What is a fossil?

• Fossils give clues about organisms that lived long ago. They help to show that evolution has occurred.

• They also provide evidence about how Earth’s surface has changed over time.

• Fossils help scientists understand what past environments may have been like.

• A fossil is the preserved remains of a once-living organism.

What do fossils tell us?

HOW IS A FOSSIL FORMED?

1. SedimentAn animal is buried by sediment, such as volcanic ash or silt, shortly after it dies. Its bones are protected from rotting by the layer of sediment.

4. ErosionErosion from rain, rivers, and wind wears away the remaining rock layers. Eventually, erosion or people digging for fossils will expose the preserved remains.

2. LayersMore sediment layers accumulate above the animal’s remains, and minerals, such as silica (a compound of silicon and oxygen), slowly replace the calcium phosphate in the bones.

3. MovementMovement of tectonic plates, or giant rock slabs that make up Earth’s surface, lifts up the sediments and pushes the fossil closer to the surface.

FIVE MAIN TYPES OF FOSSILS

PetrifiedFossils

Molds andCasts

CarbonFilms

TraceFossils

PreservedRemains

MOLDS AND CASTS• A mold forms when hard parts of an

organism are buried in sediment, such as sand, silt, or clay.

• The hard parts completely dissolve over time, leaving behind a hollow area with the organism’s shape.

MOLD FOSSILThis mold, or imprint, is of an extinct mollusk called

an ammonite.

• A cast forms as the result of a mold.

• Water with dissolved minerals and sediment fills the mold’s empty spaces.

• Minerals and sediment that are left in the mold make a cast.

• A cast is the opposite of its mold.

CAST FOSSILThis ammonite cast was discovered in the United

Kingdom.

• The word “petrified” means “turning into stone.”

• Petrified fossils form when minerals replace all or part of an organism.

• Water is full of dissolved minerals. It seeps through the layers of sediment to reach the dead organism. When the water evaporates, only the hardened minerals are left behind.

PETRIFIED FOSSILS

PETRIFIED FOSSILThe Field Museum in Chicago

displays a fossil of a Tyrannosaurus rex.

• All living things contain an element called carbon.

• When an organism dies and is buried in sediment, the materials that make up the organism break down.

• Eventually, only carbon remains.

• The thin layer of carbon left behind can show an organism’s delicate parts, like leaves on a plant.

CARBON FILMS

FERN FOSSILThis carbon-film fossil of a

fern is more than300 million years old.

TRACE FOSSILS

• Trace fossils show the activities of organisms.

• An animal makes a footprint when it steps in sand or mud.

• Over time the footprint is buried in layers of sediment. Then, the sediment becomes solid rock.

FANCY FOOTWORKThis dinosaur footprint was

found in Namibia, Africa.

Some organisms get preserved in or close to their original states. Here are some ways that can happen.

PRESERVED REMAINS

Amber An organism, such as an insect, is trapped in a tree’s sticky resin and dies. More resin covers it, sealing the insect inside. It hardens into amber.

Tar An organism, such as a mammoth, is trapped in a tar pit and dies. The tar soaks into its bones and stops the bones from decaying.

Ice An organism, such as a woolly mammoth, dies in a very cold region. Its body is frozen in ice, which preserves the organism—even its hair!

Video: Becoming a Fossilhttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/04/3/l_043_01.html

PBS

Article: Major Fossil Findhttp://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3751945

Scholastic News Online

Online Exhibit: Fossil Hallshttp://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/fossilhalls

American Museum of Natural History

Interactive Game: Fossil Hunthttp://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/dino-death-trap-2998#tab-fossil-hunt

National Geographic

For more on fossils visit:

Scholastic Classroom Magazines. www.scholastic.com Photo Credits: PAGE 1: UTAH MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY (DINOSAUR); PHOTOTAKE INC./ALAMY (ANT). PAGE 3: 5W INFORGRAPHIC (GRAPHIC). PAGE 4: Jason Lindsey/Alamy (DINOSAUR); Peter Bowater/Alamy (MOLD); David Lyons/Alamy (FERN); Hoberman Collection UK/Alamy (FOOTPRINT); John Cancalosi/Alamy (MANTIS). PAGE 5: Gary Crabbe/Alamy (DINOSAUR). PAGE 6: Peter Bowater/Alamy (MOLD); Detail Heritage/Alamy (CAST). PAGE 7: David Lyons/Alamy (FERN). PAGE 8: Hoberman Collection UK/Alamy (FOOTPRINT). PAGE 9: John Cancalosi/Alamy (MANTIS); R1/Alamy (TAR PITS); Gianni Dagli Orti/Corbis (MAMMOTH).

FIVE MAIN TYPES OF FOSSILS

PetrifiedFossils

Molds andCasts

CarbonFilms

TraceFossils

PreservedRemains

Paleontologists = ?? "Paleo-" is Greek for "ancient”"-ology" means…

What do fossils tell us? (Hint: Snow)•If an animal died 200 years ago, how old do you think the dirt around its bones is?•What if it was a fossil from 200 thousand years ago?

We can tell the age of an object by how old the things around it are.

Law of Superposition

Which of these layers is oldest and why?

If the layers are undisturbed, then the oldest rock is ALWAYS at the bottom.

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In which of these samples could you use the Law of

Superposition?

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What about this? Does this follow

superposition?Why or why

not?

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Index Fossilthese fossils are used to match layers together that are split apart

Can an index fossil tell the exact age of soil?

Could you tell me exactly how old my watch was if I told you my great grandfather gave it to me?

Could you tell me how old it was if I said he bought it the day that the titanic sunk? (Titanic sunk in 1912)

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What is relative age?the age of one thing compared to

something else ex. The semi is bigger than a car.The book is as big as a dictionary!

What is absolute age?an exact age of somethingex. I am 56 years old.The bottle holds 2 liters of liquid.

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