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Lesson 31
Geologic Time and Mass Extinctions
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Era | the largest interval of time in a geologic time scale. There have been five of these time intervals: Precambian, Palezoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic |
| Periods | the next interval of time after the era; they are shorter than eras. For example, the Paleozoic Era had six of these time intervals |
| Epoch | the next interval of time after the period in the geologic time scale. As you may recall, time intervals begin with the era, which is divided up into time intervals called periods. This time interval comes next |
| Extinction | when a species of organism dies out and no longer exists |
| Mass Extinction | occurs when a large number of organisms become extinct. As far as scientists can tell, there have been five of these on earth |
| Ice Age | a period of time usually marked by glacier activity and a significant drop in temperature |
| Vertebrates | animals that have a backbone |