Friday, July 15, 2011

Earth History-6A-6th Grade

Unit#1=Earth History-6th Grade

                                                      
·       Fossils contain evidence about how the Earth and life on Earth has evolved over time.
·       Earth is a complex system of interacting rock, water, air, and life.
·       The Earth is continuously changing and reforming.
·       The Earth is 4.6 billion years old.
Living organisms can be preserved in rock as fossils.  Fossils are evidence of how life has changed on Earth.


VSC 

2.8.B. Earth History
  1. Explain how sedimentary rock is formed periodically, embedding plant and animal remains and leaving a record of the sequence in
  which the plants and animals appeared and disappeared.
      a. Explain how sedimentary rock buried deep enough may be reformed by pressure and heat and these re-formed rock layers
      may be forced up again (uplift) to become land surface and even mountains.
      b. Cite evidence to confirm that thousands of layers of sedimentary rock reveal the long history of the changing surface of the
     Earth
      c. Explain why some fossils found in the top layers of sedimentary rock are older then those found beneath in lower layers.
§       Folding              Breaking       Uplift           Faulting        Tilting
  2. Recognize and explain that fossils found in layers of sedimentary rock provide evidence of changing life forms.
      a. Recognize how different types of fossils are formed, such as petrified remains, imprints, molds and casts.
      b. Recognize and explain that the fossil record of plants and animals describes changes in life forms over time.






BIG IDEAS

·                                  How can live things be preserved inside of a rock?
·                                  How are different fossil types formed?
·                                  What types of evidence can be gathered about life on Earth from fossils?
·                                  How can the relative and absolute ages of rock be determined?  (and thus the fossils in it)
·                                  How can sedimentary rock be reformed into new landforms? (thus transporting fossils to new areas)
·                                  How do fossils show that life on Earth has evolved over time?
How is geologic time measured?





·    Fossils are traces of living organisms preserved in rocks (mainly sedimentary rock).
·    There are several different types of fossils: molds and casts, petrified fossils, and preserved remains.
·    The layers of sediments that surround fossils provide evidence and a record of the Earth’s geologic history.  They give us clues to past climates and geologic events.
·    Fossils are evidence of evolutionary change through time; they show us organisms that re now extinct and can be compared to organisms that exist today.
·    The relative age of a rock can be determined using the Law of Superposition, meaning in horizontal rock, the layer of rock on top of other rock is considered to be the younger of the two layers.
·    The absolute age of a rock can be determined using radioactive decay.  During radioactive decay, unstable elements lose energy becoming a more stable element.  This decay process happens at a measured rate called half-life.  By measuring the amount of radioactive element left in a rock we can determine how old it is.
·    Fossils contained in sedimentary rock may be reformed over time because sedimentary rock can break into sediments and reform.
·    Sedimentary rock can be reformed or uplifted to make new landforms including mountains.
Earth’s History is marked by several “Geologic Eras.”  In order from oldest to most recent, they are:  Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Cenozoic.  Within the geologic eras are smaller sections of time called periods.


FIRST  LARGE ASSIGNMENT=
Please  Look up these Vocabulary Terms and put the words and their definitions in your journal



Deposition
Cementation
Compaction
Fossil
Geologist
Extinct
Law of Superposition
Radioactive decay
Period
Era
Sediments
Paleontologist
Cast
Imprints
Petrified Remains
Preserved Remains
Evolution







PRE-TEST  - Please copy these questions in your journal and answer them there.
·    How can live things be preserved inside of a rock?
·    How are different fossil types formed?
·    What types of evidence can be gathered about life on Earth from fossils?
·    How can the relative and absolute ages of rock be determined?  (and thus the fossils in it)
·    How can sedimentary rock be reformed into new landforms? (thus transporting fossils to new areas)
·    How do fossils show that life on Earth has evolved over time?
How is geologic time measured?














Please copy the assignment below in your journal and complete it 
there





PRETEST- Rocks Rock! Part 1


1.What is a geologist?
  One who studies maps of the earth.
  One who studies the earth, especially rocks.
  One who looks for logic in rocks.
  One who studies people who have rocks in their heads.
2.Rocks are made up of:
  Volcanic material
  Sediment
  Chemicals and clasts
  Minerals
3.Rocks can be classified by the following:
  Pattern, texture, odor, flavor
  Animal, vegetable, mineral
  Color, pattern, texture, hardness
  Color, shape, rolling ability
4.Rocks formed from volcanic eruptions are called:
  Igneous
  Chemical sedimentary
  Clastic sedimentary
  Magmatic
5.Rocks that have layers or clasts were formed by:
  The hammering of a rock hound
  Lava oozing in layers out of a volcano
  Water washing their minerals away
  Sediment being compressed until it becomes rock
6.Which of these items is not among a geologist's equipment?
  Magnifying glasses
  Gloves
  Goggles
  Geometrids
7.There are 4,000 common minerals found in the earth.
  False
  True
8.Whether an igneous rock is smooth or rough is determined by:
  How much pressure compacted it
  Whether the cooling process was quick or slow
  Whether it has been put through a rock tumbler




Please copy this assignment in your journal and complete it there










PRETEST - Rocks Rock! Part 2


1.Which of these is not a cause of metamorphism?
  Mineral-rich water
  Pressure
  Erosion
  High heat
2.Most metamorphism takes place:
  Deep within the Earth
  Inside volcanoes
  Outside the Earth's crust
  In the water
3.Regional metamorphism occurs under volcanoes.
  False
  True
4.Two types of metamorphic rocks exist. They are:
  Foliated and Nonfoliated
  Igneous and Sedimentary
  Gneiss and Marble
  Weathered and Eroded
5.The process through which rocks change is called:
  Rock Cycle
  Erosion
  Rock Life
  Foliating
6.The three types of rock - igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic - all have something in common. What is it?
  They are all made from plate boundaries.
  They are all nonfoliated.
  They all weather and erode.
  They are all foliated.













Please copy this assignment in your journal and complete it there










PRE-TEST   Fossils Tell A Story


1.
How are eras defined?






2.
Scientists believe that for each organism that exists today, how many more are extinct?
  At least one thousand
  At least one hundred
  At least five hundred
3.
Name two animals that have become extinct.






4.
What can scientists tell about an animal from a fossilized footprint?
  Whether or not it is extinct
  How much it weighed
  What it ate
5.
What can scientists tell from a fossil of seashells that was found in the middle of the woods?
  The organisms are extinct.
  The area was once covered by an ocean.
  What these organisms ate
6.
What makes scientists think that arctic areas were once warm?
  They found fossils of horses there.
  They found wooly mammoths there.
  They found fossils of coral there.








Earth History-6th Grade
Please copy this assignment in your journal and complete it there

















Complete each sentence using the words in the word list.


PaleontologistadaptationGeologistartifactFossil
DepositionSedimentsEvolutionExtinct


_______________1.  A person's teeth is a structural ____.
_______________2.  The ____ worked very carefully when digging up a fossil.
_______________3.  "Survival of the fittest" was part of Darwin's theory of ____.
_______________4.  The ____ studied the fossils to dtermine the age of the dinosaur.
_______________5.  the ____ of the sediment caused the mountains erosion.
_______________6.  ____ can be caused by water, wind, or ice.
_______________7.  A delta is formed by the ____ of silt at the mouth of a river.
_______________8.  Sedimentary rock can be formed from ____ such as sand that is pressed or cemented together.
_______________9.  He used radiocarbon dating to determine how old the ____ was.
_______________10.  A ____ is a scientist who studies rocks to learn about the history and structure of the Earth.
_______________11.  The Dodo bird is now ____.
_______________12.  The paleontologists made a cast of the print ____.
_______________13.  Changes in the environment effect the ____ of populations.
_______________14.  ____ fuels, named because they developed from fossils, include coal, oil and natural gas.
_______________15.  The smelly spray of a skunk is an ____ that protects it.




















Please click the site below and watch the first 2 minutes and 15 seconds of this video.  As you watch the video   take 10+ notes in your journal


http://www.encyclopedia.com/video/lsZq1pNufNg-plate-tectonics.aspx



























































Franklin Institute  -2011














Read this article about the layers of the Earth


HOW MANY LICKS DOES IT TAKE TO GET TO THE CENTER?





Have you ever wondered how many licks it takes to get to the core of a giant jaw breaker? 1, 2,3…slurp. The earth is in some ways like a giant jaw breaker. It is composed of several layers: the crust, the mantel, and the core.



CRUST
What comes to mind when you think of the word crust? Perhaps it is the time old saying," Eat your crust!" The earth's crust is a little different then the crust on a piece of bread. It is not soft and chewy, but it hard and composed of different minerals. The thin, outermost layer of the earth is called the crust. It makes up only one percent of the earth's mass. The continental crust is thicker than the oceanic crust. It can range from 25 km thick at the edges to 70 km thick near the center. The oceanic crust on the other hand is only about 7 km thick and considerably more dense. The crust and the uppermost part of the mantle make up the lithosphere, a solid region that is broken into plates. It is about 65 to 100 km thick.

Assignment=Please copy this graphic organizer into your journal and complete it from the reading above.






Please copy this assignment in your journal and complete it there













Complete each sentence.


_______________1.  The (Era, Preserved Remains, geologist) found a rare fossil.
_______________2.  The (time, geologist, artifact) came to the Adirondacks to study rock formation.
_______________3.  I would like to become a (adaptation, geologist, Compaction) and travel around the world.
_______________4.  (Cast, Adaptation, Cementation) caused the soil to form a huge rock on the beach.
_______________5.  An (Law of Superposition, Cast, artifact) belonging to another King Tut was found by Indiana Jones.
_______________6.  "Survival of the fittest" was part of Darwin's theory of (evolution, Cementation, Cast) .
_______________7.  (Period, Sediments, Adaptation) are pieces of rock, shells, and other things.
_______________8.  The (trace fossils, Extinct, paleontologist) showed us some of the fossil remains he had uncovered.
_______________9.  (Geologist, Fossil, Paleontologist) fuels, named because they developed from fossils, include coal, oil and natural gas.
_______________10.  (Geologist, Natural selection, Deposition) can be caused by water, wind, or ice.
_______________11.  the (deposition, natural selection, Imprints) of the sediment caused the mountains erosion.
_______________12.  Although the dinosaurs once lived, they are now (vanished, extinct, time) .


Please read this article and complete the work below in your journal

MANTLE
The mantle is the layer below the crust. It makes up almost two thirds of the earth's mass and is about 2900 km thick. The mantel is divided into two regions, the upper and lower sections. Directly below the upper section is the asthenosphere. Heat and pressure cause a small amount of melting to occur in the asthenosphere. While still solid, the asthenosphere is able to flow. The ability of a solid to flow is calledplasticitySee "What's the matter?" for an activity to demonstrate plasticity. Since the asthenosphere is more liquid than the rest of the mantle, the broken lithosphere plates are able to "float" on it.

When the material in the asthenosphere is heated, it becomes less dense and rises. While the cooler material is more dense tends to sink. Circulating currents carry the warmer material up and the cooler material down. These circular currents in the asthenosphere are called convection currents. The circulating convection currents cause the plates to move.



Assignment= Explain in your journal what "convection currents " are.

Assignment=Please copy this graphic organizer into your journal and complete it from the reading above.




CORE
Below the mantle is the core, the center of the earth. It makes up nearly one third the mass of the earth. The core is also divided into two regions, the inner core and the outer core. From seismic or earthquake waves, scientists believe the outer core is a liquid and the inner core is a solid. The outer core is made of iron and is very dense. Scientists hypothesize that the circulation of the outer core causes the magnetic field around the earth. It is believed to be circulating in the counter-clockwise direction giving us the north pole in its present location. It switches about every million years. A record of this "switching" is recorded in the rocks both on land and in the ocean crust. See "Go west young man! But which way is north? "The inner core is made of solid iron and nickel. Many scientists believe it is kept in the solid state because of the extreme pressure from the other layers.





Assignment=Please copy this graphic organizer into your journal and complete it from the reading above.


Assignment= Explain in your journal what " It is believed to be circulating in the counter-clockwise direction" means in regards to the spinning of the outer core.







Please read this article below









Rocks Rock! Part 1 
By Brenda B. Covert
  










1     A rock hound is a person who collects rocks. Not only do they collect them, they can identify different rocks by studying their colors, textures, patterns, and hardness. Field guides and other books about rocks and minerals line their bookshelves. They own rock hammers, goggles, work gloves, and magnifying glasses. They have sturdy rock tumbling equipment to polish their finds, and some sort of container in which to display their rocks. It may be an old egg carton, or it may be a wooden display case with many different compartments. Every rock hound knows that rocks rule!
 2     Rocks are made up of minerals. Some rocks are formed out of only one mineral, while others contain several different minerals. A mineral is a naturally occurring, solid substance that forms as a crystal. There are more than 4,000 different minerals, but of those only about 100 are common. Both diamonds and chalk are minerals. Since rocks are formed from single minerals as well as combinations of minerals, imagine how many different types of rocks exist!
 3     Though rocks come in all shapes, sizes, colors, textures, and degrees of hardness, geologists can classify them in three main groups. These groups describe how the rocks were formed. This lesson will cover two of the three classifications. The third and most complex classification will be covered in Part 2.
 






















Assignment=Please copy this graphic organizer into your journal and complete it from the reading above.


4     Igneous [IG-nee-us] rocks come from volcanic eruptions. They can form either from magma that has cooled and hardened beneath the Earth's surface, or from lava that cooled and hardened once it oozed or exploded onto the Earth's surface or into the ocean. Igneous rocks will have a texture determined by the speed with which the melted rock cooled. If it cooled quickly, the resulting igneous rock will be smooth. If it cooled slowly, the igneous rock will be coarse. There are hundreds of named igneous rocks. Granite is a light-colored igneous rock. Basalt, Earth's most common rock, is dark-colored.




Assignment=Please copy this graphic organizer into your journal and complete it from the reading above. 



 5     Sedimentary [said-uh-MEN-tuh-ree] rock forms from sediment - material from the Earth's surface (such as sand, clay, gravel and seashells) that settles in layers at the bottom of watery places. If you were to scoop up a glass of water from a puddle, stream, or ocean, you could watch the sediment in the water slowly sink to the bottom of the glass. Sedimentary rock takes many years to form. As layers settle on top of layers, the bottom layers are compressed. Eventually, they are compacted into rock. They are often recognizable by distinctive stripes or spots. The best example of sedimentary rock is found in the Grand Canyon in Arizona, where the different colored layers of rock can easily be seen. Sandstone is an easy to find rock that usually reveals layers and a variety of colors.




 6     

Assignment=Please copy this graphic organizer into your journal and complete it from the reading above.


     There are two types of sedimentary rock. Clastic sedimentary rocks are made up of pieces (clasts) of preexisting rocks. Pieces of rock, loosened by weathering, wind up imbedded in sediment. If the sediment is buried deeply, it becomes compacted and cemented, thus forming clastic sedimentary rock.
 
7     Chemical sedimentary rocks are formed over time by a process called chemical precipitation. Water removes some of a rock's minerals and carries them away. Those minerals are deposited somewhere along the way, and they begin to build up. Eventually the water evaporates away or becomes oversaturated with the minerals, thus creating chemical sedimentary rock. Stalactites, stalagmites, and salt are all formed in this manner.





                      
Copyright © 2011 edHelper










Assignment=Please copy this graphic organizer into your journal and complete it from the reading above.




Assignment=Please double click this web site and scroll down to "Types of Rocks" and click there

Then watch the power point and take 20 notes from the movie in your journal
Finally click the quiz, copy the questions in your journal and take it there





Please copy this assignment below  in your journal and complete it there




Rocks Rock! Part 1

1.  What is a geologist?
  One who studies maps of the earth.
  One who studies the earth, especially rocks.
  One who looks for logic in rocks.
  One who studies people who have rocks in their heads.
2.  Rocks are made up of:
  Volcanic material
  Sediment
  Chemicals and clasts
  Minerals
3.  Rocks can be classified by the following:
  Pattern, texture, odor, flavor
  Animal, vegetable, mineral
  Color, pattern, texture, hardness
  Color, shape, rolling ability
4.  Rocks formed from volcanic eruptions are called:
  Igneous
  Chemical sedimentary
  Clastic sedimentary
  Magmatic
5.  Rocks that have layers or clasts were formed by:
  The hammering of a rock hound
  Lava oozing in layers out of a volcano
  Water washing their minerals away
  Sediment being compressed until it becomes rock
6.  Which of these items is not among a geologist's equipment?
  Magnifying glasses
  Gloves
  Goggles
  Geometrids
7.  There are 4,000 common minerals found in the earth.
  False
  True
8.  Whether an igneous rock is smooth or rough is determined by:
  How much pressure compacted it
  Whether the cooling process was quick or slow
  Whether it has been put through a rock tumbler







Rocks Rock! Part 1 
By Brenda B. Covert
  



best
oversaturated
complex


identify
magma
clasts


several
eventually
oozed


preexisting
settle
sandstone


distinctive
hardness
determined


Directions:  Fill in each blank with the word that best completes the reading comprehension.

     A rock hound is a person who collects rocks. Not only do they collect them, they can (1)  _______________________   different rocks by studying their colors, textures, patterns, and (2)  _______________________  . Field guides and other books about rocks and minerals line their bookshelves. They own rock hammers, goggles, work gloves, and magnifying glasses. They have sturdy rock tumbling equipment to polish their finds, and some sort of container in which to display their rocks. It may be an old egg carton, or it may be a wooden display case with many different compartments. Every rock hound knows that rocks rule!
     Rocks are made up of minerals. Some rocks are formed out of only one mineral, while others contain (3)  _______________________   different minerals. A mineral is a naturally occurring, solid substance that forms as a crystal. There are more than 4,000 different minerals, but of those only about 100 are common. Both diamonds and chalk are minerals. Since rocks are formed from single minerals as well as combinations of minerals, imagine how many different types of rocks exist!
     Though rocks come in all shapes, sizes, colors, textures, and degrees of hardness, geologists can classify them in three main groups. These groups describe how the rocks were formed. This lesson will cover two of the three classifications. The third and most (4)  _______________________   classification will be covered in Part 2.
     Igneous [IG-nee-us] rocks come from volcanic eruptions. They can form either from (5)  _______________________   that has cooled and hardened beneath the Earth's surface, or from lava that cooled and hardened once it(6)  _______________________   or exploded onto the Earth's surface or into the ocean. Igneous rocks will have a texture (7)  _______________________   by the speed with which the melted rock cooled. If it cooled quickly, the resulting igneous rock will be smooth. If it cooled slowly, the igneous rock will be coarse. There are hundreds of named igneous rocks. Granite is a light-colored igneous rock. Basalt, Earth's most common rock, is dark-colored.
     Sedimentary [said-uh-MEN-tuh-ree] rock forms from sediment - material from the Earth's surface (such as sand, clay, gravel and seashells) that settles in layers at the bottom of watery places. If you were to scoop up a glass of water from a puddle, stream, or ocean, you could watch the sediment in the water slowly sink to the bottom of the glass. Sedimentary rock takes many years to form. As layers (8)  _______________________   on top of layers, the bottom layers are compressed. (9)  _______________________  , they are compacted into rock. They are often recognizable by (10)  _______________________   stripes or spots. The (11)  _______________________   example of sedimentary rock is found in the Grand Canyon in Arizona, where the different colored layers of rock can easily be seen. (12)  _______________________   is an easy to find rock that usually reveals layers and a variety of colors.
     There are two types of sedimentary rock. Clastic sedimentary rocks are made up of pieces ((13)  _______________________  ) of (14)  _______________________   rocks. Pieces of rock, loosened by weathering, wind up imbedded in sediment. If the sediment is buried deeply, it becomes compacted and cemented, thus forming clastic sedimentary rock.
     Chemical sedimentary rocks are formed over time by a process called chemical precipitation. Water removes some of a rock's minerals and carries them away. Those minerals are deposited somewhere along the way, and they begin to build up. Eventually the water evaporates away or becomes (15)  _______________________   with the minerals, thus creating chemical sedimentary rock. Stalactites, stalagmites, and salt are all formed in this manner.
 

Copyright © 2011 edHelper







Please Read this article

From Sediment To Stone





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Home     Animals     Fossils     Insects     Minerals     Rocks     Funstuff

How do fossils form?

Not many plants and animals are lucky enough be turned into fossils.
When an animal or plant dies its remains usually rot away to nothing. Sometimes though, when the conditions are just right and its remains can be buried quickly, it may be fossilised. There are several different ways fossils are formed. Here we go through the five steps of fossilisation to make a typical 'mould and cast' fossil.

Skeleton on the sea floorAn animal dies, its skeleton settles on the sea floor and is buried by sediment.

An animal dies and its body sinks to the sea floor. The soft parts of the animal rot away, leaving only its skeleton. The skeleton is buried by sediment (like mud or sand) falling from the ocean above. The sea floor is an ideal place for fossilisation, which explains why many fossils are marine (from animals that lived in the sea). Land animals may die and be swept out to sea to be buried in the same way.

Skeleton buried by sedimentThe sediment surrounding the skeleton thickens and begins to turn to stone.

The skeleton continues to be buried as sediment is added to the surface of the sea floor. As the sea floor sinks, pressure increases in the lower layers of sediment and it turns it into hard rock.

Skeleton buried by sedimentThe skeleton dissolves and a mould is formed.

Now buried at depth and surrounded by stone, the skeleton is dissolved by ground water. This leaves a cavity (or hole) preserving the shape of the original skeleton. This cavity is known as a natural mould.

Skeleton buried by sedimentMinerals crystallise inside the mould and a cast is formed.

Water rich in minerals enters the mould, and fills the cavity. The minerals deposited in the mould form a cast of the mould. This cast has the same shape as the original skeleton, but none of its internal features.

Skeleton buried by sedimentThe fossil is exposed on the Earth's surface. 

Millions of years later, the rock surrounding the skeleton rises to the Earth's surface (this happens during mountain building, earthquakes and other earth processes). The rock is worn away by wind and rain, and the fossil is now exposed, waiting to be found!

Fossils form when the conditions are right. Why not find out more about fossils?
See how difficult it is to become a fossil by playing our game, A twist in time!
If you read these pages you should get a pretty good idea of what a fossil is.

Introducing the basics What can fossils tell us?
How do fossils form? Different types of fossils

Find out more about fossils by visiting Invertebrate I.D. or the History of life





Summarize How fossils are formed in your journal
__________________________________________
__________________________________________













Rocks Rock! Part 2 
By Brenda B. Covert
  










1     You are familiar with the metamorphosis of butterflies, the cycle that begins with an egg and goes through caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly. You know that butterflies are metamorphic, but did you know that rocks are metamorphic as well? It's true!
 2     We covered igneous and sedimentary rocks in Part 1. They are related to the third type of rock. When certain processes are applied to igneous or sedimentary rocks, they become metamorphic rocks, the third type of rock found on Earth.
 3     Metamorphism occurs within the Earth's crust rather than on the surface. Most metamorphism takes place from 6 to 19 miles below the Earth's surface. That means we don't see metamorphic rock nearly as often as the igneous (from lava or magma) or sedimentary (layers of pressed sediment) types of rocks.
 
















Assignment=Please copy this graphic organizer into your journal and complete it from the reading above.

4     There are three main causes of metamorphism. The first is heat, which breaks down the chemical bonds in a rock's minerals, causing them to form new minerals. This results in a new rock. The type of rock that is formed depends on the type of rock it was originally.
 5     The second cause is pressure. The deeper inside the crust rock material is, the more it is being squeezed, resulting in a denser rock. Heat from deep within the crust -- near the mantle -- softens the dense rock, giving it folding ability. As the Earth's plates collide and move, the pressure forces the rock into new shapes.
 6     The third cause is extremely hot, mineral-rich water. Found near magma, this water runs from 570 - 930F. The nearby rocks not only get heated, they either gain minerals or have minerals washed away. Voilá! Once again a rock changes its structure and becomes a new rock!
 






Assignment=Please copy this graphic organizer into your journal and complete it from the reading above.





7     Most metamorphism occurs around plate boundaries. This is called regional metamorphism. Metamorphism may also occur deep inside the Earth and under volcanoes, when magma rises up through rock layers, bringing enough heat to create new rocks. This is called contact metamorphism.




 







Assignment=Please copy this graphic organizer into your journal and complete it from the reading above.




8     Metamorphic rocks can be divided into two groups. Foliated rocks have visible layers or bands. Gneiss (nice) is a foliated metamorphic rock that comes from granite, an igneous rock. Gneiss usually has visible bands of light and dark minerals. Nonfoliated rocks do not appear to be layered. Marble is a nonfoliated metamorphic rock that comes from limestone, a sedimentary rock. Pure marble is white. The presence of different elements causes marble to be different colors.
 













Assignment=Please copy this graphic organizer into your journal and complete it from the reading above.




9     This may seem hard to believe, but rocks go through a cycle of change and renewal. We call it the rock cycle. It goes something like this: magma flows deep inside the Earth. It erupts as lava from a volcano. It cools and becomes igneous rock. Weathering and erosion break the igneous rock down and carry away the sediment. The sediment is deposited in layers, building up over the years. Pressure changes it to sedimentary rock. (Sedimentary rock can also erode and weather, returning to sediment again.) Sedimentary rock gets pressed deeper into the Earth. It changes into metamorphic rock. (Metamorphic rock, if it comes to the surface, can also erode and weather away.) It gets pressed still deeper into the Earth. Heat and pressure cause the rock to melt. It is magma once again, and the cycle continues.
Copyright © 2011 edHelper








Please copy these questions from below in your journal and answer them there.













Rocks Rock! Part 2

1.  Which of these is not a cause of metamorphism?
  High heat
  Mineral-rich water
  Erosion
  Pressure
2.  Most metamorphism takes place:
  In the water
  Outside the Earth's crust
  Inside volcanoes
  Deep within the Earth
3.  Regional metamorphism occurs under volcanoes.
  False
  True
4.  Two types of metamorphic rocks exist. They are:
  Gneiss and Marble
  Foliated and Nonfoliated
  Igneous and Sedimentary
  Weathered and Eroded
5.  The process through which rocks change is called:
  Erosion
  Foliating
  Rock Life
  Rock Cycle
6.  The three types of rock - igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic - all have something in common. What is it?
  They are all foliated.
  They are all made from plate boundaries.
  They all weather and erode.
  They are all nonfoliated.

Rocks Rock! Part 2 
By Brenda B. Covert
  



sedimentary
regional
igneous


become
contact
granite


causing
which
causes


nearby
bands
ability


familiar
within
becomes


cause
nonfoliated
pressure


Directions:  Fill in each blank with the word that best completes the reading comprehension.

     You are (1)  _______________________   with the metamorphosis of butterflies, the cycle that begins with an egg and goes through caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly. You know that butterflies are metamorphic, but did you know that rocks are metamorphic as well? It's true!
     We covered igneous and sedimentary rocks in Part 1. They are related to the third type of rock. When certain processes are applied to igneous or sedimentary rocks, they (2)  _______________________   metamorphic rocks, the third type of rock found on Earth.
     Metamorphism occurs within the Earth's crust rather than on the surface. Most metamorphism takes place from 6 to 19 miles below the Earth's surface. That means we don't see metamorphic rock nearly as often as the(3)  _______________________   (from lava or magma) or sedimentary (layers of pressed sediment) types of rocks.
     There are three main causes of metamorphism. The first is heat, (4)  _______________________   breaks down the chemical bonds in a rock's minerals, (5)  _______________________   them to form new minerals. This results in a new rock. The type of rock that is formed depends on the type of rock it was originally.
     The second (6)  _______________________   is pressure. The deeper inside the crust rock material is, the more it is being squeezed, resulting in a denser rock. Heat from deep (7)  _______________________   the crust -- near the mantle -- softens the dense rock, giving it folding (8)  _______________________  . As the Earth's plates collide and move, the pressure forces the rock into new shapes.
     The third cause is extremely hot, mineral-rich water. Found near magma, this water runs from 570 - 930F. The (9)  _______________________   rocks not only get heated, they either gain minerals or have minerals washed away. Voilá! Once again a rock changes its structure and (10)  _______________________   a new rock!
     Most metamorphism occurs around plate boundaries. This is called (11)  _______________________   metamorphism. Metamorphism may also occur deep inside the Earth and under volcanoes, when magma rises up through rock layers, bringing enough heat to create new rocks. This is called (12)  _______________________   metamorphism.
     Metamorphic rocks can be divided into two groups. Foliated rocks have visible layers or bands. Gneiss (nice) is a foliated metamorphic rock that comes from (13)  _______________________  , an igneous rock. Gneiss usually has visible(14)  _______________________   of light and dark minerals. (15)  _______________________   rocks do not appear to be layered. Marble is a nonfoliated metamorphic rock that comes from limestone, a sedimentary rock. Pure marble is white. The presence of different elements (16)  _______________________   marble to be different colors.
     This may seem hard to believe, but rocks go through a cycle of change and renewal. We call it the rock cycle. It goes something like this: magma flows deep inside the Earth. It erupts as lava from a volcano. It cools and becomes igneous rock. Weathering and erosion break the igneous rock down and carry away the sediment. The sediment is deposited in layers, building up over the years. (17)  _______________________   changes it to (18)  _______________________   rock. (Sedimentary rock can also erode and weather, returning to sediment again.) Sedimentary rock gets pressed deeper into the Earth. It changes into metamorphic rock. (Metamorphic rock, if it comes to the surface, can also erode and weather away.) It gets pressed still deeper into the Earth. Heat and pressure cause the rock to melt. It is magma once again, and the cycle continues.
 

Copyright © 2011 edHelper




Rocks Rock! Part 2

1.  Which of these is not a cause of metamorphism?
  Mineral-rich water
  Pressure
  Erosion
  High heat
2.  Most metamorphism takes place:
  Deep within the Earth
  Inside volcanoes
  Outside the Earth's crust
  In the water
3.  Regional metamorphism occurs under volcanoes.
  False
  True
4.  Two types of metamorphic rocks exist. They are:
  Foliated and Nonfoliated
  Igneous and Sedimentary
  Gneiss and Marble
  Weathered and Eroded
5.  The process through which rocks change is called:
  Rock Cycle
  Erosion
  Rock Life
  Foliating
6.  The three types of rock - igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic - all have something in common. What is it?
  They are all made from plate boundaries.
  They are all nonfoliated.
  They all weather and erode.
  They are all foliated.

Name _____________________________
Date ___________________
(Key 1 - Answer ID # 0370191)
Circle the correct way to divide the word into syllables.
1.meta-mor-phicmetam-o-rphicmetam-orp-hicmetamorphic
2.col-lidec-oll-idecollidecol-li-de
3.limestonelime-stonelime-stonelimes-to-ne
4.gran-itegra-niteg-rani-tegrani-t-e
5.magm-amagmama-gmamag-ma
6.sedi-m-en-t-aryse-di-m-ent-ar-ysed-i-men-ta-rysedi-m-e-nt-a-r-y
7.gneissgne-issg-n-eissgn-eiss
8.c-ausecaus-ecausecau-se
9.nea-rlynearl-ynearlynear-ly
10.la-val-avala-vala-v-a
11.r-atherrat-he-rratherrath-er
12.reg-ionalre-gion-alreg-ion-a-lregional
13.vis-i-blevisi-blev-isib-levis-i-b-le
14.with-inwi-thinwit-hi-nwithin
15.i-gn-eo-u-sign-e-ousig-ne-ousign-e-o-us
16.ga-ingai-ng-aingain
17.pr-essurepres-surepressurepres-s-ure
18.se-di-m-entse-dimen-tsedimentsed-i-ment
19.abil-i-tyabil-i-t-yabili-tyab-ilit-y
20.p-res-encep-resen-cepresencepres-ence
21.becomebe-comeb-ecomebec-ome

Please click the site below and play the game




http://www.amnh.org/education/resources/rfl/web/earthmag/look/pages/main.htm#

   Then explain what happened in the game and why it happened   in 2-4 sentences in your journal.






EXPLAIN IT? Then explain what happened below and why it happened   in 2-4 sentences in your journal.


Sometimes a fossil is just a mark left behind by an organism when it was alive such as a trail, a burrow, or a track. These are called trace fossils. Dinosaur footprints are often found in the roofs of coal mines in Carbon County. Were the dinosaurs walking upside-down? Think about it...does this make sense. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the coal formed under the material that the dinosaur stepped on.


Please read this article


Fossils

In the billions of years since the planet Earth was formed, it has undergone many, many changes.   Mountains have pushed up where oceans once covered the land.   Deep canyons have been carved by wind and by water.   Volcanoes have created islands in one place in the oceans and destroyed other islands and land in  different places.

     Geologists   (rock scientists) believe that our ever-changing Earth is between four and five million years old.   They can tell this from the amount of radioactive substances, like uranium, that are found in rocks.

     The oldest rocks on Earth date from the Precambrian Era.   During this time, the continents and oceans began to take shape.  Simple forms of sea life appeared.   Mountains began to rise.  And huge glaciers (large sheets of ice) covered much of the land.   ,

Assignment=Context clues : Explain in your journal what the  word   “theories” means in the paragraph above
    
Assignment=Please copy this graphic organizer into your journal and complete it from the reading above.


     Geologists call the next era the Paleozoic.  It began about 600 million years ago and lasted about 350 million years.   During the Paleozoic period, the first fish appeared in the seas.   Plants and swamp-like forests appeared on the land.


     Then came the first insects, amphibians and reptiles.   Fossil fuels, such as coal, gas, and oil began to form from thick layers of plant and animal remains.  Great floods covered most of North America.

Assignment=Context clues : Explain in your journal what the  word   “remains” means in the paragraph above

Assignment=Please copy this graphic organizer into your journal and complete it from the reading above.

     Next came the Mesozoic  Era, which lasted about 100 million years.   During this era, dinosaurs roamed the world, and then they became extinct.   This was also the era during  which the first birds and mammals appeared


Assignment=Context clues : Explain in your journal what the  word   “era” means in the paragraph above



About 200 years ago, scientific minded people began to study dinosaur bones and other fossils.  Soon these scientists, called paleontologists, developed theories about what fossils really are.


Assignment=Context clues : Explain in your journal what the  word   “theories” means in the paragraph above

     Fossils are the remains of planets or animals that lived long ago.  They may be bones, shells, scales, or teeth.  They may be imprints, or impressions of the plant or animal.  They may be footprints or tracks left by the animal.   They may be complete plants or animals preserved perfectly in amber (sap) or ice.


Assignment= Context clues  Explain in your journal what the  word  “preservedmeans in the paragraph above

     Most fossils are incomplete plants found in sedimentary rock.   Sedimentary rock is a rock  that has been built up of layers of sand and mud called “sediment”.  After millions of years, the weight of the sediment turns the mud into rock.   Fossils in sedimentary rock may be casts or  molds of prehistoric plants or animals.

Assignment= Context clues  Explain in your journal what the  word  “sedimentmeans in the paragraph above


     A “mold” fossil is one in which the outside shape and pattern of a once living thing has been preserved.  For example, when a trilobite, a type of prehistoric shellfish, died, it sank to the sea floor.   It was buried beneath layer upon layer of sediment.     After millions of years, water seeped through the hard sediment and dissolved the trilobite’s shell.   But the shape of  the shell remained in the surrounding rock.   This is called a “mold fossil.”  A mold fossil may also show the bone structure of a fish.  Or it may show animal tracks or the feeding burrows or worms and shellfish, or the outline of a leaf or flower.


Assignment=Please copy this graphic organizer into your journal and complete it from the reading above.


     Sometimes a mold fills up with water that contains minerals. Later, when the water dries up, it  leaves the minerals behind.  When this happens over and over again, the mold gradually becomes filled with minerals that take the exact shape and pattern of the original animal.  This is called a “cast”.  The cast of a trilobite looks like a sold stone carving of that ancient sea animal.  Other cast fossils include fossil bones, coral, and petrified wood.

Assignment=Please copy this graphic organizer into your journal and complete it from the reading above.





       
     The fossil found in amber or tree sap are very different from molds or casts.   They  are complete specimens of ancient plants or small insects.   Very large animals are never fossilized in amber, because amber starts as sticky liquid that oozes out of evergreen trees.  This liquid is called “resin”  or “SAP”.

Assignment=Context clues   Explain in your journal what the  word  “specimen” means in the paragraph above


     Millions of years ago, a prehistoric ant might have been climbing a prehistoric pine tree looking for food when it became trapped or stuck I the tree’s sap.  Over time, the sap hardened and became a clear material that is now called “amber”.   Inside the amber, the insect was perfectly preserved.   Any fossil encased in amber looks exactly as the animal looked millions of years ago.









WITHOUT A TRACE!Some rare organisms are preserved unaltered (unchanged). This might happen when an animal falls through ice or into a tar pit. Some insects such as mosquitos have been preserved in amber (fossilized sap from ancient trees). Most plants and animals that lived in the past died without leaving a trace.






Assignment=Please copy this graphic organizer into your journal and complete it from the reading above.


     When a fossil such as a dinosaur bone is discovered, it must be carefully removed to prevent damage.  If the fossil is buried deep in the ground or surrounded by hard stone or rock, the paleontologists may first excavate by digging, or even by using dynamite.

             

Assignment=Context clues   Explain in your journal what the  word  “prevent” means in the paragraph above


Assignment=Context clues  Explain in your journal what the  word    “excavate”  means in the paragraph above


     Closer to the fossil, smaller hand tools are used.  Finally, the fossil is protected with a coating of plastic or shellac.   Then it is covered with wet paper, followed by burlap and plaster of  Paris.   When this protective jacket is dry, the fossil is turned over, and the process is repeated on the other side.  Then the dinosaur bone is shipped to a museum, where it is to be studied.

Assignment=Context clues   Explain in your journal what the  word  “process” means in the paragraph above


     When scientists study a fossil, they have a number of ways to decide how old it is.  One way is to compare it with similar fossils found in other places.   Another way is to compare it with fossils of other species found nearby.   For example, when two trilobite fossils are very similar, the two trilobites probably lived at the same time, even if one fossil was discovered far away from the other.   And if a jellyfish fossil is found with a trilobite fossil, it is probably same to think that the jellyfish lived in the same sea at the same time as the trilobite.

Assignment=Please copy this graphic organizer into your journal and complete it from the reading above.

     Scientists also get clues about the age of a fossil from the material in which it is found.   For example, any fossil found in sedimentary rock that formed 200 million years ago must be 200 million years old.

    Fossils show us the evolution or development or improvement of many of today’s plants and animals that once lived on the Earth, but which have disappeared from the face of the Earth.   The long history of the Earth is written in rock.  By studying fossils, we can learn many things about these changes and the world of long ago.

    
Assignment=Please copy this graphic organizer into your journal and complete it from the two short paragraphs of reading above.





Assignment= Context clues   Explain in your journal what the word  “evolution” means in the paragraph above


How Do We Know How Old Rocks And Remains Are
    Ancient remains like bones or pots may be thousands or millions of years old.   Fossils and rocks are really old.   We can find out when they formed because everything gives out radioactive rays, though they are usually too weak to harm us.   After living things die or a rock is formed, the amount of radioactivity drops steadily. By measuring the radioactivity, we can find out how old something is.
(The Random House  Book of 1001 Questions and Answers, Ardley, Bridget and Neil, 1999)

Assignment=Please copy this graphic organizer into your journal and complete it from the reading above.



Absolute-age dating. No, it has nothing to do with dinner and a movie. Absolute-age dating is way for scientists to tell the exact age of a rock, fossil, or other object. There are several methods used to do this.
 2     One way is called radiometric dating. This process involves measuring the rate of decay of radioactive isotopes. Isotopes are atoms of the same element that have the same chemical properties. They have different mass numbers. These isotopes are found in igneous and metamorphic rocks. They are also found in fossils and remains of organisms.
 3     Radioactive substances give off protons (positive particles) and neutrons (neutral particles) at a steady rate. Eventually, these substances change into different elements. The new element is no longer radioactive.
 4     For example, an isotope of uranium, U-238, will eventually decay into an isotope of lead. This change, over time, is called radioactive decay. In this case, the uranium is called the parent and the lead is called the daughter element.
 5     Radioactive decay is a constant process. It is not affected by temperature, pressure, or other physical changes. As the number of parent atoms decreases, the number of daughter atoms increases. As scientists measure these changes, they can tell how old a substance is.
6
    Counting tree rings is another way to determine the age of an object or event. Trees grow faster during the spring months. They grow more slowly during the winter. A pair of winter and spring tree rings represents an annual ring. Scientists can date an event such as a drought or a forest fire by counting the annual rings on a cross-section of a tree. 
           

            no #7
8     Another type of absolute dating uses varves. Varves are bands of alternating dark and light sediments. Light colored sediments are usually deposited during summer months. Dark sediments are deposited during the winter. 
9     Scientists study these varves, like tree rings, to find evidence of events that ran in a cycle, like the seasons. For example, they can compare varves in different lakes. This can help them find the ages of the lake sediments. 
10     Key beds are another time-marker scientists use for absolute dating. A key bed is a layer of sediment. It was deposited during a short-lived event such as a volcanic eruption. Geologists can use radiometric dating to determine how old the rock layer is. They can then use this key bed to compare rock layers across a large area. 
11     When Mount Saint Helens erupted in 1980, volcanic ash landed in several states. Over time, this ash will become a thin layer of clay. This is a key bed. It will mark the date of the eruption. 
12     The earth has experienced awesome events over its long life. Asteroids, volcanic eruptions, and ice ages have changed the face of the earth. Species of organisms have come and gone. Scientists can tell when these events occurred using absolute-age dating.
Copyright © 2011 edHelper






Explain in your journal what a "half-life" is  (in 2-4 sentences)


Explain in your journal what a "tree ring " is  (in 2-4 sentences)


Explain in your journal what a "varve" is  (in 2-4 sentences)


In your journal, Compare a tree ring to a "bed" In 3-5 sentences


Read this article about Fossils









Fossils Tell A Story 
By Patti Hutchison
  







1     Imagine you are hiking in the woods. As you walk up a steep hill, you find a fossil. It is a mold of many tiny seashells. What would sea shells be doing in the middle of the woods?
 2     Most fossils are found in sedimentary rocks. These rocks form on the surface of the earth. They record the processes that have happened on the surface, including life. Scientists are able to arrange fossils according to age. This is called the fossil record. By studying the fossil record, scientists have found that the earth and its life forms have gone through many changes in the past.
 3     Fossils have taught us how and when rock layers have formed. They have also helped scientists learn about life forms that have come and gone. Fossils have even taught us about the climate of the earth long ago.











Assignment=Please copy this graphic organizer  in your journal and complete it from the reading above.



 4     The Geologic Time Scale is divided into huge blocks of time called eras. Eras are defined by major changes in the fossils found in the sedimentary rock layers that were formed during those time spans.
 5     Some species of organisms can be found on both sides of a time period. Usually, however, fossils found in one rock layer are different than fossils found in the layers above and below. This shows that over time, many organisms have become extinct. In fact, scientists believe that for every organism alive today, at least one hundred others have become extinct.
 6     A common example of extinct organisms is the dinosaurs. Hundreds of different kinds of dinosaurs lived on earth millions of years ago. But we don't see any today. Many other animals such as wooly mammoths and saber-toothed tigers have also become extinct.
 7     By studying the fossil record, scientists have found that many organisms that are alive today have changed over time. For example, fossil evidence has shown that the ancestors of horses were once only the size of dogs.



Assignment=Please copy this graphic organizer  in your journal and complete it from the reading above.

 8     Fossils can even tell scientists how past life forms looked and behaved. Footprints help them to know how heavy and animal was. The shapes of teeth give clues about what the animal ate.
 9     So, what does the fossil of the seashells found in the woods tell scientists? It tells them that the earth once looked very different than it does now. This fossil indicates that those woods were once covered by an ocean.
 10     The fossil record can also show us how the earth's climate has changed over time. For example, fossils of coral have been found in arctic regions. Coral is an organism that lives in warm water. This tells us that these frigid areas were once much warmer than they are today.
 11     Each time period has left its own impressions in the rock layers. The fossil record has shown how earth and its life forms have affected each other throughout time.
 12     By studying the fossil record, scientists have been able to tell the story of the history of our earth.

Assignment=Please copy this graphic organizer  in your journal and complete it 
from the reading above.Copyright © edHelper 2011 







Assignment=Expain in your journal what the fossils can tell us about the change in animals on the Earth. (2-3 sentences)




Please copy this assignment in your journal and complete it there
























Complete each sentence using the words in the word list.


PaleontologistSedimentsartifact

CementationGeologistFossil


_______________16.  ____ are pieces of rock, shells, and other things.
_______________17.  The ____ analyzed the structure of the mineral.
_______________18.  The Anasazi Indians left more than one ____ of cooking utensils behind at Mesa Verde.
_______________19.  The ____ had a fish imprint on it.
_______________20.  The ____ found a rare fossil specimen.
_______________21.  The ____ was surprised to find igneous rocks in this area.
_______________22.  The ____ showed us some of the fossil remains he had uncovered.
_______________23.  The rocks formed as the ____ were crushed together over millions of years.
_______________24.  A ____ is remains of a plant or animal that lived long ago.
_______________25.  The ____ found the animals prints in the rock.
_______________26.  Increases in pressure and temperature cause lithification, the process that changes ____ into sedimentary rock.
_______________27.  When a rock has gone through ____, it is like cementing it to something else.
_______________28.  The paleontologist showed us some of the ____ remains he had uncovered.
_______________29.  The hidden treasure was found by the ____.































Please copy this assignment in your journal and complete it there








Fossils Tell A Story


1.
Name 3 animals that have become extinct









2.
Scientists believe that for each organism that exists today, how many more are extinct?
  At least one thousand
  At least one hundred
  At least five hundred
3.
How are eras defined?









4.
What can scientists tell about an animal from a fossilized footprint?
  Whether or not it is extinct
  How much it weighed
  What it ate
5.
What can scientists tell from a fossil of seashells that was found in the middle of the woods?
  The organisms are extinct.
  The area was once covered by an ocean.
  What these organisms ate
6.
What makes scientists think that arctic areas were once warm?
  They found fossils of horses there.
  They found wooly mammoths there.
  They found fossils of coral there.


Please copy this assignment that is above in your journal and complete it there


















Complete each sentence.




_______________13.  (Period, Cementation, Fossil) fuels are nonrenewable resources.
_______________14.  I have never seen any examples of (Petrified Remains, cementation, Law of Superposition) .
_______________15.  The Mesozoic (Law of Superposition, Extinct, era) began 245 million years ago.
_______________16.  The (fossil, Era, cast) had a fish imprint on it.
_______________17.  The hidden treasure was found by the (scientists, geologist, Extinct) .
_______________18.  What type of (adaptation, fossil, Era) did the dinosaur use to eat meat?
_______________19.  Sedimentary rock can be formed from (Cast, sediments, natural selection) such as sand that is pressed or cemented together.
_______________20.  The smelly spray of a skunk is an (disappeared, Radioactive decay, adaptation) that protects it.
_______________21.  The (fossil, artifact, time) had a fern imprint on it.
_______________22.  Scientists have suggested that the dinosaur became (Deposition, fossil, extinct) around 65 million years ago.
_______________23.  The (Period, paleontologist, Era) found the woolly mammoth completely preserved in the ice.
_______________24.  (Cementation, Disappeared, Time) takes place when small pieces of sediment come together when under pressure.
_______________25.  The Anasazi Indians left more than one (artifact, vanished, Geologist) of cooking utensils behind at Mesa Verde.
© 2011 edHelper





































Fossils Tell A Story

Assignment=Find more information about how horses have changed over time. Write a paragraph in your journal.






 Assignment=Please copy this cloze activity  in your journal and complete it there.


Fossils Tell A Story 
By Patti Hutchison
  




form
below
history
become


record
sedimentary
hundreds
hundred


fossil
forms
through
huge


formed
earth
layers
imagine


however
layer
above
fossils


Directions:  Fill in each blank with the word that best completes the reading comprehension.

     (1)  _______________________   you are hiking in the woods. As you walk up a steep hill, you find a fossil. It is a mold of many tiny seashells. What would sea shells be doing in the middle of the woods?
     Most fossils are found in (2)  _______________________   rocks. These rocks(3)  _______________________   on the surface of the earth. They record the processes that have happened on the surface, including life. Scientists are able to arrange fossils according to age. This is called the fossil record. By studying the fossil (4)  _______________________  , scientists have found that the earth and its life forms have gone(5)  _______________________   many changes in the past.
     Fossils have taught us how and when rock layers have (6)  _______________________  . They have also helped scientists learn about life forms that have come and gone. Fossils have even taught us about the climate of the earth long ago.
     The Geologic Time Scale is divided into (7)  _______________________   blocks of time called eras. Eras are defined by major changes in the fossils found in the sedimentary rock (8)  _______________________   that were formed during those time spans.
     Some species of organisms can be found on both sides of a time period. Usually, (9)  _______________________  ,(10)  _______________________   found in one rock (11)  _______________________   are different than fossils found in the layers(12)  _______________________   and (13)  _______________________  . This shows that over time, many organisms have become extinct. In fact, scientists believe that for every organism alive today, at least one (14)  _______________________   others have(15)  _______________________   extinct.
     A common example of extinct organisms is the dinosaurs. (16)  _______________________   of different kinds of dinosaurs lived on earth millions of years ago. But we don't see any today. Many other animals such as wooly mammoths and saber-toothed tigers have also become extinct.
     By studying the fossil record, scientists have found that many organisms that are alive today have changed over time. For example, fossil evidence has shown that the ancestors of horses were once only the size of dogs.
     Fossils can even tell scientists how past life (17)  _______________________   looked and behaved. Footprints help them to know how heavy and animal was. The shapes of teeth give clues about what the animal ate.
     So, what does the fossil of the seashells found in the woods tell scientists? It tells them that the (18)  _______________________   once looked very different than it does now. This fossil indicates that those woods were once covered by an ocean.
     The (19)  _______________________   record can also show us how the earth's climate has changed over time. For example, fossils of coral have been found in arctic regions. Coral is an organism that lives in warm water. This tells us that these frigid areas were once much warmer than they are today.
     Each time period has left its own impressions in the rock layers. The fossil record has shown how earth and its life forms have affected each other throughout time.
     By studying the fossil record, scientists have been able to tell the story of the (20)  _______________________   of our earth.
 



Copyright © 2011 edHelper








Please copy this assignment in your journal and complete it there
Circle the correct word. 
1.  
aoveabooveuhbuvabovi
ubuhvaboveeihbuhvabove
2.  
ihzampuhlexempleihgampuhlexamle
exapleexampeigzampuhlexample
3.  
seedimentarysedimintaryseimentarysedimentery
sedimentarysodimentorysidimentarysdimentary
4.  
believebihlevbelevebelayve
beleivebihleavbelievvebiihleev
5.  
evidenceeevidanceevidenceividence
evidencievdenceevidinceuvodence
6.  
liiliifflofolife
lifiliffeliiflfe
7.  
imagineuhmejehnihmejuhnimaine
imegineimmagineimaginiimagene
8.  
organismurganismorganisoranism
irgonismoganismorgenismorgannism
9.  
riksraksrocksruks
reksroks
10.  
hundredhundrredhundedhudred
hundridhohndruhdhunredhundruhd
11.  
periodperoiddperoidpiriod
perioddpihreuhdperriodperid
12.  
thoughuotthrougghoutthoughoutthruoot
thruoghoutthuoghuotthroughouttruoghout
13.  
fossillfossilfossifassil
fasuhlfoossilfosuuhlfosil
14.  
commocommonncomoncoommon
commonkouhnkoomuhncammon

 
1.
Explain what is a fossil









2.



  
3.









4.

  

  
  





Please read this article below and answer the questions that follow
Sedimentary Rocks 
By Patti Hutchinson
  From © 2011 edHelper






If you put some muddy water in a jar and let it set a few days, what would you see? The water would become clear. There would be layers of dirt and stones at the bottom. This is called sediment. This is what sedimentary rocks are made from. 
2     The sediments are pieces of rock. They have been broken apart by weathering. Wind, water, and ice break down rocks and minerals into smaller particles. These pieces come together in different ways to form sedimentary rocks. 
3     Running water, such as streams and rivers, helps form sedimentary rocks. The water carries the broken pieces of rock. Then it drops them in layers wherever the current slows down. This is called deposition. 
4     After the layers are deposited, sedimentary rocks begin to form. This can happen in one of three ways. They can be formed by a process called compaction. Layers of sediment are squeezed together. The pressure of the rocks on top causes this to happen. 
5     Sedimentary rocks can also be formed by cementation. This happens when water evaporates out of the layers of sediment. Minerals are left behind. They "glue" the pieces of rock together. 
6     Cementation is kind of like building a brick wall. The bricklayer puts a mixture of sand and water between the bricks. This layer hardens as it dries, and the bricks stick together. Sedimentary rocks are formed almost the same way. The minerals between the rocks dry and stick the pieces together. 
7     The third way sedimentary rocks are formed is by recrystallization. Minerals that dissolved in the water fall out. New mineral grains are formed. They are bigger than the original grains. The crystals form together into a solid rock. 
8     There are three kinds of sedimentary rocks. Clastic rocks are made from pieces of other rocks. They are formed by compaction and cementation. Clastic rocks can range in size from tiny particles of soil to huge boulders. Shale and sandstone are two common clastic rocks. 
9     Non-clastic sedimentary rocks are formed when minerals separate from ocean water. The minerals mix with sediments on the ocean floor. They recrystallize into solid rocks. Chalk is a common non-clastic rock. 10     The third kind of sedimentary rock is called organic. These form from decayed plants and animals. They are usually formed in oceans or swamps. The decayed material is compacted into rock. Two common organic rocks are limestone and coal. 
11     Sedimentary rocks give us important resources. Most ground water is found in sedimentary rocks. Coal, oil, and natural gas are found in these rocks. These are important energy resources. 
12     Sedimentary rocks also give us building materials. Iron is used for making steel. Limestone is made into cement. It is also cut to make blocks for large buildings. Where would we be without sedimentary rocks?
Copyright © 2011 edHelper



How do geologists know how old things are?

Geologists routinely work in millions and billions of years, so normal calendars and methods of representing spans of time don't always work very well. Fortunately, being as clever as they are, geologists have managed to come up with other ways.
Ever since the first human looked at a piece of the earth and wondered about it, we have been assigning a relative order to the events which have taken place. This sandstone was deposited first, then this limestone, and then it was folded, and so on. These attempts to decipher the complexity of the earth and arrange it into definable units of time has evolved into the Relative Geologic Time Scale. This works great, and with some guidance from the Laws of Geology , it really helps geologists make sense out of what we see on the surface of the earth.

The problem still remains, though: we may know that the sandstone is older than the limestone, but by how much? In order to answer this, we need to know the ages of the sandstone and limestone, and be able to subtract. Subtraction is easy - the trick is knowing the ages. Unfortunately, there is no way to know the age of something just by looking, and it wasn't until Henry Becquerel discovered radioactivity in 1896 that a way was found to figure out how old rocks are. The first radiometric age dates were calculated in 1907 by a study of how long it takes for uranium to decay into lead. The science has evolved, and geologist routinely calculate "absolute" ages for all kinds of rocks and minerals. But what if our assumptions concerning the decay of unstable elements are wrong? As with everything else in geology, use the data as needed, but don't carve them in stone!



Assignment=Please copy this graphic organizer  in your journal and complete it from the reading above.







ASSIGNMENT= Explain in your journal what "absolute dating of rocks"  means.


Adding Time

If you wanted to squeeze the 3.5 billion years of the history of life on Earth into a single minute, you would have to wait about 50 seconds for multicellular life to evolve, another four seconds for vertebrates to invade the land, and another four seconds for flowers to evolve—and only in the last 0.002 seconds would “modern” humans arise.
Biologists often represent time on phylogenies by drawing the branch lengths in proportion to the amount of time that has passed since that lineage arose. If the tree of life were drawn in this way, it would have a very long trunk indeed before it reached the first plant and animal branches.
The following phylogeny represents vertebrate evolution—just a small clade on the tree of life. The lengths of the branches have been adjusted to show when lineages split and went extinct.





How We Know What Happened When

Life began 3.8 billion years ago, and insects diversified 290 million years ago, but the human and chimpanzee lineages diverged only five million years ago. How have scientists figured out the dates of long past evolutionary events? Here are some of the methods and evidence that scientists use to put dates on events:
Atom icon

1. Radiometric dating relies on half-life decay of radioactive elements to allow scientists to date rocks and materials directly.
Stratigraphy icon

2. Stratigraphy provides a sequence of events from which relative dates can be extrapolated.
DNA icon

3. Molecular clocks allow scientists to use the amount of genetic divergence between organisms to extrapolate backwards to estimate dates.
Please copy this assignment in your journal and complete it there





























Complete each sentence using the words in the word list.


PaleontologistadaptationEvolutionPeriodEra
CementationGeologistExtinctFossil


_______________30.  ____ takes place when small pieces of sediment come together when under pressure.
_______________31.  As the buffalo began to decrease sharply in numbers, conservationists feared that it might become totally ____.
_______________32.  What type of ____ did the dinosaur use to eat meat?
_______________33.  The ____ came to the Adirondacks to study rock formation.
_______________34.  The Mesozoic ____ is the geological era that started 225 million years ago and lasted 160 million years.
_______________35.  Since coal was formed from the decayed bodies of plants that lived many millions of years ago, it is considered a kind of ____ fuel.
_______________36.  ____ caused the soil to form a huge rock on the beach.
_______________37.  The Mesozoic ____ began 245 million years ago.
_______________38.  The ____ studied the earth's core.
_______________39.  The ____ of an animal to its surroundings will help it survive.
_______________40.  I would like to become a ____ and travel around the world.
_______________41.  Amphibians first appeared during the Devonian ____.
_______________42.  An ____ of many animals that hunt at night is larger eyes.
_______________43.  Charles Darwin was the creator of the Theory of ____.
_______________44.  The ____ showed us some of the fossils he had found.






1.
Explain who was Henry Becquerel ?









2.



  
3.
What is the importanceof the time it takes uranium to decay into lead ?









4.

  

  
  




Important Events in the History of Life

A timeline can provide additional information about life's history not visible on an evolutionary tree. These include major geologic events, climate changes, radiations of organisms into new habitats, changes in ecosystems, changes in continental positions, and widespread extinctions. Explore the timeline below to review some of the important events in life's history.
Important events in the history of life: 4500 to 360 Mya
4600 Mya-Earth forms
3800 Mya-DNA forms
3500 Mya-Bacteria evolves
535 Mya-Cambrian Explosion
500 Mya-Fish evolve
450 Mya-Land invertebrates evolve
420 Mya-Land plants evolve
360 Mya-Tetrapods evolve
Description of Important Events
250 Mya-Pangaea forms
248 Mya-Permo-Triassic Extinction
225 Mya-Dinosaurs and mammals evolve
130 Mya-Flowers evolve
65 Mya-Extinction of dinosaurs
65 Mya-Extinction of dinosaurs
4 Mya-Lucy lives
130 Kya-Modern humans evolve
Important events in the history of life: 359 Mya to Present






Important Events in the History of Life (text-only version)

A timeline can provide additional information about life's history not visible on an evolutionary tree. These include major geologic events, climate changes, radiation of organisms into new habitats, changes in ecosystems, changes in continental positions, and major extinctions. Explore the timeline below to view some of the major events in life's history.
Years
ago
Event
130,000
Anatomically modern humans evolve. Seventy thousand years later, their descendents create cave paintings — early expressions of consciousness.
4 million
In Africa, an early hominid, affectionately named “Lucy” by scientists, lives. The ice ages begin, and many large mammals go extinct.
65 million
A massive asteroid hits the Yucatan Peninsula, and ammonites and non-avian dinosaurs go extinct. Birds and mammals are among the survivors.
130million
As the continents drift toward their present positions, the earliest flowers evolve, and dinosaurs dominate the landscape. In the sea, bony fish diversify.
225million
Dinosaurs and mammals evolve. Pangea has begun to break apart.
248million
Over 90% of marine life and 70% of terrestrial life go extinct during the Earth’s largest mass extinction. Ammonites are among the survivors.
250million
The supercontinent called Pangea forms. Conifer-like forests, reptiles, and synapsids (the ancestors of mammals) are common.
360million
Four-limbed vertebrates move onto the land as seed plants and large forests appear. The Earth’s oceans support vast reef systems.
420million
Land plants evolve, drastically changing Earth’s landscape and creating new habitats.
450million
Arthropods move onto the land. Their descendants evolve into scorpions, spiders, mites, and millipedes.
500million
Fish-like vertebrates evolve. Invertebrates, such as trilobites, crinoids, brachiopids, and cephalopods, are common in the oceans.
555million
Multi-cellular marine organisms are common. The diverse assortment of life includes bizarre-looking animals likeWiwaxia.
3.5 billion
Unicellular life evolves. Photosynthetic bacteria begin to release oxygen into the atmosphere.
3.8 billion
Replicating molecules (the precursors of DNA) form.
4.6 billion
The Earth forms and is bombarded by meteorites and comets.


Earth History Web Quest
Directions:  Copy in your journal fill in the blank with the correct terms.
1.     Earth contains ____________  main layers.
2.     The three main layers are the ______________, the______________, and the _______________.
3.    The _______________ is the hottest of the three layers of the earth.
4.    The theory that the continents were all one large continent is called ________________ or _______________  ___________________.
5.    The theory of continental drift was proposed by _____________  _______________.
6.    When two of earth plates slide past one another, a ___________ boundary is formed.
7.    When two of earth plates move apart from one another, the create a ___________________  boundary.
8.    A _________________ is a huge ocean wave caused by a sudden shift of the ocean floor.



Please copy this assignment in your journal and complete it there





































Complete each sentence using the words in the word list.


PaleontologistSedimentsartifactFossil
CementationGeologistExtinctEra


_______________45.  The whole beach is made up of ____ called sand.
_______________46.  A ____ can estimate the age of a fossil by examining the stratum.
_______________47.  A leaf fell into the peat and became a ____.
_______________48.  The students saw an ____ of a caveman who lived during the Ice Age in the museum.
_______________49.  The ____ is looking for dinosaur fossils.
_______________50.  Volcanoes are described as active, dormant, or ____.
_______________51.  Gymnosperms first appeared in the Paleozoic ____ and continued to adapt to their changing environment.
_______________52.  The ____ found a rare fossil.
_______________53.  ____ binds particles and rock fragments together.
_______________54.  The Anasazi left more than one ____ behind at Mesa Verde.
_______________55.  The ____ found the woolly mammoth completely preserved in the ice.
_______________56.  He found an American Indian ____ while digging in his backyard.
_______________57.  ____ made by weathering are put in a new place by deposition.
_______________58.  The ____ had a fern imprint on it.
_______________59.  The ____ had a fern imprint on it.
_______________60.  It takes alot of ____ to make a large sedimentary rock.

Looking for the oldest fossils

Dendrites
These dendrites might look like fossils, but they are not.
Many fossils speak for themselves: it's hard to mistake a T. rex femur for a strangely shaped boulder, or an elaborate fossil ofArchaeopteryx for random cracks in limestone. But other cases are not so clear cut. For example, examine the photo at right. Is this an imprint of some prehistoric fern? It might look that way, but this structure (called a dendrite) is not a fossil and is produced by the crystallization of one mineral on another, forming a branching pattern.
The problem of determining what is and is not a fossil can be especially difficult when it comes to ancient microfossils. Because these fossils are of relatively simple organisms, such as bacteria and single-celled algae, without much in the way of identifying features (like leaves or horns), it can be a challenge to demystify them — to figure out what sort of living thing they represent, if indeed, they represent any living thing at all. For example, the microscopic fossil shown on the left below comes from 2 billion year old rock. It is only 20 microns long — that's less than the width of a human hair! This fossil looks similar to a modern unicellular red algae, Porphyridium (shown on the right below), but from appearances alone, it can be hard to tell what organism the fossil really represents.
Eosphaera
Porphyridium
On the left is Eosphaera, a 2 billion-year-old microfossil, and on the right isPorphyridium, a modern unicellular red algae that bears some resemblance to the microfossil.


Compounding the problem, modern microorganisms can sometimes invade minute pores in ancient rocks, making the identification of real fossils tricky. Even worse, geologic chemical reactions can sometimes produce tiny structures resembling simple bacteria and algae — such as the one shown below, which was cooked up by geologists in a lab. If these same reactions occurred on ancient Earth, they might have left behind traces that would easily be mistaken for fossils. With all these red herrings around, how can a paleontologist figure out what is and is not a fossil?
a microbe-like cellular filament found in 3.465 billion year old rock
a silica-carbonate filament synthesized from inorganic processes in a laboratory
On the left is a microbe-like cellular filament found in 3.465 billion year old rock, and on the right is a silica-carbonate filament synthesized from inorganic processes in a laboratory.


Luckily, modern technology and scientific knowledge have come to the rescue:
  • Improved microscopic and imaging techniques sometimes allow scientists to zoom in on these fossils to identify hallmarks of life, such as the cell wall.
  • Advanced chemical analysis tools can compare the chemical makeup of the fossil itself to the surrounding rock to note any indication that the structure was once alive. These techniques for example, can help identify very tiny samples of kerogen, the organic material into which living things decay.
  • Elements come in forms with different weights, called isotopes. Carbon-12 and carbon-13 (the heavier of the two) are both common on Earth, but living things prefer to use carbon-12. Sensitive techniques can determine whether a rock or putative fossil contains more carbon-12 than expected, suggesting that the material may once have been alive.
In order to figure out if a microfossil is really a fossil, paleontologists use the tools above, along with other observations, to evaluate the following criteria:
  1. Does the alleged fossil look "life-like?" In other words, does it have morphological structures consistent with living things?
  2. Based on geologic information, did the "fossil" form in an environment that could have sustained life and then preserved a fossil?
  3. Does the "fossil" have a biogeochemical make-up that suggests it was once alive? For example, is it high in carbon-12?











Please copy this assignment in your journal and complete it there











































Complete each sentence using the words in the word list.


PaleontologistDepositionGeologistPeriodEra
CementationSedimentsExtinctFossil


_______________61.  ____ harden into sedimentary rock on the earth's surface.
_______________62.  ____ are materials or matter carried by moving water.
_______________63.  The ____ of earth's surface creates landforms such as: deltas, alluvial fans and meanders.
_______________64.  Scientists have suggested that the dinosaur became ____ around 65 million years ago.
_______________65.  Miss Edwards's class took the ancient bone to the ____ for study.
_______________66.  After a period of time ____ become pressed together to form rock.
_______________67.  Fossilized bones gave the ____ clues to early man.
_______________68.  ____ fuels are nonrenewable resources.
_______________69.  The ____ found a diamond on his rock hunting trip!
_______________70.  Deltas are formed by ____.
_______________71.  ____ fuels are nonrenewable and are in danger of running out.
_______________72.  By studying a stratum of rock, you can learn a lot about a geolical ____.
_______________73.  Many stone tools were used during the Paleolithic ____.
_______________74.  Sand, silt and rock are left at the mouth of a river through a process called ____.
_______________75.  I have never seen any examples of ____.

Please copy this assignment in your journal and complete it there














































Complete each sentence using the words in the word list.


DepositionEvolutionExtinct

SedimentsartifactEra



_______________76.  An ____ belonging to another King Tut was found by Indiana Jones.
_______________77.  The ____ was deposited by the wind.
_______________78.  Rocks and sediment are forms of ____.
_______________79.  Through ____, new organims are created.
_______________80.  The cambrian ____ was an era of explosive change on earth.
_______________81.  Although the dinosaurs once lived, they are now ____.
_______________82.  If one species of animal becomes ____, it will impact all other plants and animals in that ecosystem.



POST TEST  




Please copy these questions in your journal and answer them there.




















Rocks Rock! Part 1

1.What is a geologist?
  One who studies maps of the earth.
  One who studies the earth, especially rocks.
  One who looks for logic in rocks.
  One who studies people who have rocks in their heads.
2.Rocks are made up of:
  Volcanic material
  Sediment
  Chemicals and clasts
  Minerals
3.Rocks can be classified by the following:
  Pattern, texture, odor, flavor
  Animal, vegetable, mineral
  Color, pattern, texture, hardness
  Color, shape, rolling ability
4.Rocks formed from volcanic eruptions are called:
  Igneous
  Chemical sedimentary
  Clastic sedimentary
  Magmatic
5.Rocks that have layers or clasts were formed by:
  The hammering of a rock hound
  Lava oozing in layers out of a volcano
  Water washing their minerals away
  Sediment being compressed until it becomes rock
6.Which of these items is not among a geologist's equipment?
  Magnifying glasses
  Gloves
  Goggles
  Geometrids
7.There are 4,000 common minerals found in the earth.
  False
  True
8.Whether an igneous rock is smooth or rough is determined by:
  How much pressure compacted it
  Whether the cooling process was quick or slow
  Whether it has been put through a rock tumbler


















Rocks Rock! Part 2


1.Which of these is not a cause of metamorphism?
  Mineral-rich water
  Pressure
  Erosion
  High heat
2.Most metamorphism takes place:
  Deep within the Earth
  Inside volcanoes
  Outside the Earth's crust
  In the water
3.Regional metamorphism occurs under volcanoes.
  False
  True
4.Two types of metamorphic rocks exist. They are:
  Foliated and Nonfoliated
  Igneous and Sedimentary
  Gneiss and Marble
  Weathered and Eroded
5.The process through which rocks change is called:
  Rock Cycle
  Erosion
  Rock Life
  Foliating
6.The three types of rock - igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic - all have something in common. What is it?
  They are all made from plate boundaries.
  They are all nonfoliated.
  They all weather and erode.
  They are all foliated.

























·    How can live things be preserved inside of a rock?
·    How are different fossil types formed?
·    What types of evidence can be gathered about life on Earth from fossils?
·    How can the relative and absolute ages of rock be determined?  (and thus the fossils in it)
·    How can sedimentary rock be reformed into new landforms? (thus transporting fossils to new areas)
·    How do fossils show that life on Earth has evolved over time?
How is geologic time measured?

Fossils Tell A Story


1.
How are eras defined?









2.
Scientists believe that for each organism that exists today, how many more are extinct?
  At least one thousand
  At least one hundred
  At least five hundred
3.
Name two animals that have become extinct.









4.
What can scientists tell about an animal from a fossilized footprint?
  How much it weighed
  What it ate
  Whether or not it is extinct
5.
What can scientists tell from a fossil of seashells that was found in the middle of the woods?
  The area was once covered by an ocean.
  What these organisms ate
  The organisms are extinct.
6.
What makes scientists think that arctic areas were once warm?
  They found wooly mammoths there.
  They found fossils of coral there.
  They found fossils of horses there.






 


Please copy this assignment in your journal and complete it there
























Complete each sentence.

_______________26.  (Fossil, Natural selection, Law of Superposition) fuels are nonrenewable and are in danger of running out.
_______________27.  (Sediments, Era, Petrified Remains) harden into sedimentary rock on the earth's surface.
_______________28.  The Dodo bird is now (extinct, Deposition, fossil) .
_______________29.  The students saw an (artifact, Compaction, Imprints) of a caveman who lived during the Ice Age in the museum.
_______________30.  (Geologist, Evolution, Sediments) are materials or matter carried by moving water.
_______________31.  The (paleontologist, scientists, fossil) worked very carefully when digging up a fossil.
_______________32.  Increases in pressure and temperature cause lithification, the process that changes (Cast, Evolution, sediments) into sedimentary rock.
_______________33.  If one species of animal becomes (Fossil, Evolution, extinct) , it will impact all other plants and animals in that ecosystem.
_______________34.  The (Imprints, Cementation, geologist) studied the earth's core.
_______________35.  Deltas are formed by (Compaction, deposition, Paleontologist) .
_______________36.  The paleontologist showed us some of the (Sediments, scientists, fossil) remains he had uncovered.
_______________37.  Miss Edwards's class took the ancient bone to the (Petrified Remains, Extinct, paleontologist) for study.




Please Check out this

Humans arrived in North America 2,500 years earlier than thought

Stone tools have been found in sediments 15,500 years old, before the Clovis people are thought to have arrived in America
Stone tools thought to pre-date Clovis cultureView larger picture
Stone tools were found in 15,500-year-old sediment, pushing back the oldest evidence of human occupation in North America. Photograph: Michael R Waters/Science
Humans first arrived in North America more than 2,500 years earlier than previously thought, according to an analysis of ancient stone tools found in Texas. And the people who left them appear to have developed a portable toolkit used for killing and preparing meat.
Researchers found a haul of thousands of artefacts near the state capital, Austin, some of which were identified as blades and other tools. The material was buried in sediments that are between 13,200 and 15,500 years old.
Until now, the oldest evidence for human occupation in North America has come from the Clovis site in New Mexico. Scientists think that these people came to North America around 13,000 years ago by crossing theBering Land Bridge from northeastern Asia. From there, they are thought to have spread across the northern and southern American continents.
There are problems with this story, however. Clovis-like tools, known for their distinctive fluted points, have never been found in northeastern Asia. And stone tools found in Alaska are too young (and too different) to be associated with Clovis.
Michael Waters from Texas A&M University led a team of researchers to study the Debra L. Friedkin site in Texas, about 40 miles northwest of Austin. Buried underneath the layer of rock that has been associated with the time period for the Clovis humans, his team found more than 15,000 objects that indicated the presence of an older civilisation.
"This discovery challenges us to rethink the early colonisation of the Americas," said Waters. "There's no doubt these tools and weapons are human-made and they date to about 15,500 years ago, making them the oldest artefacts found both in Texas and North America."
He added: "This makes the Friedkin site the oldest credible archaeological site in Texas and North America. The site is important to the debate about the timing of the colonisation of the Americas and the origins of Clovis."
The analysis of the artefacts found at the site, which researchers have called the Buttermilk Creek Complex, is published in the latest issue of Science. "Most of these are chipping debris from the making and re-sharpening of tools, but over 50 are tools," said Waters. "There are bifacial artefacts that tell us they were making projectile points and knives at the site. There are expediently made tools and blades that were used for cutting and scraping."
The researchers think that the tools were made small so they could be used in a mobile toolkit, easily packed up and moved to a new location. Though the tools are noticeably different from the Clovis technology, Waters thinks that they could be related. "This discovery provides ample time for Clovis to develop. People [from the Buttermilk Creek Complex] could have experimented with stone and invented the weapons and tools that we now recognise as Clovis ... In short, it is now time to abandon once and for all the 'Clovis First' model and develop a new model for the peopling of the Americas."
The stone tools at Buttermilk Creek were dated using an optical technique called luminescence dating, which uses changes in luminescence levels in quartz or feldspar as a clock to pinpoint the time that objects were buried in sediment. "We found Buttermilk Creek to be about 15,500 years ago – a few thousand years before Clovis," saidSteven Forman of the University of Illinois, who is a co-author on the paper. He added that it was the first identification of pre-Clovis stone tool technology in North America.































Complete each sentence.

_______________38.  Gymnosperms first appeared in the Paleozoic (era, Preserved Remains, Sediments) and continued to adapt to their changing environment.
_______________39.  The cambrian (Petrified Remains, Fossil, era) was an era of explosive change on earth.
_______________40.  Since coal was formed from the decayed bodies of plants that lived many millions of years ago, it is considered a kind of (Cast, Imprints, fossil) fuel.
_______________41.  As the buffalo began to decrease sharply in numbers, conservationists feared that it might become totally (Compaction, adaptation, extinct) .
_______________42.  A person's teeth is a structural (adaptation, Cast, Geologist) .
_______________43.  (Deposition, cast, geologist) is a scientist who studies rocks to learn about the history and structure of the Earth.
_______________44.  Sand, silt and rock are left at the mouth of a river through a process called (deposition, artifact, vanished) .
_______________45.  (Evolution, adaptation, paleontologist) can estimate the age of a fossil by examining the stratum.
_______________46.  The (Compaction, sediments, artifact) was deposited by the wind.
_______________47.  The (geologist, disappeared, Law of Superposition) found a rare fossil specimen.
_______________48.  The (Era, paleontologist, Sediments) is looking for dinosaur fossils.

































Complete each sentence.

_______________49.  The rocks formed as the (sediments, trace fossils, Extinct) were crushed together over millions of years.
_______________50.  Amphibians first appeared during the Devonian (Imprints, Petrified Remains, period) .
_______________51.  A leaf fell into the peat and became a (Petrified Remains, disappeared, fossil) .
_______________52.  The (scientists, adaptation, cast) of an animal to its surroundings will help it survive.
_______________53.  (Cast, Sediments, Radioactive decay) made by weathering are put in a new place by deposition.
_______________54.  It takes alot of (Fossil, Imprints, sediments) to make a large sedimentary rock.
_______________55.  The (paleontologist, Fossil, cast) showed us some of the fossils he had found.
_______________56.  An (Period, adaptation, Paleontologist) of many animals that hunt at night is larger eyes.
_______________57.  The (geologist, Fossil, Radioactive decay) found a diamond on his rock hunting trip!
_______________58.  After a period of time (sediments, disappeared, time) become pressed together to form rock.
_______________59.  The paleontologists made a cast of the print (Extinct, Preserved Remains, fossil) .
_______________60.  The (deposition, scientists, trace fossils) of earth's surface creates landforms such as: deltas, alluvial fans and meanders.



Moldy Oldies













DEAD AND BURIED!Do you know how a plant or an animal becomes a fossil? Most livingthings decay when they die. If an organism becomes buried quickly after it dies, it may be preserved. Plants and animals can be buried by sand, mud, tar or volcanic ash. Most fossils are found in sedimentary rocks, since the heat and pressure which create igneous and metamorphic rocks usually destroys fossils.








I'M BEING REPLACED!REPLACEMENT FOSSILS are made when water dissolves part of the dead plant or animal and washes it away. This leaves an imprint of an organism - which is kind of like a sponge filled with holes. Minerals fill in the holes and then harden to form a fossil. The fossil is the same shape and size of the original organism. Sometimes the minerals fill in each cell so perfectly, that you can see very detailed parts of the once living organism like the rings in a tree trunk. Replacement fossils can be very colorful because the minerals which fill in the holes may be different colors.






MAKE IT!MATERIALS: This is what you need.
  • Sponge you can cut up
  • Salt
  • Very warm water
  • Three or four paper cups
  • Food coloring or liquid tempera paint
  • Pie pan or plate
PROCEDURE: This is what you do.
  1. Cut the sponge into the shape of a plant or animal part. Be creative. How about a raptor claw or a stegosaurus thigh bone?
  2. Place the sponge "organism" on the plate. 
  3. Make a "MINERAL" mixture by doing the following: 
    • Put three tablespoons of warm water into each paper cup. 
    • Pour salt into each cup and stir until the mixture is very thin and "milkshake-like."
    • Add different food colorings or paints to each cup and mix to represent various minerals.
  4. Pour a little of each mineral mixture over different areas of the sponge organism. 
  5. Wait a few days for the fossil to harden.
  6. Observe your "replacement fossil" and record your observations. Did the minerals fill in the holes in the organism? How did the organism stay the same? How did it change?








FOSSIL "FILM" FESTIVALAll living organisms contain carbon. When some organisms die and become buried, a thin film of carbon escapes which shows the shape of the plant or animal on a rock. This may look like a black stamp of a leaf. These fossils are very delicate.











MAKE IT!MATERIALS: This is what you need.
  • Tree or plant leaves (Ferns and maples are great!)
  • Black tempera paint
  • Paintbrush
  • Paper plate
  • Art paper cut like a tombstone
  • Paper towels
PROCEDURE: This is what you do.
  1. Place the leaf on the paper plate. Paint the back side with blackpaint. 
  2. Shake off the extra paint.
  3. CAREFULLY place the leaf painted side down on the art paper. 
  4. Place a paper towel over the leaf and gently press down all parts of the leaf. (Be sure the leaf doesn't move.)
  5. Carefully lift the leaf.
  6. You have now made a stamp of your leaf. How is this procedure different from nature's method of "stamping?"






YOUR THE AUTHOR!
  • Write a short story about the life of your organism as an epitaph (a short statement about its life and death). Remember, a fossil takes thousands of years to form, so your organism could not have died from being hit by a car! What events could have lead to its death? Revise and edit your story and copy it on to the tombstone under the carbon film fossil.
  • Coal, oil and gas were formed when many organisms are buried together millions of years ago. These fossil fuels are an important part of Utah's economy. Perform research to find out more about Utah's fossil fuels. Where are they found? What kind of jobs are available as a result of the availability of fossils fuels? Organize your information using a concept map. Construct a poster or computer presentation to share your information with your friends.







MOLDS AND CASTSSometimes after living things die and are buried quickly in mud or clay, the sediment around the organism hardens into rock. Then, the plants or animals decay and are washed away. The hollow shape of the organism which is left in the rock is called a MOLD FOSSILIf minerals or othersediment fill in this mold and hardens, a CAST FOSSIL is created which is the same shape as the original organism.











MAKE IT!You can make your own cast and mold fossils by following the directions in the boxes below. Remember to clean up your materials when you finish your work.
MATERIALS: This is what you need.
  • Clay homemade or from the store (two colors)
  • Shells, bones, etc.
  • Cooking oil spray
PROCEDURE: This is what you do.Mold Fossil:
  1. Flatten a small ball of clay and spray the top lightly with cooking spray.
  2. Press shells or bones into the clay and spray lightly again.
  3. Flatten another small ball of clay and press over the top of the shell.
  4. Carefully separate the two balls of clay and remove the shell.
  5. Allow the clay to harden for a few days. You have two "mold fossils."
Cast Fossil:In order for a cast fossil to form, the molds must be filled in with minerals, mud or other sediments and allowed to harden.
  1. Roll a new color of clay into a small ball. Push it gently into one side of the mold fossil.
  2. Put the other side of the mold on top and press gently together.
  3. Open the molds and gently remove the "cast fossil." Allow a day or two for it to harden.







TRACE IT!TRACE FOSSIL is a mark left behind by an organism which ispreserved. This is evidence that the plant or animal existed. Animalfootprints left in soft sediment can make a mold which hardens intorock. It may later be filled with sediment or minerals and harden intoa cast as evidence of an animal's life. An animal may have left aburrow in silt as it was hunting for food. This is also a trace fossil.





YOU'RE THE SCIENTIST!Time to put that detective hat back on and search for clues. We also leave evidence behind just like ancient plants and animals. Now go on a modern day "tracks" walk. Look for clues from the past. A gum wrapper by the school could mean a child was chewing gum at recess. Record five observations and five inferences from your evidence.















Thursday, July 7, 2011

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