1. Earth’s Age + Evidence

2. WARM UP Write a homework reminder – leave it to be stamped!
Update your Table of Contents for today!
Tape your Vocab Quiz onto page 13 when you get it back!
Date
Session #
Activity
Page
11/20 & 11/21 7
Earth’s Age & Evidence Note guide 14

3. Earth’s History Writing Prompt Reminders
Make sure it is submitted by the due date regardless of whether you will be here next week or not!
You may add images to enhance your essay!
Please adhere to language arts standards in terms of paragraph length, grammar, citations & structure!

4. Earth is around 4.6 BILLION years old.
How old is the Earth?
Earth is around 4.6 BILLION years old.

5. HOW DO WE KNOW HOW OLD THE EARTH IS?
BIG QUESTION:
HOW DO WE KNOW HOW OLD THE EARTH IS?

6. BIG ANSWER:
Everything coming up in the next few lessons helps answer the BIG QUESTION!

7. Law of Superposition Law of Superposition–
Under normal conditions, the layers of sediment get older the deeper you go

8. Examples of Law of Superposition
Just like a layered cake…you put the bottom layer down first,
so it is the “oldest” and
you fill in each layer on
top of it! What examples
can you come up with?
Draw your own picture
illustrate the concept!

9. We Have a Problem…
There are several things can mess up the Law of Superposition…they are called unconformities
Types of unconformities:
1 – intrusion
2 – overturning
3 - faults

10. Unconformity Unconformity-
A break or an irregularity in the geologic time sequence due to a geologic event.
“Missing Information”

11. 1. Intrusion
An intrusion is igneous rock that cuts through layers of sedimentary rock.
The intrusion is younger than any other rock layer it cuts through.
intrusion

12. 2. Overturning
Overturning is when rock layers are folded due to gravity, erosion, or shifts in Earth’s crust.

13. 3. Faults Faults are cracks, fractures or shifts in Earth’s crust

14. Law of Superposition Practice
Which type of unconformity do you see in the diagram?
Can you put the layers in order from oldest to youngest?

15. Law of Superposition Practice
Which types of unconformity do you see in the diagram? Can you put the layers in order from youngest to oldest?

16. What is This?

17. What is the only type of rock that you would find fossils in?
Quick Review!
What is the only type of rock that you would find fossils in?

18. Fossils
Fossil – traces or remains of living things from long ago that help sort out the sedimentary rock record
Index Fossils – common fossils that are used as a “reference” to date other fossils

19. Types of Fossils
BrainPOP Video

20. The Great Fossil Find
Work together with your table partner to determine what type of animal your fossil is! The activity guide must be turned in by the end of class for a grade!

21. READY TO FIND OUT WHAT THE GREAT FOSSIL FIND WAS?
Scaphognathus crassirostris was a pterosaur, similar to a pterodactyl, that lived during the Late Jurassic Period.

22. Scaphognathus crassirostris
What it may have looked like…

23. Homework Submit your Writing Prompt by the due date!!!!
Bring a bag of Skittles for the class after break!!!!

24. Warm-Up Write your homework – get it stamped!
Update your Table of Contents for today!
Get & complete the 2 mini Warm-Ups on the counter…tape them into page 15!
Date
Session #
Activity
Page
12/1 & 12/2 8
Mini Warm-Ups 15
Determining Age Note Guide 16
Skittles Half-Life Simulation 17

25. What Law do these mini warm-ups demonstrate?
Review
What Law do these mini warm-ups demonstrate?
What were some other things we talked about last class that help us determine how old Earth really is?

26. The Butler walks to work
The Handyman rides a bike
The Cook rides a motorcycle
The Maid drives a car
The Nephew has a seeing-eye dog

28. R
(layer E)

29. R 3 9 5 2 4 1 6 7 8

30. The evidence we looked at last time was pretty general, it’s time for evidence that can give us more specific information…

31. Relative Age
Relative Age - the age of an event or object in relation to other events or objects
Example: Fossil #2 is younger than Fossil #1

32. Absolute Age
Absolute Age – actual age of an event or object; specific number is given
Dating techniques like radioactive dating or carbon dating are used to figure out actual age
Example: The shell is 2 million years old

33. Isotope Review…They’re Back!
Isotopes – versions of the same element with a different mass because they have a different number of neutrons!
Some versions are stable and others are radioactive!
What makes up an atom’s mass?
Carbon – 11
Carbon – 12
Carbon – 13
Carbon – 14
= Protons
= Neutrons

34. Radioactive (Radiometric) Dating
Types of Dating
Radioactive (Radiometric) Dating
Carbon Dating
Uses radioactive carbon-14 isotopes
Only good for samples up to 60,000 years old
Sample must have been ALIVE!
Uses other radioactive isotopes
Good for much older samples
Sample does NOT have to have been living!

35. What’s a “Half-life?”
Half-life – length of time it takes for half of the atoms in a radioactive isotope to break down
The break down occurs at a constant rate depending on the radioactive isotope being used!

36. Half-Life Example
If the half-life of Titanium-44 is 63 years and you start out with 80 grams of it, how long will it take to decay?
# of Half-Lives
Amount of Time
Grams of Titanium-44 80 1 63 2 3

37. What Exactly is Radioactivity?
BrainPOP Video - Radioactivity

38. Skittles Half-Life Simulation
Make sure you have a cup of Skittles – you may need to arrange for someone to share with you!
You will work where you are seated, but you and your table partner can work together.
I want to see your work before you leave, and I will be checking it off for a grade…then you can tape it into page 17!

39. Homework
Finish your Earth’s History WebQuest if you did not have time in class, or you were absent last class!
Finish your Skittles Lab if you did not finish in class!

40. Warm-Up Write your homework – get it stamped!
Update your Table of Contents for today!
Get your Skittles Lab out from last class to be checked/go over it!
If you have the WebQuest completed, put it in the basket!
Date
Session #
Activity
Page
12/3 & 12/4 9
Half-Life Warm-Ups 18
Silent Stations Answer Sheet – FORMAL GRADE 19

41. Skittles Half-Life Simulation Review
Graph on the Back: A graph of the decay of a radioactive isotope has a very specific shape…your lines for Skittilium & Blankium should look like the graph below.

42. Skittles Half-Life Simulation Review
#2 on the back
Iodine-131 is your radioactive isotope in this scenario…
# of Half-Lives
Time of Half-Life
Amount of Iodine-131 Remaining
40 mg 1
8 days
20 mg 2
16 days
10 mg 3
24 days
5 mg 4
32 days
2.5 mg

43. Skittles Half-Life Simulation Review
#3 on the back:
Does it give the name of the radioactive isotope in the question? Does it give the amount?
What does it mean to be radioactive?
What is an isotope?
What is a half-life? What is the half-life of this isotope?
What is the significance of this half-life – in other words, why should your mom not be worried?

44. Radioactive Dating/Half-Life Practice
# of Half-Lives
Time
Amount of… 1 2 3 4 5

45. “SILENT STATIONS”
You will rotate around the room quietly and practice the concepts we have learned at each station.
I am the “Answer Key Station,” so once you have completed everything you can come check your answers!
Be sure to tape the station guide into your notebook on page 19 once you have checked your answers and been checked off for a grade!
Complete the homework for next class, or work on an extra credit opportunity!!

46. Homework Finish your Webquest by Friday!
Finish your Silent Stations by next class!

47. Warm-Up Write your homework – have it stamped!
Update your Table of Contents today!
If you did not get your Silent Stations checked off, please have those out as well!
Date
Session #
Activity
Page
12/5 & 12/8 10
Ice Cores & Tree Rings – Notes and Lab 20
Hunger Games Review 21

48. Just a Few More Pieces of Evidence…
We’ve already talked about:
Law of Superposition
Unconformities (Intrusion, Overturning, Fault)
Fossils/Index Fossils
Absolute & Relative Age
Carbon Dating & Radioactive Dating
We are missing:
Ice Cores
Tree Rings

49. Remember The Law of Uniformitarianism? What Does it State?
Climate change is part of that and the climate can gradually change over hundreds, thousands or millions of years.
Ice cores and tree rings are tools to help scientists figure out how the climate has changed in the past.

50. Ice Cores
Ice Core - a tubular sample of ice that shows the layers of snow and ice that have built up over thousands of years literally freezing the events of the past

51. What types of things do you think get “trapped” in these ice cores?

52. Ice Cores Pros and Cons? temperature patterns evidence of major events
dust, ash or sediment
plant spores
bubbles of gas from atmosphere (usually CO2)
Pros and Cons?

53. Ice Cores Extreme Ice National Ice Core Lab

54. Tree Rings Pros and Cons?
Another tool for studying climate change and events over the life span of the tree
The width of tree rings varies, depending on how much the tree grows in various years
Thick ring = good year for growth
Thin ring = poor growth, little rainfall
Pros and Cons?

55. Tree Ring Practice B D A C

56. Tree Rings Lord of the Tree Rings
Tree Rings were used to analyze the boat found under the twin towers…

57. Ice Core & Tree Ring Lab Roles
Supply Manager – retrieves and returns supplies
Reader/Discussion leader – reads the directions and the questions and ensures there is a discussion
Scribe – makes sure everyone knows what to write, and is writing
Speaker – shares information with the class

58. Ice Core Lab
Send your supply manager to get a piece of paper towel from one of the sinks.
Your group will receive 1 ice core sample - peel the paper off and follow the directions!
Be sure to answer all of the questions and be ready to share in 5 minutes!

59. Tree Ring Lab
Send your supply manager to your sink and simply set your ice core in the sink to melt – throw away the paper towel!
Your group will receive several tree ring samples – read and follow the directions!
Be sure to answer all of the questions!
After everyone has finished, have your supply manager return ALL tree rings!

60. The BIG QUESTION Back to the Beginning…what was our BIG QUESTION!
Earth is 4.6 billion years old, but HOW DO WE KNOW? WHAT EVIDENCE DO WE HAVE?

61. The Hunger Games Review
Rather than killing each other we a need to form an alliance.
We are going to be creating “The Great List of Evidence” and it will happen in 3 stages:
Work with your table partner or small group in your seating area (5 min)
Work “tea-party” style with the whole class (5 min)
Work through examples from the video clip

62. “The Great List of Evidence”
Start a list of evidence that helps us piece together Earth’s History and include HOW that evidence provides information:
Example:
The Law of Superposition – gives us a basic idea to work from that the layers of sediment and what we find in that sediment are older the deeper we dig.

63. The Hunger Games Review
The class with the longest/best list will get 10 bonus points added to their test!
Remember: Everyone in the class should have a similar list if we are all working together, and for every piece of evidence there should be a justification…I will randomly pick the name of your class tribute out of the bucket and the tribute’s list will count for the class!! BUT, YOU MAY NOT VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE!

64. “The Great List of Evidence”
The Video Clips…this is your last chance to add to your list! After the video clip will be the reaping!
May the odds be ever in your favor 

65. Homework Complete the Practice Vocab Quiz by next class!
You will have the real quiz in 2 classes from now!

66. NOVA Origins: Earth is Born!
A great recap as well as a lot we didn’t get a chance to talk about!