Earth & Space Science
You get to learn about the study of fossils and how to interpret fossil evidence, and then study Darwin’s theory of natural selection.
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After completing this tutorial, you will be able to complete the following:
What are fossils?
~ Fossils are the remains or traces of organisms that lived millions of years ago.
Where are fossils formed?
~ The formation of fossils takes place in areas such as seas, lakes, and oceans. Fossils form because of a natural cycle that involves animals that are deposited on the Earth's surface, and the layers of sediments that are continually covering the Earth.
How are fossils formed?
~ A fossil is formed over a very long period of time. When an organism dies, it naturally becomes covered in sediment. Eventually, over millions of years, new levels of sediment and deceased organisms form and harden into sedimentary rock. As this process unfolds, the remains of organisms found in the layers of sediment become fossils.
How is the age of a certain layer of sedimentary rock related to fossils found within that layer?
~ A certain layer of sedimentary rock and any fossils found within it are approximately the same age, because the sediment that formed the rock and the organic remains that formed the fossils would have come together at about the same time.
| Approximate Time | 2 Minutes |
| Pre-requisite Concepts | Students should be familiar with aging fossils, fossil rocks, and fossils. |
| Course | Earth & Space Science |
| Type of Tutorial | Animation |
| Key Vocabulary | aging fossils, fossil rocks, fossils |
