Final answer:
Humans have been around for approximately 0.0046% of the total history of life on Earth, emphasizing the recency of our species in the grand timeline.
Step-by-step explanation:
Life on Earth began around 3.5 billion years ago, while the human species, Homo sapiens, has been around for about 160,000 years. To calculate what percent of the total history of life humans have existed for, we use the following formula:
Percentage = (Time of human existence / Time of life existence on Earth) × 100
Inserting the given numbers into the formula yields:
Percentage = (160,000 years / 3,500,000,000 years) × 100 = (1.6 × 105 years / 3.5 × 109 years) × 100
Carrying out the calculation:
Percentage ≈ 0.00457142857 × 100
The human species has been around for approximately 0.0046% of the total history of life on Earth. This emphasizes how recent the arrival of humans is in the grand timeline of life.