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Sisa atau jejak organisme yang tersimpan dalam batuan setelah materialorganiknya berubah atau hilang.
Petrified - when minerals replace the remains and they become rock
Mold - when the shell remains and the contents dissolve (hollow)
Cast - when the mold becomes filled with minerals that are not a part of the original organism
Unaltered
Original Material - original, unaltered material from the living organism unaltered bone or shell
Body fossils actual parts of an organism, unaltered or altered bones, shells, leaf imprints
Trace fossils evidence of life that is not a body fossil tracks, burrows, casts
Unaltered
Original Material - original, unaltered material from the living organism unaltered bone or shell
Encrustations or entombments material is trapped inside coating such as amber
Unaltered
Mold reproduction of the inside or outside surface of a living thing Cast duplicate of the original organism; usually formed by replacement of inside of living thing
Burrows or borings Spaces dug out by living things and preserved as is or filled in
Gastroliths smooth stones from abdominal cavity of dinosaurs Coprolites fossilized excrement; usually preserved by replacement
What is a fossil?
The trace or remains of an organism that lived long ago, most commonly preserved in sedimentary rock
Younger rocks lie above older rocks if the layers have not been disturbed
What is a superposition?
Relative dating: looks at where the fossil is located to determine its age relative to other fossils. This only works if the area has been undisturbed.
Uses radioactive elements near the fossils to determine the actual age of the fossils.
By determining the age of the radioactive element, scientists can calculate the age of the fossil buried nearby.
The absolute age of fossils is estimated by dating associated igneous rock and lava flows.
The dating of all fossils is included in the Geological Time Scale. This scale divides the time that the earth has existed into 4 eras. Eras are then divided into periods based on common events in that time period.
Began with the formation of the Earth 4.6 billion years ago. Bacteria appeared 3.5 billion years ago, followed by algae and fungi.
Cutting of Grand Canyon 2 km/3 m.y. = 1 cm/15 yr Uplift of Alps 5 km/10 m.y. = 1 cm/20 yr. Opening of Atlantic 5000 km/180 m.y. = 2.8 cm/yr. Uplift of White Mtns. (N.H.) Granites 8 km/150 m.y. = 1 cm/190 yr.
Movement of San Andreas Fault 5 cm/yr = 7 m/140 yr. Growth of Mt. St. Helens 3 km/30,000 yr = 10 cm/yr. Deposition of Niagara Dolomite 100 m/ 1 m.y.? = 1 cm/100 yr.
35 minutes to birth of Christ 1 hour+ to pyramids 3 hours to retreat of glaciers from Wisconsin 12 days = 1 million years 2 years to extinction of dinosaurs 14 years to age of Niagara Escarpment 31 years = 1 billion years
Dinosaurs: 150,000,000 years Recorded History: 5000 years For every year of recorded history, the dinosaurs had 30,000 years For every day of recorded history, the dinosaurs had 82 years For every minute of recorded history, the dinosaurs had three weeks
On your desk, you have 8 large colored index cards with nonsense letters placed on them. Your task is to determine what the correct sequence of the letters are. You have two clues:
1. The card with the letters C and T is on the bottom, or the oldest layer 2. Look for a card that has either a T or C written on it for the second layer
MD 1. What letter is the oldest? 2. What letter is the youngest? DXO 3. What letter showed up the most? 4. Which letters only showed up once? ON 5. Which letters could be index fossils? 6. How did you know which was older: NB M or X? NBU UA AGC CT
Flip your eight index cards over Arrange the index cards that represent layers of rock and fossils Clues:
1. The oldest layer has the letter M in it 2. Find a rock layer that has at least one of the fossils you found in the oldest rock layer 3. Extinction is forever - once an organism disappears from the sequence it cannot reappear later
Teacher Note: I replaced the letters with nonsense letters b/c spelling the word organism was too easy for my 5th graders
What problems did you run into when trying to arrange the fossils into the correct sequence? Would this have been more difficult if you did not know which layer was the oldest to start the activity? Which organism is the most complex of all the fossils and why?