Grade 7 Science Earth and Space Science: Earth’s Crust and resources (EC) Melanie Giambattitsa

Lesson 3a

Dinosaur skeleton in Dinosaur Hall of Royal Tyrrell Museum in Alberta You’ve probably hear of, if not seen, fossils of dinosaurs and other animals that lived on our planet millions of years ago. But what are fossils? How do they form?

Fossils: Ancient Snapshots in Sedimentary Rock Review: How are fossils formed? – Casts, impressions, or actual remains Why do you think only a small fraction of organisms are preserved as fossils? Hint: what happens to most dead organisms? Decay or are eaten by scavenging animals

Why are fossils important? – They show us what types of plants and animals lived on Earth hundreds of millions of years ago If you look at exposed layers of sedimentary rock, from bottom to top, the fossils are like, a series of snapshots of how life has changed on Earth, from the distant past near the bottom to more recent times near the top. – INSERT PICTURE YO

Explain in your journals: – How do geologists use fossil records to provide evidence of geological history?