Name
Date
Content Practice A
Class
LESSON 2
The Paleozoic Era
Directions: Complete this chart by choosing phrases from the list and writing them on the correct lines. Some
terms may be used more than once or not at all.
age of amphibians
age of fishes
age of invertebrates
coal swamps appear
cockroaches evolve
first plants appear
all life in oceans
mass extinction
no life on land
reptiles evolve
1.
2.
Early
Paleozoic
3.
Copyright © Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
4.
P
A
L
E
O
Z
O
I
C
5.
6.
Middle
Paleozoic
7.
8.
E
R
A
9.
10.
Late
Paleozoic
11.
12.
Geologic Time
31
Name
Date
Key Concept Builder
Class
LESSON 2
The Paleozoic Era
Key Concept What major geologic events occurred during the Paleozoic era?
Directions: Answer each question on the lines provided.
Early Paleozoic
1. Which age is this time known as?
2. What was the climate like?
3. What happened to the seas during this time?
4. What two things resulted from this change in sea level?
5. Where was North America located?
6. Where did animal life exist?
7. Which type of animals existed?
Middle Paleozoic
Copyright © Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
8. Which age is this time known as?
9. What happened between moving continents?
10. What was created from this movement?
11. Which type of animals further evolved in the seas?
12. Which type of animals evolved on land?
Late Paleozoic
13. Which age is this time known as?
14. What was the climate like near the end of this time?
15. What landmass formed during this time?
16. Which type of animals evolved on land toward the end of this time?
17. What happened to 70 percent of all life-forms on land at the end of this time?
34
Geologic Time
Name
Date
Key Concept Builder
Class
LESSON 2
The Paleozoic Era
Key Concept What major geologic events occurred during the Paleozoic era?
Directions: On the line before each event, write E if it describes the Early Paleozoic, M if it describes the Middle
Paleozoic, or L if it describes the Late Paleozoic.
1. The center of the land became drier and cooler.
2. The Appalachian Mountains formed.
3. A warm climate characterizes this time.
4. Pangaea formed.
5. A massive meteorite might have hit Earth.
6. Vast inland seas formed.
Copyright © Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
7. There were many major collisions between continents.
8. Rising seas flooded the continents.
9. A supercontinent formed.
10. Many different types of fishes evolved.
11. There might have been massive volcanic eruptions.
12. The first plants appeared.
13. North America straddled the equator.
14. Dense forests grew along inland seas.
15. Plants were only in water.
16. Coal swamps formed.
17. Most of North America was covered by an inland sea.
Geologic Time
35
Name
Date
Class
Key Concept Builder
LESSON 2
The Paleozoic Era
Key Concept What does fossil evidence reveal about the Paleozoic era?
Directions: Put a check mark in the space that correctly identifies what rock and fossil evidence reveal about
the Paleozoic era.
When It Happened
What Happened
Early
Paleozoic
Middle
Paleozoic
Late
Paleozoic
1. Seventy percent of all life-forms on land
become extinct.
2. All life is in the oceans.
3. It is the age of invertebrates.
4. Heavily armored fish evolve.
5. Reptiles evolve.
Copyright © Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
6. Cockroaches, dragonflies, and other insects
evolve on land.
7. Dense forests grow along shallow inland
seas.
8. It is the age of fishes.
9. New life-forms evolve along coral reefs.
10. It is the age of amphibians.
11. Ninety-five percent of marine life becomes
extinct.
12. The first plants appear.
13. Coal swamps form.
14. The largest mass extinction in Earth’s
history occurs.
36
Geologic Time