1. NATURAL SCIENCES & TECHNOLOGY GRADE 5
Planet Earth and Beyond: Types of Fossils
NATURAL SCIENCES GRADE 5

2. NATURAL SCIENCES GRADE 5
Types of Fossils
There are two main types of fossils:
Body fossils
Formed from the hard parts of plant and animals e.g. teeth, bones, shells, stems, leaves and seeds.
Trace fossils
Fossils formed from traces (or clues) left by animals e.g. footprints, nests, eggs and droppings.
There are two main types of fossils:
A) Body fossils
• Formed from the hard parts of plant and animals e.g. teeth, bones, shells, stems, leaves and seeds.
B) Trace fossils
• Fossils formed from traces (or clues) left by animals e.g. footprints, nests, eggs and droppings.
NATURAL SCIENCES GRADE 5

3. NATURAL SCIENCES GRADE 5
Body Fossils
1. Teeth and bones
A bit of broken tooth can be
found within another animal’s bones
Teeth help us to see whether the extinct animal was a carnivore or a herbivore
Bones help us to determine the size and the shape of the animal
Scientists use the bones to reconstruct (put back together) extinct animals
NATURAL SCIENCES GRADE 5

4. NATURAL SCIENCES GRADE 5
Body Fossils
Let’s watch this video to find out how scientists use fossils to recreate dinosaurs!
NATURAL SCIENCES GRADE 5

5. NATURAL SCIENCES GRADE 5
Body Fossils
2. Shells
Most commonly found fossils
Because they are naturally hard, they fossilise easily
Almost always found in sedimentary rock
Shells are the most commonly found fossils. Because they are naturally hard to begin with, they fossilise easily. Shells are almost always found in sedimentary rock.
NATURAL SCIENCES GRADE 5

6. NATURAL SCIENCES GRADE 5
Body Fossils
3. Stems, leaves and seeds
Stems and seeds can be petrified.
Petrified means “turned to stone”
Stems and seeds can be petrified.
Petrified is the process of how organic matter is turned into stone.
NATURAL SCIENCES GRADE 5

7. NATURAL SCIENCES GRADE 5
Body Fossils
The softer parts, like the leaves, are trapped between sedimentary layers or in resin
Resin is a sticky substance that plants produce
The softer parts, like the leaves, are trapped between sedimentary layers, or in resin.
Resin is a sticky substance that plants produce.
This becomes hard and forms amber.
NATURAL SCIENCES GRADE 5

8. NATURAL SCIENCES GRADE 5
Body Fossils
Resin becomes hard and forms amber
The same can happen to animals.
Whole animals are captured for us to study
The resin becomes hard and forms amber. The same can happen to animals. Whole animals are captures for us to study.
Unpolished amber stones
NATURAL SCIENCES GRADE 5

9. NATURAL SCIENCES GRADE 5
Trace Fossils
1. Footprints
Fossil footprints are signs that organisms once lived on our planet
Difficult to identify the type of animal
• Footprints
• Fossil footprints are signs that organisms were once alive and lived on our planet.
• It is very difficult to identify the type of animal that made the footprint. •
NATURAL SCIENCES GRADE 5

10. NATURAL SCIENCES GRADE 5
Trace Fossils
Fossil footprints give us information about:
The speed of the animal
Length of stride
Whether the animal walked on
two or four legs
The bone structure of the foot
This 1.5-million-year-old fossil footprint, showing an upright stride, was discovered at a site in Kenya
NATURAL SCIENCES GRADE 5

11. NATURAL SCIENCES GRADE 5
Trace Fossils
2. Eggs
Many fossilised eggs have been
found
They often contain parts of an
embryo
An embryo is an organism in its very early stages of development, before you can recognise it
The picture shows a fossilised nest of dinosaur eggs.
NATURAL SCIENCES GRADE 5

12. NATURAL SCIENCES GRADE 5
Trace Fossils
We can then match an egg with an animal species
The inside is not preserved during fossilization (apart from some rare dinosaur babies). However, there are some clues to what the inside of the eggs looked like.
NATURAL SCIENCES GRADE 5

13. NATURAL SCIENCES GRADE 5
Trace Fossils
3. Nests
Nests can be made from clay, sticks, grass and leaves
The nests and the eggs found can tell us a lot about animals like dinosaurs
Nests
Nests can be made from clay, sticks, grass and leaves.
The nests and the eggs found can tell us a lot about animals like dinosaurs
NATURAL SCIENCES GRADE 5

14. NATURAL SCIENCES GRADE 5
Trace Fossils
4. Droppings
Fossilised droppings can be studied
It can be taken apart to study the different parts that it is made up of
It can tell us what type of food the animal ate
4. Droppings
Fossilised droppings can be studied
It can be taken apart to study the different parts that it is made up of.
It can tell us what type of food the animal ate.
Hyena droppings
NATURAL SCIENCES GRADE 5

16. NATURAL SCIENCES GRADE 5
Acknowledgements
Image:
Image:
Image:
Image:
Image:
Image:
Image:
Image:
Image:
CAPS Natural Sciences and Technology Grade 5
Barnard T, Bevan W, Collett H, McKay R, Turley C Oxford Successful Natural Science Grade 5 Leaner’s Book. Cape Town: Oxford University Press
NATURAL SCIENCES GRADE 5