Earth to Class

INTERMEDIATE LEVEL SCIENCE: EARTH HISTORY

Core Concept

Suggested Activity

21.f. Fossils are usually found in sedimentary rocks. Fossils can be used to study past climates and environments.

Study representative fossils and identify by phylum and/or class.

2.2d. Continents fitting together like puzzle parts and fossil correlations provided initial evidence that continents were once together.

Construct a jigsaw model of the plates.

From "Living Environment":

3.2b Extinction of a species occurs when the environment changes and the adaptive characteristics of a species are insufficient to permit its survival. Extinction of species is common. Fossils are evidence that a great variety of species existed in the past.

Study examples of extinct organisms, such as dinosaurs and trilobites.

3.2c Many thousands of layers of sedimentary rock provide evidence for the long history of Earth and for the long history of changing lifeforms whose remains are found in the rocks. Recently deposited rock layers are more likely to contain fossils resembling extinct species.

Study examples of stratigraphy and fossil patterns.

7.1b. The environment may be altered through the activities of organisms. Alterations are sometimes abrupt. Some species may replace others over time, resulting in long-term gradual changes (ecological succession.)

Study models of evolutionary relationships.