Task Force 10: Fossil Formation

• Find an example of a fossil.

• Use the data you collect from the teacher background information in the Curriculum Guide, your fossil formation activities, and the Web pages and videos in the Resources link to complete your graphic organizer.
  
  
• Use the Resources link below to find and save images or videos from the United Streaming resources or other Web page resources that show how fossils are formed.
  
  
• Sequence the following events in fossil formation:
  - A sedimentary rock contains the hardened remains of an ancient animal.
  - Deposits of sediments cover the animal's body and bury it deep inside the earth.
  - Over time, the sediments are pressed together and form a layer of sedimentary rock.
  - An animal dies and its body sinks into the soft mud of a riverbed.
  
  
• Define the term “force.” Demonstrate examples of force. (push, pull)
  
  
• Get about ½ cup each of 2-3 colors of play dough. Press the play dough into horizontal layers, one on top of the other to model layers of rock material. Place a small object between two of the layers. Either take a digital picture or draw what the layers look like from a side view and label it “before the force.”
  
  
• Explore different ways the layers can be changed by applying different kinds of forces (push, pull, slide, etc.). Photograph or illustrate your discoveries and label them “after the force.”
  
  
• Make a separate drawing or photograph of the imprint the small object made on the layers of play dough. You will need to pull the layers apart to show this.
  
  
• Share your photographs or illustrations and explanations in your presentation. During discussions, make sure you relate force to changes in the earth's surface. Over millions of years, forces that move the earth's rock layers can eventually carry fossils that formed on the ocean floor even to the top of the highest mountains on earth.
  
  
  
• Create a presentation of the information you found, sequencing the events from the Fossil Formation worksheet in the Curriculum Guide, and defining and demonstrating the effects of force. Insert the pictures and/or videos as they apply to your explanations. Some presentation suggestions are: a slideshow, a video, a brochure, or a Web page.
  
  
  
• Print your project and turn in to the teacher so he/she can make copies for the class.
  
  
• Complete your Daily Science Journal.

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