Fossils 8-2.

2
8-2.2 -- Summarize how scientists study Earth’s past environment and
diverse life-forms by examining different types of fossils (including molds,
casts, petrified fossils, preserved
and carbonized remains of plants and animals, and trace fossils).
 Falcon Focus
• HOW DO SEDIMENATRY ROCKS
FORM?

• Essential Question: Why do scientists

study fossils from millions of years ago?
REBUS
 FOSSILS

Clues to Earth’s Past Creatures

and Environment
 SC Standard 8-2.2
Summarize how scientists study Earth
’s past environment and diverse life
forms by examining different types
of fossils.
 STEPS TO FOSSIL
FORMATION
• AS YOU LOOK AT THE VIDEO, SEE IF
YOU CAN FIGURE OUT THE STEPS TO
FOSSIL FORMATION
http:///wwww.youtube.comatch?v=3rkGu0BItKM
Fossil Formation
In the first step of fossil formation an
animal or plant must die in or near water
or near enough to fall in shortly after death.
In the following example a trilobite has died
of old age on the bottom of the sea.
Bacteria consume the soft body parts but
leave the hard exoskeleton intact.
2nd Step: Sedimentation
As time passes sediments bury
the exoskeleton. The faster this
happens the more likely
fossilization will occur. Land and
mud slides definitely help. River
deltas are also good for quick
accumulation of sediments. This
further insulates our trilobite from
decomposition. Now we have
fossil formation in progress.
 3rd Step: Permineralization

As the sediments continue to pile on, the lower

layers become compacted by the weight of the
layers on top. Over time, this pressure turns the
sediments into rock.
If mineral-rich water percolates down
through the sediments, the fossil formation
process has an even better chance of
preserving our ancient animal. Some of the
minerals stick to the particles of sediment,
effectively gluing them together into a solid
mass. In time the entire shell is replaced
leaving rock in the exact shape of the
trilobite or animal. That is fossil formation
at work.
4th Step: Uplift
As the continental plates move around
the earth, crashing into each other,
mountains are formed. Former sea
floors are lifted up and become dry
land. This is exactly what has
happened to our trilobite in the
picture below. Now fossil formation
is complete but our trilobite is buried
under hundreds or even thousands of
feet of rock! Thanks to the
movement of the plates, (mountain
building or sea floors lifting up),
our trilobite or fossil will come
closer to the surface and nearer to
discovery by paleontologist.
Luckily nothing stays the same.
5th Step: Erosion at work

Fossil formation is revealed by

weathering and erosion. Wind,
rain, freeze and thaw, even
earthquakes will help force the
trilobite out of its burial ground and
out into the light. If he or she is
lucky enough, the trilobite will
reveal itself in time to be spotted by
a rock-hunter or fossil-digger. Who
knows? It could even be YOU!
 QUESTIONS
1. What do you know about fossils? (WHAT ARE FOSSILS)
• 
2. What might be some ways that fossils are formed?
• 
3.How old do you think fossils are? 
•https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=ClJ5lwl_wM0&authuser=0

•
 What is a fossil?
• A fossil is the
preserved remains
or traces of an
organism that lived
in the past

• Usually fossils are

more than 10,000
years old
 What do fossils tell us about
Earth’s past?
• Fossils are clues
to:
– The diversity of
living things
throughout Earth’s
history

– Past climate and

surface changes

– Changes that have

occurred with
organisms over time
 Who studies fossils?
• Paleontology is the
study of fossils

• Scientists who
study fossils are
called
paleontologists
 How are fossils classified?
• Fossils are classified
by how they are
formed

• 6 Types of fossils:
– Mold fossil
– Cast fossil
– Petrified fossil
– Preserved fossil
– Carbonized fossil
– Trace fossil
 The Fossil Record
• Millions of fossils have been collected
and studied from all over the world
• Provides evidence of the history of
life on Earth
• Shows that different groups of
organisms have changed over time

http://www.abc.net.au/beasts/fossilfun/burial/default.htm
 QUESTIONS
• Explain what fossils reveal about extinct
species.
•  
• How can fossils be used to tell us about the
environment during a certain time?
 GRAPIC ORGANIZER
• NAME THAT FOSSIL
• BASED ON THE INFORMATION AND
PICTURE YOU HAVE, AS A GROUP
SEE IF YOU CAN PUT THE CORRECT
DEFINITION AND ILLUSTRATION IN
THE CORRECT FOSSIL COLUMN.
http:///wwww.youtube.comatch?v=3rkGu0BItKM
 Mold Fossil
• Forms when:
– Sediments bury an
organism
– Sediments change
into rock by
pressure
– The organism
decays
– Leaves a cavity or
hollow in the shape
of the organism
 Cast Fossil
• Forms when:
– A mold is filled with
sand or mud
– Sediments harden
into the shape of
the organism
 Mold and Cast Fossils
• Most common form of
fossils
• Most fossils form
when sediment buries
a dead organism
• Organism most likely
lived in or near quiet
water (swamp, lake,
shallow sea)
Petrified Fossil
• Also called
permineralized
fossil
• Forms when:
minerals soak into
the buried remains,
replacing the
remains, and
changing them into
rock.
 CLOSURE
• Compare two fossil types
•  
• Of the three fossil types, Which do you
think are more commonly found and
why?
 FALCON FOCUS
• Two scientists, Fred and Liz, were working at a dig site to find
fossils. They both had just gotten their degrees in Geology and were
very excited to start work.
• Fred had suspected that Liz wasn't who she said she was, mostly
because she messed up terms and almost seemed to lack some basic
skills in excavation and classification of fossils. One day Liz was
looking at a well-preserved fossil when Fred walked in. He decided
to test her and asked, "What kind of rock is that preserved in?" She
answered back, "Igneous of course!" He then knew that she didn't
have a degree in Geology and told the boss who, of course, fired her.
What answer should she have given? WHY?
 EQ
• WHAT THINGS DO FOSSILS TELL
US ABOUT THE PAST?
GRAPIC ORGANIZER PART 2
• NAME THAT FOSSIL
• BASED ON THE INFORMATION AND
PICTURE YOU HAVE, AS A GROUP
SEE IF YOU CAN PUT THE CORRECT
DEFINITION AND ILLUSTRATION IN
THE CORRECT FOSSIL COLUMN.
http:///wwww.youtube.comatch?v=3rkGu0BItKM
 Trace Fossils
• Forms when:
– Mud or sand hardens
to stone where a
footprint, trail, or
burrow of an
organism was left
behind
– http://
www.youtube.com/
watch?v=9y7mIJ1-
Uh0
Dino Tracks
Carbonized Fossils
• Form when:
– Organisms or parts
are pressed
between layers of
soft mud or clay
– Mud or clay hardens
– Squeezes almost all
the decaying
organism away
– Leaves the carbon
imprint in the rock
Preserved Fossil
• Forms when:
– Entire organisms or
parts of organisms
are prevented from
decaying
– Trapped in rock,
ice, tar, or amber
 QUESTIONS
• How might plants or animals be preserved in their true form
instead of in a cast or mold?
•  
• What do you think is the benefit of a preserved organism over
JUST a cast or mold of the organism?
•  
• Watch clip from Jurassic Park describing preserved fossils
•  
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMsJe3TymqY
 QUESTIONS
• What might preserved fossils add to the
study of the Earth's past the other fossils
would not?
•  
• Why are carbonized fossils useful when
studying the past?
 QUESTIONS
• CONNECT HOW THE FORMATION OF
SEDIMENTARY ROCK EFFECTS THE
FORMATION OF FOSSILS.   
•  
• What might happen to fossils when they are
exposed to heat and pressure within the
earth?
•
 HOMEWORK
• Students will draw cartoon strip about
the formation and discovery of a fossil
 Falcon Focus
• List the Earth layers in order from the
least dense to more dense. (Include their
state of matter)

Essential Question:
• What environmental factors contribute
to forming different types of fossils?
REBUS
 INTRO
• Match the fossil type with the correct
environmental factors present when they were
formed
•  
• What is the difference between cast and mold
fossils?
•  
• Students will do a scavenger hunt to identify the 6
types of fossils
• Students will complete the fossil lab by interacting
with the different types of fossils
•  
• Which fossils do you think are probably most common
based on how they are formed?
•  
• Which fossil type involves minerals in its formation?
•
 HOMEWORK
• STUDY FOR QUIZ
 FALCON FOCUS
– DURING THE SUBDUCTION ZONE,
WHICH CRUST SINKS AND WHY?
 EQ
• Why is studying fossils important to our
world today?
REBUS
• What might trace fossils reveal about organisms that other
fossils would not?
•  
• How can trace fossils be used to learn about the living
conditions of organisms?
•  
• Students will watch Bill Nye clip on Fossils and write a
reflection on which extinct species they would bring back if
they could and the effect it would have on modern life in
their notebooks
QUICK REVIEW
QUIZ TIME
 Ticket out the Door
• Name the key words for each one of the fossils.
• 1. Trace
• 2. Mold
• 3. Cast
• 4. Petrified
• 5. Carbonized
• 6. Preserved
 Test Your Skills
Which of the following
is least likely to be
found as a fossil?

a. Clam shell
b. Shark tooth
c. Dinosaur bone
d. Jellyfish imprint
 Test Your Skills

Fossils are usually

found in _______?

a. Desert land
b. Mud
c. Sedimentary rock
d. Rocks formed inside
volcanoes
 Test Your Skills

Fossils of animals
found in the La
Brea tar pits are
examples of what
kind of fossils?

a. Carbon film
b. Mold fossil
c. Preserved remains
d. Petrified fossil
 Test Your Skills
Marine fossils have been found in
exposed rock layers in South
Carolina. Which of the following
is the best interpretation of this
discovery?
 
A. Marine organisms evolved
from land-dwelling
organisms.
B. Parts of South Carolina were once
covered by water.
C. These organisms could live both in
water and on land.
D. They were carried by humans to
South Carolina.
 Test Your Skills
Select the correct letter for the choices that
are all definitely fossils.
 
A.     Egyptian Mummy, Ancient Pottery, Worm
burrows in sandstone
B.   Imprints of rain drops, Trilobite shells,
Mud cracks
C.   Dinosaur tracks, Mammoth found in ice,
Seashells found in limestone
D.   Stone Age tools, Giant shark teeth,
Seashells found on a beach
 Test Your Skills
Using the choices below,
identify the fossils formed
by petrification.
 
A. Dinosaur tracks, Black
outline of a plant leaf
B. Rock-like wood, Rock-like
Brachiopod shell
C. Mud-filled shape of a
gastropod shell, Mammoth
droppings
D. Insect in amber, Hollow
cavity shaped like a trilobite
Review Check On Fossils
 Mini-Lab Time
1. Creating a mold and cast fossil
2. Creating a trace fossil
3. Creating a carbonized fossil
4. Creating a petrified fossil
5. Demonstrating a preserved fossil