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Science Launch G3 / Week 09 / Friday
5/6
Week 09 · Fossil Clues

Friday

Fossil detectives
// Reading the past in rock
⏱ about 15 min

Friday: Fossil Detectives

Nova projects a cliff with three layers. Each layer holds different fossils.

"It is a mystery!" Rocket says. "What happened here?"

Raven studies each layer. "What do you notice from the bottom to the top?"

Nova blinks. "Start at the oldest layer," she says. "Tell the story upward."

A practice fossil mystery

This cliff is made up for practice. It is not a real place. Use what you learned to read it.

Practice cliff (made up)Fossils found
Top layerLeaf prints and a footprint of a land animal
Middle layerShells and footprints in muddy sand by a shore
Bottom layerSea shells and sponges
SOLVE THE MYSTERY
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
Which layer is the oldest?
What was the place like when the bottom layer formed?
What was the place like when the top layer formed?
TELL THE CLIFF STORY FROM OLDEST TO YOUNGEST
  • ?The sea got shallow, with a muddy shore.
  • ?Dry land with plants and land animals.
  • ?A sea covered the land.
WHY THIS EXERCISEReading layers from bottom to top tells the story in time order.
A park rule
If you find a fossil in a national park, leave it where it is.
Take a photo or make a drawing. Then tell a ranger.
A footprint fossil is a ____ fossil.
A bone fossil is a ____ fossil.
The oldest rock layer is at the ____.

Read from the bottom up

Paleontologists read rock like a book, but from the bottom up.

The bottom layer is the first page. It is the oldest part of the story.

Each layer above is a later page.

The top layer is the last page, the most recent part.

MORE CLIFF CLUES
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
In the practice cliff, which layer had shells and footprints by a shore?
Is the practice cliff a real place?
StatementTrue or false?
We read rock layers from the bottom up.?
If you find a fossil in a national park, take it home.?
A photo or drawing of a fossil can help a ranger.?
A land footprint suggests the place was dry land.?
WHY THIS EXERCISELeave park fossils in place and tell a ranger. Layers read bottom to top.
Who should you tell if you find a fossil in a national park?
WHY THIS EXERCISERangers protect park fossils so everyone can learn from them.
Try it
Stack three colors of paper or cloth on a table.
Put a small toy between two layers as a "fossil."
Tell a grown-up the story of your layers from the bottom up.

Mystery solved, detective! Tomorrow is Launch Lab, a hunt for traces around your home.

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