Earth and Life Science 11/12

I. INTRODUCTORY CONCEPT
Hi learners! Do you still remember the activities you did in the previous days? I am
sure you still do. One browse from your social media account and voila! Most of your
activities are recorded in your timeline. Recording of previous events is so easy nowadays.
With the help of cellphone, internet, CCTV and other technological devices and applications,
we can easily have a glimpse of the past.

But did you ever wonder how we were able to know what happened thousands or
millions or even billions of years ago? That was the time when technologies we have today
are not yet available and even humans do not exist yet. Then how did we came up with all
the information of past events that we know today?

Figure 1. The Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event approximately 66 million years ago.

Recording of past events became possible with the help of stratified rocks, these are
rocks that are arranged in layers called strata.

This Learner’s Packet will give you an idea in determining the age of stratified rocks
and its formation and composition giving us a glimpse of the past.

II. LEARNING COMPETENCIES

● Describe how layers of rocks (stratified rocks) are formed (S11/12ES-Ie-25);

● Describe the different methods (relative and absolute dating) to determine the age of
stratified rocks (S11/12ES-Ie-26).

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III. ACTIVITIES
ELICIT:

Let us test first what you know about our topic today. Shown below is an illustration
of the formation of stratified rocks.

Identify and describe the possible events that takes place in each number. Write your
answer in your notebook.

Figure 2. Formation of Stratified rocks

Illustrated by: D.B.Mayores, June 2020

ENGAGE:

Do you have an idea of what a stratified rock looks like and how it is formed? Let’s
perform the next activities to find out!

Activity 1: Letter-Layer Sequencing

In this activity, you are tasked to determine

the special sequence of all the letters in the box by
following the clues stated below:
 Each card of letters above represents a
layer.
 The letters in each card represents the
materials that can be found in that layer.
 The bottom layer contains the letters “D”
and “M”. Figure 3. Letter cards

Procedure:
1. Make a card of letters like what is shown in Figure 3. You can use either
cardboard or a piece of paper in making cards. Make sure the sizes of the letters
are the same.
2. To arrange the letters in a specific sequence, you have to look first for the card
representing the bottom layer (first layer), it is already stated in the clues that it is
the card containing the letters “D” and “M”.

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 3. For the next layer, look for the card that contains either letters “D” or “M”.
Obviously, that is card “FD” since aside from the first card (DM) it is the only
remaining card containing the letter “D”, and no remaining card contains with
letter “M”. Place it on top of the first card (first layer) by aligning the common
letters in the two boxes.
4. Continue sequencing the letters up to the last card. The result must be a stack of
cards. The card at the bottom is the oldest layer containing the oldest letters or
materials, while the topmost card is the youngest layer containing the youngest
letters or materials.
5. Write the correct sequence of letters in your notebook without repeating the
letters. The manner of writing the sequence of letters will be from the oldest letter
(bottom) up to the youngest letter (topmost).

Note: Figure 4 is just an example of what you are going to do. Do not copy it.

Guide Questions:
1. What is the correct sequence of
letters?
2. What is the topmost layer?
3. What is the youngest letter in
the sequence? What is the
oldest letter? What is your basis
for your answers?
4. How did you know that “T” is
Figure 4. Sample sequencing of letters and stacking of cards.
older than “C”? Illustrated by: DB Mayores, July 2020
5. Explain why “A” in layer AC is
older than “A” in layer EA.
6. How can you relate this activity to the process of determining the age of stratified
rocks?

EXPLORE:
Activity 2: I’m-A-Layer

Materials: 1.5L empty plastic bottle, rocks, sand, clay soil, loam soil,
scissors, hammer, 1 cup of water,

Procedure:
1. Cut the 1.5L empty plastic bottle as shown in the
picture. Make at least 4 small holes at the bottom of
the container as our drainage. Set aside.

2. Break the rocks into very small pieces. You may use
a hammer or other materials to break it.

3. Put the pieces of rocks, sand, clay soil, loam soil

into the container on top of each other to create a
layer.
Figure 5. Empty plastic bottle

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4. Add water slowly. Make sure not to disrupt the layers in adding water.
5. Let it drain for several minutes.

Guide Questions:
1. What method or material did you use to break the rock into smaller pieces? What
does the breaking of rocks in the activity represents?

2. What did you do to make sure that the pieces of rocks, clay soil, sand, and loam
soil are layered properly in the container? Did you put them altogether or one
after another? Why?

3. What happened to the layer of materials several minutes after adding water?

NOTE: Activity 1 and 2 gives you an idea on how stratified rocks are formed. Now, do
the next activity to give you an idea on how the age of stratified rock is determined.

Activity 3 – Half-Life
(Taken from EASE Physics Module 5, Lesson 2. pp.14-16)

Objective:
To develop an understanding of half-life of radioactive atoms.

Materials:
100 pieces of 25-centavo coins (You may also use 1-peso coins if 25-centavo coins
are not available. You can try borrowing coins at sari-sari stores in your
neighborhood, just make sure to return them after the activity.)
1 graphing paper

Procedure:
1. Place the 100 pieces of 25-centavo coins in a shoe box and shake it.
2. Pour out the coins on a clean table.
3. Take out the coins that show the head. The coins that showed the head represents the
decayed radioactive material.
4. Count how many coins are left after the 1st throw. Record your data on the table provided.
5. Place the remaining coins in the box. Then again pour out the coins on the clean table.
6. Take out the coins that show the head.
7. Count how many coins are left. Record your data on the table provided.
8. Continue doing the activity until only 2 or 3 coins are left.

Data and Results

Number of Number of decayed Number of coins

throws coins left
0
1

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 2
3
4
…

Guide Questions:
1. Using your data what do you notice about
the rate at which the coins “decay” as their
number decreases?
2. Plot the graph of the number of coins left
(N) against the number of throws (t). The
number of coins should be along the
vertical axis while the number of throws
should be on the x-axis.
3. How would you describe the graph?
4. Describe in your own words what half-life is.

EXPLAIN:

What do you think is the importance of studying stratified rocks to:

1. History
______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________.

2. Education
______________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________.

3. Geology
______________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________.

ELABORATE:

STRATIFIED ROCKS
Stratified rock is a classification of rock based on its
physical properties. These are rocks that has strata or layers.
Can you see the layers of rocks in Figure 6? Stratified rocks
are made up of sedimentary rocks. Sediments that hardened
over time create layers that make it a stratified rock. This
process of creating layers of rocks is called stratification.

RO_Earth and Life Science_11/12_Q1_LP 5 Figure 6. Animasola Island, Masbate

Photo taken by: D.B. Mayores, May 2018
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 There are four steps on how stratified sedimentary rocks are formed.
1. Weathering. The is the first step in sedimentary rock formation where large pieces of
rocks are broken down into smaller pieces. These pieces of rocks together with other
materials form the sediments.

Figure 7. Weathering
http://www.eschooltoday.com/rocks/what-is-physical-weathering-of-rocks.html

2. Erosion. Sediments, being light weight, will then be transported over time. The
process of transporting rock particles and other materials from one place to another
is called erosion. This can be caused by wind, water, and other natural agents.

3. Deposition. The sediments together with fossils will then settle in a certain place after
being eroded, in most cases in bodies of water like oceans where sediments are
deposited undisturbed at the bottom due to gravity.

Figure 8. Deposition Figure 9. Compaction

4. Compaction. The deposited sediments will begin to stick to one another, cemented
together with clay, other minerals, and fossils, and compacted creating a layer of
sedimentary rock. Over time, another layer of sediments composed of other kind of
materials will pile up on top of the first layer forming a stratified sedimentary rock.

This stratification process happens hundreds of years or more. Danish scientist

Nicolas Steno proposed the Law of Original Horizontality which states that sediments are
deposited horizontally creating horizontal strata or layers. Strata’s thickness may vary from
millimeters to several meters. The strata reveal rock composition and age that can be used
to know thw events and objects in the Earth’s history.
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 Figure 10. Stratified rock formation
Source: Olivia JB Seidel
https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/740560732449774441/

METHODS OF DETERMINING THE AGE OF STRATIFIED ROCKS

Though most rocks were formed thousands or millions of years ago, scientists found
a way to determine their age to learn the different events that happened in the past. The age
of stratified rocks can be determined using two methods, the relative dating, and the
absolute dating.
1. Relative dating. It is a method of determining the age of rocks in each layer by
identifying the relative order of previous events. The determination of the relative
ages of rocks are based on the following principles:
a. Law of Superposition. It states that each layer of sediments is piled on
top of another layer making the one on top of the strata the youngest one,
while the layer at the bottom of the strata as the oldest.
b. Cross-cutting relationship. Igneous rocks are formed from a solidified
magma or lava. A lava that cooled and hardened in a surface is called an
extrusion. The strata beneath the extrusion are always older. A magma
that cooled and hardened beneath the surface is called an intrusion. An
igneous intrusion is always younger than the rock it has intruded; this
principle is called the cross-cutting relationship. This is also true to faults.
A fault, a break on the Earth’s crust is always younger than the stratified
rock that it cuts.
c. Law of Inclusion. The rocks that mixed up in the formation of sediments
are called inclusions. These rocks are always older than the layer of
sediments it is embedded.
d. Faunal Succession. Fossils of plants and animals are grouped according
to the period of geologic time they appeared. Strata containing those
group of fossils are also formed on that period.
e. cLaw of Original Horizontality. Layers of sediments are originally
deposited horizontally. Those strata that are found not in horizontal order
may have been deformed by the movement of the Earth’s crust. Through
these distinctive features, each layer of rocks can be compared from one
another determining their relative ages

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 Figure 12. Application of Law of Superposition and Cross-
cutting relationship
Illustrated by: D.B. Mayores, June 2020

Figure 13. Deposited fossils in each layer.

2. Absolute dating. It is a method of determining the numerical age of rocks using

advanced technology. The most common way of determining the absolute age of
rock is through Radiometric dating where radioactive isotopes found in fossils or
rocks are used. Carbon-14 (C-14) is used to determine the age of fossils
embedded in rocks and Uranium-238 (U-238) for rocks.

Radioactive isotope, called parent isotope are unstable and gradually decays
in a fixed rate into a daughter isotope which is more stable. The time it takes for
one half of the isotope to decay is called half-life. For example, U-238 will take
4.5 billion years for half the amount of it to decay into a daughter isotope Lead-
206 (Pb-206).

Figure 14. Uranium 238 decays into its Figure 15. Carbon-14 decays into its
daughter isotope Lead-206 daughter isotope Nitrogen-14

Since the rates of decay of radioactive isotopes are known, it can be used to
determine the age of rocks by measuring the proportion of parent and daughter
isotopes present in rocks. For example, if a rock is found to contain the same
proportion of U-238 and Pb-206, geologists can tell that the age of rock is about
4.5 billion years old. Since some rocks on earth’s surface were formed in different
timelines, other isotopes with a different rate of decay are used like potassium-40
(K-40) with a half-life of 1,251 billion years, uranium-235 with a half-life of 700
million years, and carbon-14 (C-14) with a half-life of 5730 years.

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Table 1. Different dating methods
Dating Method Materials Dated Age range dated
Carbon-14 to Nitrogen-14 Organic remains, Up to 60,000 years ago
archaeological artefacts
Luminescence Tephra, loess, lake Up to 100,000 years ago
sediments
Fission track Tephra 10,000 to 400 million years ago
Potassium-40 to Argon-40 Volcanic rocks 20,000 to 4.5 billion years ago
Uranium-238 to lead-206 Volcanic rocks 1 million to 4.5 billion years ago
Uranium-235 to lead-207 Volcanic rocks 10 million to 4.5 billion years ago
Source: https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/1486-absolute-dating

Example problem:

Using potassium-40, calculate how long ago a rock was formed if it has only 25%
of potassium-40 found in similar rock formed today. Note that the half-life of
potassium-40 is 1.251 billion years.

Solution:

Figure 16. Half life of K-40 in a sample rock

The rock had gone by 2 half-life, that is,

(1.251 bya X 2) = 2.502 billion years ago

The rock was formed about 2.502 billion years ago.

Determining the age of sedimentary rocks using U-238 and K-40 sometimes
leads to the age of its component rocks, the metamorphic and igneous rocks, not
the age of sediment accumulation. That is why geologists uses other radioactive
isotopes like Carbon-14 to date the age of the fossils in the sediments, and
through luminescence dating, a process that measures the quantity of emitted
light from energy stored in a rock.

To get the more accurate age of rocks, geologists both use the relative and
absolute dating for comparison and verification.

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 Figure 17. Relative dating and Absolute dating
h/

EVALUATE:

I. Direction: Solve the problem below. Write your answer in your notebook.
Note: Draw an illustration to back up your answer.

A. Geologists used carbon-14 to date the fossils embedded in a sedimentary rock. After
thorough examination, they found only 6.25% of carbon-14 left in the fossil examined. When
was the sedimentary rock formed if geologists were to base the age of the rock to the age of
the fossil?

B. A uranium-238 is used to determine the age of an unearthed rock. It was found out that
the rock contains 25% Lead-206 in proportion to uranium-238. What is the absolute age of
the rock?

II. Direction: Choose the letter of the correct answer.

1. What activity can cause an igneous intrusion to stratified rocks?

a. volcanic activity c. deposition
b. human activity d. weathering

2. Which of these is determined by absolute dating?

a. kind of fossil c. relative age of rock
b. numerical age of rock c. composition of rock

3. What will happen to sediments deposited undisturbed at the bottom of the ocean?
a. Sediments will be compacted c. Sediments will turn into other type of material
b. Sediments will be eroded d. None of the above

4. Which of the following statements about sediments is TRUE?

a. Hard sedimentary rocks are found at the top layer
b. Young sediments are at the bottom, while the oldest are on top layer
c. Young sediments are on top layer, while the oldest are at the bottom
d. Soft sediments are found at the bottom layer

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 5. Which of the following is the correct sequence of rock stratification?
a. weathering – erosion – deposition – compaction
b. erosion – weathering – compaction – deposition
c. deposition – weathering – compaction – erosion
d. weathering – deposition – compaction – erosion

6. A rock inclusion is found in every layer of a rock strata. Which of the following
statements
is TRUE?
a. The top layer is the oldest.
b. The rock inclusion is the oldest.
c. The bottom layer is the oldest.
d. The rock inclusion is older than the top layer but younger than the bottom.

Figure 19. Stratified rock

For numbers 7-8, refer to Figure 19.

7. Which layer of rock is the oldest?
a. layer 1 c. layer 3
b. layer 2 d. layer 4

8. Which rock is the youngest?

a. Layer 1 c. Layer 4
b. Layer 3 d. Igneous intrusion

9. Why does a parent radioactive isotopes decays into a daughter isotope?

a. because it is unstable
b. because it is stable
c. because it is used for relative dating
d. because it is used for absolute dating

10. At present, a rock is found to contain 50% of Argon-40 after decaying for almost 1,251
billion years. What radioactive isotope is made up of the remaining 50% of Argon-40?
a. Cabon-14 c. Lead-206
b. Potassium-40 d. Uranium-325

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EXTEND:

Task 1. Look for a picture of a stratified rock formation that can be found in the region or in
the country. Print and/or paste it on a short size bond paper. Below the picture, describe the
manner how the stratified rock was formed based on its strata. Use your creativity and
imagination in describing the possible events that could have happened based on the picture
you used. You may browse the internet or conduct an interview to complete this task. Good
luck!

Note: Refer to the scoring rubrics on page 13.

_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

Task 2. As previously discussed, sedimentary rocks are stratified or has layers. Each layer
has distinctive feature compared to other layers depending about the past events and the life
forms that lived in that certain period when the layer was formed. The law of horizontality
stated that the sediments in each layer are deposited horizontally creating horizontal strata.
But there are cases where a portion of strata doesn’t exactly fit with the other portion as
shown below.

Figure 18. Stratified sedimentary rock

Illustrated by: D.B. Mayores, June 2020

Discuss what happened to the sedimentary rock as shown in the illustration.

___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

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IV. RUBRICS FOR SCORING

Task 1 (EXTEND)

Criteria 3 2
Resourcefulness Used a picture of stratified
rock found in the region.
Concept The concept is applied
correctly
Presentation Used his/her own ideas
and creatively and
imaginatively presented
the task.
1
Used a picture of Used a picture of
stratified rock found stratified rock found
in another region. in other countries.
The concept is The concept is
applied confusingly. applied incorrectly.
Used his/her own Ideas presented
ideas in presenting were copied from
the task. other sources.

V. ANSWER KEY
Elicit
1. A big rock near a body of water breaks into smaller pieces (weathering) because
of different possible factors like rain, heat from the sun, or even due to animal
intervention.
2. It was then transported (erosion) maybe by wind or by other factors.
3. Those pieces of rocks together with other materials mixed up forming sediments
and settled at the bottom of the body of water (deposition).
4. Those sediments hardened, then another set of sediments settled on top of it
creating new layer (compaction). Over time, these layers of sediments hardened
and become layers of rocks called stratified rocks.

Engage
Activity 1

1.

2. The topmost layer is card “UX”.

3. The youngest letter is “U” because it is in the topmost layer and the topmost letter
in the sequence. On the other hand, the oldest letter is “M” because it is found at
the bottom layer and is in the bottom of the sequence of letters’.
4. “T” is older than “C” because the layer/card where it belongs is below the layer CL
where “C” can be found.

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 5. Layer EA is located above layer AC. Even though they are both “A”, the “A” in
layer AC is older than “A” in layer AE because it is found in the lower layer.
Letters in lower layers are older than the letters in the upper layer.
6. In the activity, the letters represent the fossils, while the card represents the layer
of rock. Each layer of rock contains fossils of plants and animals. Knowing the
period of time when the fossils lived will also tell us the time when the layer of
rock was formed.

Explore
Activity 2
1. A hammer is used to break the rock (Answer may vary). The breaking down of
rocks in the activity represents weathering.
2. The pieces of rocks, sand, clay soil, and loam soil are placed in the container one
after another to create layer. Putting them altogether will make them mixed up
with each other and will not result in a layer.
3. The pieces of rocks, clay soil, sand, and loam soil become more compact after the
water is added and later drained.
Activity 3
1. As the number of coins decreases, the rate at which the coins “decay” also
decreases. This is because as the atoms are disintegrating all the time, there will
be fewer and fewer atoms left which still have to disintegrate.
2.

3. The graph shows a decreasing N as t increases.

4. Half-life is the time it takes for the amount of radioactive substance to be reduced
to half its original value.

Explain
(Answers may vary)

Evaluate
I.
A. The rock was possibly formed 22,920 years ago.
B. Rocks age is 2.25 billion years’ old
II.
1. a 6. b
2. b 7. a
3. a 8. d
4. c 9. a
5. a 10. b

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Extend
Task 1
(Refer to the Scoring Rubrics)
Task 2
(Discussion of answers may vary, but their answers must include following
principles: Law of superposition, law of inclusion, cross cutting relationship – magma
intrusion, law of original horizontality, cross cutting relationship – faults.)

VI. REFLECTION

I have learned that ________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
I wish to ask my teacher about _____________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

VII. REFERENCES
1. EASE Physics Module 5, Lesson 2. pp.14-16

2. http://www.eschooltoday.com/rocks/what-is-physical-weathering-of-rocks.html
https://www.forbes.com/sites/ericmack/2019/09/09/the-day-the-dinosaurs-died-told-in-
horrifying-new-detail/#21b1adc26df5

3. https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/403424079110046769/

4. https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/419749627746049879/

5. https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/671317888179359849/

6. https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/740560732449774441/

7. https://www.tes.com/lessons/GWg9hSsNrzWQmQ/copy-of-fossils

8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGhogd0G7_U /

Writer: Dennis B. Mayores

Reviewers: Emily B. Esmabe/Helen O. Cornelio/Marisol D. Andrada
Content Editors: Maryrose Angieley M. Peňaflor/Eva C. Malanyaon
Language Editors: Dianna A. Maquilan/Manuel D. Buere
Illustrator: Frances C. Morales/Dennis B. Mayores
Layout Artist: Christy R. Dawal

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