Lesson 1.2: Early Life

Did you know that Alberta was once at the edge of a tropical sea? Fossil evidence collected from sedimentary rocks in Waterton Lakes National Park indicates that part of the province was once at the edge of an ancient sea.

• Read all of pages 302 to 304 of the textbook, ending at the investigation. Answer the questions as you encounter them.

Check your answers with those in the “Practice Answers” in the online course.

Every breath you take provides you with oxygen from the atmosphere. However, there has not always been as much oxygen in the atmosphere as there is today. Banded iron in sedimentary rock indicates that the level of atmospheric oxygen in the early atmosphere varied widely. You will find out more information in the next investigation.

 

• Read “Snowball Earth” on page 305 of the textbook.

• Read “1.2 Summary” on page 305 of the textbook. Then, complete “1.2 Questions”.
  
  
Check your answers with those in the “Practice Answers” in the online course.

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Go to Assignment 1.2: Early Life.