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Page 1: How a Fossil is Made… Tools/Attachment… · Karen Wieda, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory This project was made possible with funds from the U.S. Department of Energy’s

FOSSILS

Page 2: How a Fossil is Made… Tools/Attachment… · Karen Wieda, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory This project was made possible with funds from the U.S. Department of Energy’s

Start with Living Organism

The organism can be either a plant or an animal.

Page 3: How a Fossil is Made… Tools/Attachment… · Karen Wieda, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory This project was made possible with funds from the U.S. Department of Energy’s

The Organism Dies The soft parts that

are exposed to air decompose quickly.

Hard parts like

bones, shells, or wood, don’t decompose as quickly. They have the greatest chance of becoming a fossil.

Page 4: How a Fossil is Made… Tools/Attachment… · Karen Wieda, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory This project was made possible with funds from the U.S. Department of Energy’s

The organism may be buried with layers from the earth. These layers

might be mud, lava or water.

Page 5: How a Fossil is Made… Tools/Attachment… · Karen Wieda, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory This project was made possible with funds from the U.S. Department of Energy’s

How are Fossils Found?

http://faculty.etsu.edu/wallaces/mosa.html

Page 6: How a Fossil is Made… Tools/Attachment… · Karen Wieda, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory This project was made possible with funds from the U.S. Department of Energy’s

How do fossils help us to learn more?

Page 7: How a Fossil is Made… Tools/Attachment… · Karen Wieda, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory This project was made possible with funds from the U.S. Department of Energy’s

Thinking like a paleontologist

Page 8: How a Fossil is Made… Tools/Attachment… · Karen Wieda, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory This project was made possible with funds from the U.S. Department of Energy’s

Would the bear on the left live in this warm environment?

….Or, would the bear on the left live in this colder environment?

How do you know? First… Look at the bear in this picture. What environment do you predict it lives in?

How did you decide which environment the bear lives in? http://www.arctic.noaa.gov/gallery.html

Page 9: How a Fossil is Made… Tools/Attachment… · Karen Wieda, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory This project was made possible with funds from the U.S. Department of Energy’s

Look at these pictures of things that come from a tree. Make a prediction about the environment where you would find this tree.

Would the tree live in this environment?

… or, would the tree live in this environment?

Let’s Try Again

This is more difficult isn’t it? Why? What would help you decide on the correct environment?

http://www.nps.gov/olym/wic/gallery.htm

http://www.nps.gov/yell/slidefile/index.htm

Page 10: How a Fossil is Made… Tools/Attachment… · Karen Wieda, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory This project was made possible with funds from the U.S. Department of Energy’s

Now you are the paleontologist

Here in an example of the kinds of fossil your team has found. What do you think the environment might have been like in the past?

This is the environment where you are looking for fossils.

Page 11: How a Fossil is Made… Tools/Attachment… · Karen Wieda, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory This project was made possible with funds from the U.S. Department of Energy’s

Now you are the paleontologist

You just found the plant fossils, on the left, in an area where it is now hot and dry like the picture on the right. What predictions can you make about what the environment might have been like in the past?

Page 12: How a Fossil is Made… Tools/Attachment… · Karen Wieda, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory This project was made possible with funds from the U.S. Department of Energy’s

“Small animal fossils are one of the best indicators of prehistoric ecosystems and environments. For example, a fossilized frog tells scientists that the habitat within which it lived must have been wetter because the frog was dependent on permanent water to breed. In other words, it was a captive within its environment.”

A quote from a Scientist from the Page Museum's Laboratory

http://www.tarpits.org/education/guide/index.html

Page 13: How a Fossil is Made… Tools/Attachment… · Karen Wieda, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory This project was made possible with funds from the U.S. Department of Energy’s

Once Upon a Time

Wooly Mammoth Asian Elephant

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/frontiers_20020515.shtml

How are these two animals the same? How are they different?

Page 14: How a Fossil is Made… Tools/Attachment… · Karen Wieda, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory This project was made possible with funds from the U.S. Department of Energy’s

Once Upon a Time – A Look at the Horse

Horse A

Horse B

Page 15: How a Fossil is Made… Tools/Attachment… · Karen Wieda, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory This project was made possible with funds from the U.S. Department of Energy’s

Change Over Time – A Horse’s Foot

Note how the distance of the wrist bones from the ground changes. What else has changed?

wrist

Adapted from Florida Museum of Natural History. For more information visit their website at

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/natsci/vertpaleo/fhc/relatives1.htm

Page 16: How a Fossil is Made… Tools/Attachment… · Karen Wieda, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory This project was made possible with funds from the U.S. Department of Energy’s

How have the bones in horse feet changed over time? Why might this have happened?

Let’s Look More Closely

Adapted from Florida Museum of Natural History. For more information visit their website at http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/natsci/vertpaleo/fhc/relatives1.htm

Page 17: How a Fossil is Made… Tools/Attachment… · Karen Wieda, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory This project was made possible with funds from the U.S. Department of Energy’s

Fossils are formed under very special conditions.

They give us clues about what life was like long ago.

Fossils also give us clues about the environment from a long time ago.

They help us understand that plant and animal species change over time.

Wrap-Up

Page 18: How a Fossil is Made… Tools/Attachment… · Karen Wieda, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory This project was made possible with funds from the U.S. Department of Energy’s

CREDITS The Fossils Lessons were developed by

Erika Barrom and Susan Garrison, Sunnyside School District

Jennifer Johnston, North Franklin School District Vicki Mitchell and Georgia Boatman, Kennewick School District

Peggy Willcuts, Walla Walla School District Karen Wieda, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

This project was made possible with funds from the U.S. Department of

Energy’s Office of Science, Office of Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists.

The project also would not have been successful without the tremendous

effort put forth by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA scientists who gave their knowledge, spirit, passion and patience to this project.