| When did Himalayan-size mountains exist in Central Australia? |
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Definition
| 600-350 Million years ago, the first being the Petermann Mountains (pg. 13) |
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Term
| Most of Eastern Australia was added after...? |
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Definition
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Term
| What was the 'Central Australian Seaway'? |
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Definition
| The Central Australian Seaway is the weak area that was warped down letting the sea flow through Central Australia (pg. 12). |
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Term
| What modern continents make up Gondwana, and what time did each break away? |
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Definition
- Africa~ 130 Mya
- India~ 105 Mya
- Australia~ 45 Mya
- South America~ 35 Mya
- Antarctica
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Term
| What caused the uplift of the Great Divide along Eastern Australia? |
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Definition
| The uplift of the Great Divide along Eastern Australia was cause by Australia's shift to the North, breaking away from the Pacific Plate causing a ripple effect of shockwaves. |
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Term
| What is so special about the Ediacara Fauna, and how old is it? |
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Definition
| Edicara Fauna is the earliest complex life form , and is 670 Million years old. (pg. 11) |
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Term
| Australia's oldest known fish is 'Arandaspis'. How old is it? |
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Definition
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Term
| Why have volcanoes been so important to the story of our planet? |
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Definition
| Volcanoes brought us out of "Snowball Earth" by the production of CO2 which warmed the Earth. |
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Term
| When did mammals first appear? |
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Definition
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Term
| What is the oldest evidence for Monotremes? |
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Definition
| Ex: Platypus and Echidna, found in Australia 110 Million years ago. |
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Term
| How and when did marsupials arrive in Australia? |
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Definition
| 55 Million years ago, originating from Eurasia. |
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Term
| What was Australia like 15-25 Million years ago? |
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Definition
- Starting to warm up
- Lots of rainforest development
- Great for marsupials
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Term
| What happened to Australia's environment 2-15 Million years ago? |
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Definition
| The rainforests dried out. |
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Term
| What were the factors external to Australia that contributed to the drying of the continent? |
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Definition
- Formation of PNG formed a 'rain shadow' for North Australia.
- Moving into dry latitude which reduced rain levels.
- Sea levels were reduced by another Ice Age that ocurred.
- Circumpolar currents. (pg. 27)
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Term
| What tree species became dominant as the Australian continent dried? |
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Definition
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Term
| Name two adaptations made by some of our plant species to continental drying. |
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Definition
- Fire tolerances
- Thick, tough leaves that keep water in.
(pg. 30)
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Term
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Definition
| Ice Ages are times at which the Earth severely cools. |
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Term
| When did Australia have a series of large volcanoes along its Eastern side? |
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Definition
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Term
| What main factor contributed to the development and adaptation of our modern marsupial fauna? |
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Definition
| Isolation of Australia's marsupials |
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Term
| Why do rainforests have such a diverse range of species? |
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Definition
| Isolation allowed Australian marsupials to adapt and diversify ino many different species without competition from placental animals. |
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Term
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Definition
| Animal extinct from the mainland. |
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Term
| What is the difference between a Diprotodon and a Procoptodon? |
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Definition
Dipritodon is the largest marsupial
Procoptodon is the largest kangaroo |
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Term
| On what continent did Homo erectus evolve? |
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Definition
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Term
| What is the oldest date from Homo erectus outside Africa? |
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Definition
| 1.9 Million years ago (Java) |
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Term
| What is the oldest date for humans in China? |
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Definition
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Term
| What was the range of brain capacity for Homo erectus? |
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Definition
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