1. How much do you know about Paleontology?
JOURNAL # 1
What is a fossil?
(YOUR DEFINITION)

2. Geology: Paleontology & Geologic Time
Created in 2008 by Tim F. Rowbotham

3. Geology
is the study of the origin, history, and structure of the earth.

4. Paleontology
is the study of prehistoric life, particularly through fossil remains.

5. Fossils
are the remains, imprints, or traces of prehistoric organisms.

6. Fossil Formation
Requires shelter from scavengers, decay, and physical destruction.

7. Fossil Formation
Most commonly occurs through quick burial by sediment.
Is more likely to occur with hard parts such as bone, shells, and teeth.

8. Types of Fossils

9. Types of Fossils Permineralized remains Carbon films Molds & Casts
Original Remains
Trace Fossils

10. Permineralized Remains
occur when parts of the original remains are replaced by minerals flowing through ground water.
This process is called petrification.

11. Permineralized Remains
Fossil turtle shell

12. Permineralized Remains
Fossil dimetrodon

13. Permineralized Remains
Petrified wood

14. Permineralized Remains
Baby protoceratops

15. Permineralized Remains
Whale fossil

16. Permineralized Remains
Fossil tyrannosaurus

17. Carbon Films
occur when pressure from layers of sediment leaves only a thin carbon residue.

18. Carbon Films
Beech leaf

19. Carbon Films
Ancient salamander

20. Carbon Films
Fossil fish

21. Molds & Casts
Formation of fossil shell molds

22. Molds
are hollow areas left in sediment that show the shape of the original organism.

23. Molds & Casts
External mold of shell

24. Molds & Casts
Internal mold of shell

25. Casts
are copies of the shape of original organism that form from minerals deposited into the mold.

26. Molds & Casts
Cast of trilobite

27. Molds & Casts
Formation of fossil shell molds

28. Original Remains
including the soft parts of the organism are sometimes found in hardened tree resin, frozen ground, or tar pits.

29. Original Remains
Bee encased in amber

30. Original Remains
Scorpion in amber

31. Original Remains
Mammoth hair

32. Trace Fossils
provide evidence of an organism’s activity. They include footprints, trails, burrows, and excrement.

33. Trace Fossils
Dinosaur tracks

34. Trace Fossils
Fossil trails of climactichnites

35. Trace Fossils
Fossil burrows

36. Journal #2
List 3 types of fossils and give a brief description of each.
READY YOUR REMOTES

37. How fossils form VIDEOS
How Fossils are Formed 2
How Fossils are Formed 1

38. Fun Facts about Sue
Sue Wiki

40. Relative Age
is the age of a rock or fossil compared to the ages of other rocks or fossils.

41. Catastrophism
is the belief that the earth’s geological features were formed rapidly as a result of large catastrophes.

42. Catastrophes
that could cause rapid geologic change include landslides, volcanic eruptions, floods, and earthquakes.

43. Uniformitarianism
is the idea that the processes occurring on earth today are similar to those that occurred in the past.

44. Uniformitarianism
basically says “The present is the key to the past.”

45. Uniformitarianism
is the idea that geological features formed slowly over long periods of time.

46. Catastrophism vs. Uniformitarianism
Geologic Features
Form slowly over time
Form rapidly due to major forces & events
Age of the earth
Billions of years
Thousands of years

47. Catastrophism & a Young Earth
Where would dinosaurs fit in?
DRAGONS or DINOSAURS VIDEO
(FULL VIDEO 1:24)
3:09 – ?

48. Principle of Superposition
as sedimentary rocks form, they are deposited on older rock layers.

49. Principle of Superposition
in undisturbed layers, the oldest is on the bottom and higher layers are younger.

50. Principle of Superposition
Oldest layer is on bottom (1)

51. Principle of Superposition
The Grand Canyon

52. Principle of Superposition
The Grand Canyon

53. Principle of Superposition
Younger Layers of Rock
Older Layers of Rock
The Grand Canyon

54. Extrusions
are igneous rocks layers that form on the surface when lava hardens.

55. Extrusions
are always younger than the layers over which they form.

56. Extrusion
Kubu Rock – Botswana, Africa

57. Intrusions
are igneous rocks that form when magma pushes up into rock layers.

58. Intrusions
are always younger than the rock layers they invade.

59. Intrusion
Devil’s Tower, WY

60. Intrusions & Extrusions

61. Journal #3 Draw the following geologic cross-section:
1.) 2 layers of sedimentary rock form.
2.) An extrusion forms on top of the two layers.
3.) A 3rd layer of sedimentary rock forms.
4.) An intrusion cuts through the all the rock layers, but not to the surface.
5.) A 4th layer of sedimentary rock forms.

62. Faults
are breaks in the earth’s crust. A fault is always younger than the rock it cuts through.

63. Faults

64. Faults
Shoshone Fault, CA

65. Folds
occur when rock layers are compressed together and bend or curve.

66. Folds
Guadalajara, Spain

67. Folds
Mojave Desert, CA

68. Folds
South Wales, Australia

69. Draw the following geologic cross-section:
Journal #4
Draw the following geologic cross-section:
1.) 2 layers of sedimentary rock form.
2.) The 2 layers of rock are folded.
3.) A 3rd sedimentary layer forms.
4.) A fault cuts through all the layers, shifting some rock up.
5.) A 4th sedimentary layer forms.
6.) An intrusion cuts all the way to the surface forming an extrusion.

70. Unconformities
are gaps in the rock sequence (caused by the erosion of rock layers).

71. Angular Unconformity
occur when rock layers are tilted or uplifted, and then worn down by erosion and weathering.
Sediments are then deposited on top of these eroded layers.

72. Angular Unconformity

73. Angular Unconformity

74. Angular Unconformity

75. Angular Unconformity
Grand Canyon

76. Angular Unconformity
Siccar Point, Scotland

77. Angular Unconformity
Combs Quarry, Yorkshire, England

78. Disconformities
are gaps created when erosion occurs on an overlying rock layer.

79. Disconformity

80. Disconformity

81. Disconformity

82. Nonconformity
are formed when sedimentary rock overlays igneous or metamorphic rocks.

83. Nonconformity

84. Nonconformity

85. Nonconformity
Grand Canyon

86. Nonconformity
Egypt

87. Unconformities

88. SOME Relative Dating Practice
Write the correct order of events by numbering their occurances.
Include any and all cross-cut relationships.

89. Relative Dating Example

90. Relative Dating

91. Relative Dating

92. Relative Dating

93. Correlation
is using rock and fossil evidence to match up dating at different locations.

94. Correlation

95. Correlation

96. Correlation

97. Index Fossils
are used for dating the rock layers in which they are found.
(p. 4 Notes)

98. Index Fossils
are species that were abundant all over the earth, but existed for shorter periods of time.

99. Index Fossil
trilobite

100. Index Fossil
ammonite

101. Index Fossil
reptaculite

102. Index Fossil
Correlation using index fossils

103. Index Fossil
Correlation using index fossils

105. Index Fossil
Correlation

106. Draw a geologic cross-section with the following:
Journal #5
Draw a geologic cross-section with the following:
1.) At least 5 sedimentary rock layers
2.) At least 3 cross-cuts
Write a geologic history that explains the order of occurrence of each event.

107. Paleontology Notes RETURN YOUR REMOTE Finding Clues to Rock Layers
HW: (Pal Pack)
p.18 “The Grandest Canyon of All”
p.19 “Relative Order of Geologic Events”
p. 20 “Geologic Puzzles”

108. Absolute Age
is the age in years of a rock or other object (as determined by radiometric dating.

109. Radiometric Dating
entails finding the amount of certain radioactive elements left in a rock or object.

110. Radioactive Decay
is the release of particles and energy from the nuclei of unstable atoms.

111. Radioactive Elements
are elements whose nuclei are unable to hold together, and eject particles and energy.

112. The Parent Element
is the element whose nucleus radioactively decays into another element.

113. The Daughter Element
is the new element that is produced after the decay of the parent element.

114. Half-Life
is the time it takes for half of the atoms in a sample to decay.

115. Half-Life
is always the same. It does not depend on the amount of atoms.

116. Half-Life
is unaffected by almost all other outside factors. Decay occurs at a steady rate.

117. Sample Half-lives ISOTOPE HALF-LIFE PARENT DAUGHTER URANIUM 238
LEAD 206
4.5 BILLION YEARS
POTASSIUM 40
ARGON 40
1.3 BILLION YEARS
THORIUM 232
LEAD 208
14.0 BILLION YEARS
CARBON 14
NITROGEN 14
5,730 YEARS

118. Sample Half-lives Iodine-129 16,000,000 years Carbon-14 5730 years
Strontium years
Sodium hours
Technetium hours
Fluorine minutes
Oxygen seconds

119. Radiometric Dating
As time passes, the amount of a parent isotope in a rock decreases as it decays.
It has decayed into the daughter element.

120. Radiometric Dating
basically involves measuring how much of the daughter element has formed.

121. Age Determination
can then be made by using the known half-life to determine how much time has passed.

122. Age Determination
typically, the dating can be estimated only up to a MAX of 10 half-lives.

123. Common Types of Radiometric Dating
Potassium-argon dating
Uranium-lead dating
Rubidium-strontium dating
Radiocarbon dating

124. Potassium- Argon Dating
Potassium-40 decays to Argon-40.
Potassium-40 has a half-life of 1,300,000,000 years.
(used on igneous & metamorphic rock)

125. (used on igneous & metamorphic rock)
Uranium-Lead Dating
Uranium-235 decays to Lead-207
Half-life: 700,000,000 years
Uranium-238 decays to Lead-204 Half-life: 4,500,000,000 years
(used on igneous & metamorphic rock)

127. Rubidium-Strontium Dating
Rubidium-87 decays to Strontium-87
Rubidium has a half-life of 50,000,000,000 years.
(used on igneous & metamorphic rock)

128. Radiocarbon Dating
Carbon-14 decays to Nitrogen-14.
Carbon dating is used to measure how long an organism has been dead.