The Earth started to form around 4.6 billion years ago! It’s thought that a star far away in space exploded, causing huge amounts of interstellar dust to collapse in on itself. Our Sun formed first, and then the rest of the planets.
The Earth formed from rock and dust being pulled together. The heat from the core caused tectonic plates to move and crash into each other, causing volcanoes and earthquakes.
The first oceans are thought to have formed around 4.3 billion years.
When did the first life form on Earth?
It’s thought that bacteria emerged around 3.5 billion years ago.
The first humans didn’t appear until around 2 million years ago, although they were quite different to modern-day humans.
Find out more about the Earth and our Solar System
This article from Smithsonian is a brilliant overview of the history of life on Earth.
Make a model of the Earth’s layers showing the inner core, outer core, mantle and crust.
Read about the big bang theory and find out how the universe is expanding!
More Science Questions
Last Updated on May 2, 2023 by Emma Vanstone
