WHO’S WHO AMONG FOSSILS?
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of living thing and as you’ve discovered, fossils can
provide many clues to Earth’s past environments. The fossils of Calvert Cliffs formed like most
other fossils. When an organism dies, its soft parts decay or are eaten by animals. Therefore,
mostly the hard parts of organisms leave fossil remains. This is why most of the fossils found at
the cliffs are usually the remains of the organisms’ hard parts such as shells, teeth, bones, seeds,
and woody stems. Sometimes, other processes may cause a fossil to form and the soft parts of
the organism remains. In this investigation, you will describe several processes that produce
fossils.
Objective
When you have completed this activity, you should be able to
1. identify different types of fossils in order to describe the processes of fossil formation.
Activity 1
There are many different types of fossils and fossils can be found in almost
every environment on Earth. Each fossil provides evidence about Earth’s
past. Let’s take a look at some of these different types of fossils.
1.
Observe the different fossils provided by your teacher.
2.
Make a sketch of each of the different fossils in Chart 1, “Fossil Observations.”
3.
Predict the environmental conditions that may have been present during the time the fossil
formed. Record your predictions in Chart 1.
Activity 2
Each type of fossil that you observed in Activity 1 is different from one
another. Knowing the fossil’s type provides information about the
processes that were involved in forming the fossil. This information is
useful to scientists because the processes needed to form each fossil tells a
story about the conditions of Earth when the fossils formed. Your job now
is to identify the different types of fossils and describe the processes
needed to form them.
4.
Use resources provided by your teacher to gather information about how different fossils
form.
5.
Complete the graphic organizer, “Types of Fossils” as you gather information about each
fossil type and its formation. Be sure to include the following for each type of fossil:
 Description of the processes that form the fossils
 Examples of each type of fossil
Pg. 1
TYPES OF FOSSILS
Molds and Casts
Description of Process
Examples:
Examples:
Examples:
Description of Process
Carbon Films
Preserved Remains
Description of Process
HOW ARE
FOSSILS
FORMED?
Description of Process
Amber
Petrified Fossils
Description of Process
Description of Process
Examples:
Examples:
Examples:
Trace Fossils
Pg. 2
6.
Observe the fossils provided by your teacher again.
7.
Identify each type of fossil and record the name of each fossil type in Chart 1.
8.
Review the predictions you made about the environmental conditions that were present at
the time each fossil formed.
9.
Modify your predictions as need by completing the appropriate column of Chart 1.
Analysis
1.
Molds and casts are abundant fossils at Calvert Cliffs. Explain why these types of
fossils are more common in Calvert Cliffs than other types of fossils. Use evidence
from the investigation and prior knowledge to support your response.
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Fossil Fact:
Refer back to the fossils you made in “The Search Begins.”
1. Identify and describe the type of fossil formation that you modeled in
the investigation.
2. Determine if the processes you used to make the fossils were similar
to the processes that made the fossils of Calvert Cliffs. Provide
examples to support your response.
Pg. 3
Chart 1:
Fossil Observations
Fossil
Number
Sketch
Predicted Environmental
Conditions Present During
Fossil Formation
1
2
3
4
Pg. 4
Type of Fossil
Actual Environmental
Conditions Present During
Fossil Formation
Pg. 5