Learning from the Fossil Record
Grade 8 Science
Name: Caroline Burns
Date: 3/30/11
Stories from the Fossil Record Web Quest
1.
Click on link http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/education/explorations/tours/stories/index.html
2.
Click on STUDENTS
3.
Click on PAST LIVES
4.
Go through this section of the web quest. As you go through the section or when you complete the section answer the following questions. a.
How can fossils tell us how long individual organisms live?
We can figure out how long an organism lived by counting the growth rings. b.
How can fossils tell us how individual organisms protected themselves?
If we look at animals today and see the way that they protect themselves, we can infer that if the fossils we found are in the shape of what animals do today to protect themselves. c.
How can fossils tell us about the behaviors of individual organisms?
Fossils can tell us about behaviors of individual organisms by seeing if there are a lot of the same fossils near them, and if an adult organisms fossils were found near that same organisms fossils of a baby. d.
How can fossils tell us how features of organisms evolved over time?
Features can tell us how they evolved overtime because of looking at the same type of fossils in animals and looking at their similarities and differences.
5.
Click on GEOLOGIC TIME
6.
Go through this section of the web quest. As you go through the section or when your complete the section answer the following questions. a.
How can we tell the age of rocks?
We can tell the age of rocks by there relative position, and if we find fossils inside the rock, we can date where the fossil was alive back then. b.
How can we tell the age of fossils?
We can tell the age of fossils by there relative position in rocks, and if they are in specific layers of rock.
c.
How can we learn about past geologic events?
We can learn about past geologic events by looking for similar fossils in areas, and if the fossils are spread out, then we can tell that they moved by a geologic event. d.
How do we know that the continents moved?
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Learning from the Fossil Record
Grade 8 Science
Name: Caroline Burns
Date: 3/30/11
We know that the continents moved because we found Glossopteris scattered in different continents. But they were relatively in a line, and if the continents were together, the
Glossopteris would form a thick line.
7.
Click on PALEOECOLOGY
8.
Go through this section of the web quest. As you go through the section or when your complete the section answer the following questions. a.
How can we tell what the climate was like in the past?
We can tell what the climate was like in the past by temperature, and by looking at the fossils of plants. If the plant has a round edge then it was in a warm temperature area but if it was rough then it is from a cool temperature area. b.
How can we tell that environments drastically changed in the past?
We can tell that environments drastically changed by looking at the fossils found in the environments today. Like if we found a fossil that is of an animal that lives in the water, but the fossil is found in the desert, we can tell that the desert used to be a body of water. c.
How can we tell how organisms interacted with each other in the past?
We can tell how they interacted with each other if they have bite marks on them, such as they were the prey, and if they have features that enable them to be moved. d.
What causes ecosystems to change over time?
The features in the ecosystem cause it to change. Just like the ice melting, or if a mountain forms. Tracking pollen and spore distribution through time can tell us how ecosystems have changed.
9.
Click on BIODIVERSITY
10.
Go through this section of the web quest. As you go through the section or when your complete the section answer the following questions. a.
How can we tell that life has changed over time? b.
How can we tell how organisms are related? c.
How can we tell that extinctions have occurred in the past? d.
What can we learn from past extinctions?
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Learning from the Fossil Record
Grade 8 Science
Name: Caroline Burns
Date: 3/30/11
11.
Our FOCUS QUESTION for this portion of the unit is: How can we learn about past environments and living things by studying fossils? Make a list of key concepts you learned from this web quest that will help you to revise your pre-assessment answer to this question.
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