What do these rocks have in common What do these rocks have in common? What do you see that makes you say so? (Be as specific and as scientific as you can.) Coal Fossil Limestone Coral

The Organisms’ Chapter of the Rock Story Still needs revision. Get some coral for the kids to look at. Horn Coral in with fossils “Biotic” Rocks The Organisms’ Chapter of the Rock Story

Brain Pop: Fossils

Fossils: Fossils can tell us about the history of life on earth. Fossils can tell us about the climate on earth. Fossils can help us date rock layers.

Types of Fossils - Body Lightning Shell in rock Peat Bog Frozen Bones in rock Frozen Amber (tree sap)

Types of Fossils - Trace Gastroliths (stones to aid digestion) Coprolite (poo) Bite/gnaw marks Tracks Burrows

Types of Fossils - Mold

Types of Fossils - Cast Pompeii, Italy Natural vs. Artificial?

Brain Pop: Fossil Fuels/Fossils

Coal: Plants that live in swampy/marshy habitats die and turn into peat. Peat is compressed over the course of millions of years and turned into coal.

Peat: a Step Toward Coal or Oil

Brain Pop: Coral

Coral: Coral Castle in Miami, FL Coral produces a hard structure that serves as a sort of skeleton. When each generation of corals die their “skeleton” is left behind, building up very slowly year after year.

Coral reefs are home to 25% of all marine species

Coral often grow up around a volcano as it erodes.

(Coral) Atoll

Limestone: Small marine invertebrates (salt water animals without backbones) use a good deal of calcium in their shells. The animal dies and the soft parts rot away but the shells remain and build up layer after layer. The shells are compressed and turned into limestone.

Limestone is made of dead coral and other sea shells

Used for Buildings and Monuments

The Top Layer of Everest is Limestone What does that tell you?

These Horn Coral Fossils are Limestone What we think the living organism may have looked like.

Fossils: Rock layers can help date fossils and fossils can help date rock layers. Archaeopteryx is a very famous fossil.

Geologic Time Divisions Notable Fossils or Events   Geologic Time Divisions Notable Fossils or Events Time Scale (Million years ago) Cenozoic Abundant mammals, including humans   65 245 550 2,500 3,800 4,500 Mesozoic Cretaceous Dinosaurs, flowering plants, birds, mammals Jurassic Triassic Paleozoic Permian Gymnosperms Mass extinction Carboniferous Reptiles Devonian First amphibians, early insects Silurian Land plants Ordovician Fish Cambrian Marine invertebrates ---trilobites dominant Proterozoic Aquatic plants Archean Earliest life --- bacteria, algae Earth formed Geologic Time Scale

Using Fossils to Date Rock Layers: