Making Sedimentary Rocks Worksheet Pages 11-12

Procedure Follow the directions Place materials in order Color and label each layer/ Fossil *** Each group had a different procedure

How do the layer thicknesses in your container relate to sedimentary rock layers in real life? They vary in thickness – Some layers are very thin and some are thicker

Why are the layers different thicknesses in real life? Erosion / weathering happen at different rates each year – More erosion = larger layer Events like volcano eruptions/dust storms don’t happen every year – Can create larger layers

How do the layer colors in your container relate to sedimentary rock colors in real life? Colors in real life are more earth tone – Brown, Beige, Tan, etc In real life the colors still vary

Why are the layers different colors in real life? Different types of rocks are eroded and deposited If an event occurs it would produce a different color than normal

What challenges did you have with this lab?

What challenges do you think you might have when you have to take each individual layer apart to create the fossil record?

Sedimentary Rock Worksheet Page 14

Picture 1 Which shell is the oldest? – C There are no shells in Layer 3, why might this be? – Nothing to preserve them – Migrated No dinosaur bone is found below Layer 2, this might mean: – They weren’t around that long ago / haven’t evolved yet – Conditions weren’t right to preserve them – They lived in a different area

Picture 2 If you also found a softdrink can in layer 3, what could you say about Layers 3,4, & 5 – Humans were around Are there likely to be dinosaur bones in any of these layers? Explain. – Wrong picture (see below) – No. Humans didn’t coexist with dinosaurs

Picture 3 List the layers in order from oldest to youngest – E/B – D -- A/C In diagram I, which layer is the same as Layer A? – C What can you say about the top layer in diagram I? – Formed after the fault happened – Humans were around

Relative vs. Absolute Time Page

Example Time Scale Relative Time ScaleAbsolute Time Scale I was born. August 21, 1985 I took my first steps. I took my first steps July 15, 1986 My little sister was born May 30, 1988 First high school RBI March 21, 2001 Graduated high school May 28, 2004 Graduated college May 31, 2008 Got my first job August 26, 2009 Today November 30, 2013

What events did you use in your scale?

Describe how we determine relative time Look at the rock layers to see what is before and after Create a basic timeline/scale

Describe how we determine absolute time Radioactive decay information Determine the number of elements / atoms in the sample and compare it to what we expect the element to do

Why are both relative time and absolute time used to reconstruct past timescales? Relative Dating – Pro Works for long time periods – Con Folding/ Faulting / Layers change Absolute Dating – Pro Very accurate/ Precise – Con Only works up until a certain time period

Radioactive Half-Life Pages 17-19

Data GenerationPennies

Graph

What did the pennies represent? Parent Element

What did each trial represent? Half-Life

What pattern do you notice? Numbers go down by approximately half every time GenerationPennies

How does your data compare to the class data? GenerationPennies

Compare your graph with the “Half- Life of Carbon-14” graph on the right. What similarities do you see? Same basic shape Line has a downward slope

How can knowing an elements half-life help you determine the age of a fossil? We can compare the amount of an element in a fossil to the graph of expected change This gives us an approximate age based on half life

Why do you think we replaced the heads up pennies with paperclips? Why was there always 100? Matter isn’t created or destroyed – Atoms were changed but weren’t destroyed