| zoo | a zoological park or collection of animals |
| zoology | (logos - word, study) - study of animals |
| protozoon | (protos - first) - earliest form of one-celled animal life on earth |
| cenozoic | (kainos - recent) - recent animal period |
| mesozoic | (meso - middle) - middle animal period |
| paleozoic | (paleo - early, archaic) - early animal period (many fossils) |
| proterozoic | (protero - earlier) - earlier animal period (few fossils; worms) |
| archeozoic | (arche - beginning) - beginning animal period (carbon traces but no fossils) |
Teaching Notes: A zoo (abbreviation for zoological park) is where exotic animals are kept so people can study them.
Protozoa
(plural), or first one-celled animals, are very interesting to study. They
reproduced by dividing themselves into two new cells, a process called
"mitosis".
The five great
divisions in the chart of geologic time are very useful for students to know.
They date from the beginning of life on earth and are named and dated according
to the animal fossils which have been discovered in rocks which were formed
during the various periods. The rock formations laid down during the first
period, the archeozoic, had traces of carbon showing animal life too
soft to leave fossils. The formations of the other periods are rich in fossils.
WE live in the cenozoic era!
Extra
Words: Zodiac comes from the Greek word
zodion-a diminutive form of zoon. When the Greeks spoke of
zodiakos, you were to understand kyklos, the "zodiac circle". The
ancients imagined a belt of constellations in the sky surrounding the earth
which extended 8 or 9 degrees on each side of the sun's apparent path around
the earth. The original signs of the zodiac were all animals, but they changed
over time. The signs: Aries (ram), Taurus (bull), Gemini (twins), Cancer
(crab), Leo (lion), Virgo (virgin), Libra (scales), Scorpio (scorpion),
Sagittarius (archer), Capricorn (goat), Aquarius (water carrier), Pisces
(fish). There are interesting legends about them all.
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