Today we will be learning two things:

How to interpret the differences between fossils How to compare modern day animals with fossil remains

 Fossils are the remains or impressions left by plants of animals that lived a very long time ago. The fossils may look the same as when the plant or animal was alive, but have now changed to stone.

Paleontologists are people who study ancient life. Because they study life forms that are now extinct, they rely on fossils to learn about life in the past.

 The usual time frame for fossilization is anywhere from 10,000 years to 500,000,000 years. Giant shark tooth 25 Million years

 You can find fossils practically everywhere. High on mountains, underwater, in the desert, on the beaches or deep underground. Fossils often become exposed during mining or the construction of roads.

Living things (usually aquatic) die and then get buried quickly under sand, dirt, clay, or ash sediments. Usually, the soft parts decay, or rot away, leaving the hard parts behind.

As time goes on more and more sediment accumulates. Pressure, heat, and chemical reaction cause the sediments to harden into rock called sedimentary rock.

Movements in the earths crust, pushes the layers of sedimentary rock back up to higher ground.

Finally, through erosion caused by weather, wind, and water, the fossils become exposed at the surface again.

 If you think the animal looks like another that we know today 3 features you notice about the remains Where you think it may

Where do you think this animal lived? Circle one. Land Water fly) Air(could

What is another animal we know today that has the same qualities as the remains in the picture? Which part of the animal?

 You need to travel around to the pictures posted around the room to investigate more fossils from around the world. Make sure you follow the same setup we just practiced. You will have 3 minutes at each station to talk with your group and fill out the worksheet. When the timer goes off you need to rotate clockwise to the next

 When the time is up and you have traveled to all the locations please return to your seat. At this time you need to choose one fossil to write about. You need to write a paragraph about: What the animal is, where it lived, imagine a year it was alive, and how the features it had helped it survive. You also need to discuss another animal it may have resembled and why. You also need to sketch what the animal looked like when it was alive.