Observation / Question: How can we know what an organism that lived millions of years

ago was like?

Hypothesis: Under certain conditions, living things can leave behind impressions of
themselves in the form of fossils.

Experiment material:

• Dental alginate
• Plaster of parís
• Small containers
• Popsicle sticks
• Materials to make the fossils shapes
• Disposable container for mixing
• Toothpick
• water

Procedure:

In a disposable container, mix alginate with water to the consistency of a milkshake.

Immediately pour into an empty container and half-embed your bones or other artifacts
(leaves, seed pods, shells, etc.).

Alginate will start setting up immediately

The alginate should set in about 10 min or less .

Carefully move the artifacts about in the alginate to loosen them. The more complex they
are and the more grooves and holes there are, the more difficult it will be to remove
without tearing the alginate. Once the artifacts are out, you now have a reverse mold.

Mix up plaster of Paris with water (to the consistency of kefir or a thin milkshake) in a
disposable container, then pour into the mold. Poke a toothpick down into the plaster to
burst any air bubbles and tap the container on the table like you would a cake pan to burst
any bubbles.

Let sit and harden. Once done (may take 1/2 hour or more - faster if ambient air
temperature is warmer), carefully wriggle the plaster out of the mold. If you don't care
about reusing the mold, you can cut or tear it away, being careful around delicate
protruding areas.
Results:

After an hour we have

1 fossil mold (made of alginate)
1 fossil (made of plaster of paris

Conclusion:

When an animal or plant dies, it may fall into the mud or soft sand and leave an imprint
or mark on the ground. The body is then covered with another layer of mud or sand. Over
time, the body falls apart and dissolves. Mud or sand can be embedded in rock while
retaining the impression of the body, leaving an animal- or plant-shaped hole in the rock.
This hole is called a fossil cast. If the mold fills over time with other minerals, the rock is
called a molten fossil.
 FO S S I L
Anguiano Nares Carlos Alberto
5 primaria
Oxford