Earth’s Age + Evidence
WARM UP
• Write your homework – leave it to be
stamped!
• Get your homework out to be checked!
• Update your Table of Contents for today!
• Get something to grade your Vocab Quiz
with!
Date
Session
#
11/15
&
11/18
7
Activity
Page
#
Earth’s Age & Evidence Note guide
13
The Great Fossil Find Poster Instructions
14
Notes Tips for Today
• Anything in yellow you MUST write
on your note guide
• Pictures and diagrams are great
things to draw to help you
remember vocab and ideas!
• Underlined or bold words that are
underlined or bold in PowerPoint
BECAUSE THEY ARE IMPORTANT!
How old is the Earth?
Earth is around 4.6 BILLION
years old.
BIG QUESTION:
HOW DO WE KNOW
HOW OLD THE
EARTH IS?
BIG ANSWER:
Everything coming
up in the next few
lessons provides
an answer to the
BIG QUESTION!
Law of Superposition
• Law of Superposition–
• Under normal conditions, the
layers of sediment get older
the deeper you go
Examples of Law of Superposition
• Just like a layered cake…you put the
bottom layer down first,
so it is the “oldest” and
you fill in each layer on
top of it! What examples
can you come up with?
Draw your own picture
illustrate the concept!
We Have a Problem…
• There are several things can mess
up the Law of Superposition called
unconformities
Types of unconformities:
1 – intrusion
2 – overturning
3 - faults
Unconformity
• Unconformity• A break or an irregularity in
the geologic time sequence
due to a geologic event.
• “Missing Information”
1. Intrusion
• An intrusion is igneous rock that cuts
through layers of sedimentary rock.
• The intrusion is younger than any other
rock layer it cuts through.
intrusion
2. Overturning
• Overturning is when rock
layers are folded due to gravity,
erosion, or shifts in Earth’s
crust.
3. Faults
• Faults are cracks, fractures or
shifts in Earth’s crust
Fault
Law of Superposition Practice
Which type of
unconformity do
you see in the
diagram?
Can you put the
layers in order
from oldest to
youngest?
Law of Superposition Practice
Which types of
unconformity
do you see in
the diagram?
Can you put the
layers in
order from
youngest to
oldest?
What is This?
Fossils
• Fossil – traces or remains of living
things from long ago that help sort out
the sedimentary rock record
• Index Fossils – common fossils that are
used as a “reference” to date other
fossils
Types of Fossils
• BrainPOP Video
The Great Fossil Find
• Choose a partner to work with…I will give
you 1 minute to move all of your stuff so
that you are sitting with your partner and be
ready to listen!
• Work together to determine what type of
animal your fossil is! The activity guide
must be turned in by the end of class!
http://www.indiana.edu/~ensiweb/lessons/g
r.fs.fd.html
Homework
1. Bring a bag of
Skittles next class!
2. The Great Fossil
Find Poster due in 2
classes!
Warm-Up
• Write your homework – get it stamped!
• Update your Table of Contents for today!
• Make sure you have a cup of Skittles – you
may need to arrange for someone to share
with you!
Date
Session
#
11/19
&
11/20
8
Activity
Page
#
Determining Age Note Guide
15
Skittles Half-Life Simulation
16
“Other Ways of Determining Age” Reading
Comprehension & Activity
17
Review
• What were some things
we talked about last class
that help us determine
how old Earth really is?
The Butler walks to work
The Handyman rides a bike
The Cook rides a motorcycle
The Maid drives a car
The Nephew has a seeing-eye dog
R
(layer E)
R
3
9
5
2
4
1
6
7
8
Time for more specific evidence…
Relative Age
• Relative Age - the age of an event or
object in relation to other events or
objects
– Use
words like
older,
younger,
around
the same
time, etc…
Absolute Age
• Absolute Age - The actual age of an
event or object
– Use techniques to figure out actual age
• Radioactive dating, carbon dating
Lived:
1 million years ago
2 million years ago
3 million years ago
4 million years ago
Types of Dating
• Radioactive (Radiometric) Dating – If you
know how much radioactive material was
initially present in the sample and you
know the half-life of the material, you can
calculate the age of the sample.
• Carbon Dating – Using the amount of
carbon in fossil remains, and the half life
to determine the age - sample must have
been alive to use carbon dating!
What’s a “half-life?”
• Half-life – the length
of time it takes for
half of the atoms in
a sample of a
radioactive material
to change
• This break down
occurs at a constant
rate depending on
the substance
Carbon Dating
• BrainPOP Video – Carbon Dating
• Half-life Practice
Skittles Half-Life Simulation
• You will work where you are
seated, but you and your table
partner can work together.
• I want to see your work before you
leave, and I will be checking it off
for a grade…then you can tape it
into page 16!
Homework
• The Great Fossil Find
Poster – due next class!
• Finish the “Other Ways of
Determining Age” Reading,
Questions & Activity – due
in 2 classes!
Warm-Up
• Write a homework reminder – get it
stamped!
• Update your Table of Contents for today!
• Put your Great Fossil Find Poster in the
basket!
• Get your Skittles Lab out from last class!
Date
Session
#
11/21
&
11/22
9
Activity
Silent Stations Answer Sheet – FORMAL
GRADE
Page
#
18
Skittles Half-Life Simulation Review
#2 on the back
• What is Iodine-131?
# of Half-Lives
Time of Half-Life
Amount of Iodine-131
Remaining
0
0
40 mg
1
8 days
20 mg
2
16 days
10 mg
3
24 days
5 mg
4
32 days
2.5 mg
Skittles Half-Life Simulation Review
#3 on the back:
• Does it give the name of the radioactive
isotope in the question?
• What does it mean to be radioactive?
• What is an isotope?
• What is a half-life? What is the half-life of
this isotope?
• What is the significance of this half-life –
in other words, why should your mom not
be worried?
READY TO FIND OUT WHAT THE
GREAT FOSSIL FIND WAS?
• Scaphognathus crassirostris was a
pterosaur, similar to a pterodactyl, that
lived during the Late Jurassic Period.
Scaphognathus crassirostris
• What it may have looked like…
“SILENT STATIONS”
• You will rotate around the room quietly and
practice the concepts we have learned at each
station.
• I am the “Answer Key Station,” so once you
have completed everything you can come check
your answers!
• Be sure to tape the station guide into your
notebook on page 18 once you have checked
your answers and been checked off for a grade!
• Complete the homework for next class, or work
on an extra credit opportunity!!
HOMEWORK
• “Other Ways of Determining Age” –
Article, Questions & Map Activity due
next class!
• Extra Credit Opportunity – try to finish
it by after Thanksgiving break so you
don’t forget about it!
Warm-Up
• No homework over break!
• Update your Table of Contents today!
• Get your “Other Ways of Determining Age”
out to be checked!
• If you haven’t shown me your Silent
Stations you need to have those out as well!
Date Session
#
11/25
&
11/26
10
Activity
Ice Cores & Tree Rings – Notes and
Lab
Page
#
19
Just a Few More Pieces of Evidence…
We’ve already talked about:
• Law of Superposition
• Unconformities (Intrusion, Overturning,
Fault)
• Fossils/Index Fossils
• Absolute & Relative Age
• Carbon Dating & Radioactive Dating
We are missing:
• Ice Cores
• Tree Rings
Remember The Law of Uniformitarianism?
• The earth is a constantly changing place.
• Climate change is part of that and the
climate can gradually change over
hundreds, thousands or millions of years.
• Ice cores and tree rings are tools to help
scientists figure out how the climate has
changed in the past.
Ice Cores
• Ice Core - a tubular
sample of ice that
shows the layers
of snow and ice
that have built up
over thousands of
years literally
freezing the events
of the past
What types of things do you think get “trapped”
in these ice cores?
Ice Cores
•
•
•
•
•
temperature records
atmospheric composition data
dust, ash or sediment
plant spores
bubbles of gas (usually CO2)
Pros and Cons?
Ice Cores
• Extreme Ice National Ice Core Lab
http://natgeotv.com/ca/extremeice/videos/national-ice-core-lab
http://earththeoperatorsmanual.com/segmen
t/5
Tree Rings
• Another tool for studying climate change
over the life span of the tree
• The width of tree rings varies, depending
on how much the tree grows in various
years
• Thick ring = good year for growth
• Thin ring = poor growth, little rainfall
Pros and Cons?
Tree Ring Practice
B
D
A
C
Lord of the Tree Rings
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAOYkx
8E-Gc
Ice Core & Tree Ring Lab Roles
• Supply Manager – retrieves and returns
supplies
• Reader/Discussion leader – reads the
directions and the questions and
ensures there is a discussion
• Scribe – makes sure everyone knows
what to write, and is writing
• Speaker – shares information with the
class
Ice Core Lab
• Send your supply manager to get a
piece of paper towel from one of the
sinks.
• Your group will receive 1 ice core
sample - peel the paper off and follow
the directions!
• Be sure to answer all of the questions
and be ready to share in 5 minutes!
Tree Ring Lab
• Send your supply manager to your sink and
simply set your ice core in the sink to melt
– throw away the paper towel!
• Your group will receive several tree ring
samples – read and follow the directions!
• Be sure to answer all of the questions!
• After everyone has finished, have your
supply manager return ALL tree rings!
Chromebook Login
Students Log-In Directions:
Username: flast1234@cms.gaggle.net
(first initial of first name + full last name
+ last 4 of student ID)
Password: YYMMDD (birthday)
Go To: drive.google.com
Google Doc Directions
• Once you go to the Google Drive you
should already be logged in (your
username will be in the upper right
corner)
• On the left – click on “Shared With Me”
• You should see one document named
Ice Cores Vs. Tree Rings (and your
block)
• Click on it to open it
Google Doc Directions
• Back out of the “Shared Document”
• On the left hand side, click on “Create”
and then choose “Document”
• Type your response in your own
document and then copy and paste it into
the class document OR you can share
just with me by clicking on “Share” in the
upper right and type in my name…SHARE
WITH MY CMS.K12.NC.US EMAIL
ADDRESS!
Google Docs
Argumentative Writing Prompt
Analyze the information you have learned
today, and researched about ice cores
and tree rings to construct an
argumentative paragraph (10 sentences
minimum):
1) Opinion/Argument: Which of the two
tools is more useful and why – use 3
reasons to support your opinion?
2) Research: Defend your answer using
research from 1 cited resource!
Questions??
The Birth of the Earth
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQ93Ms
M8KFI
• A great recap as well as a lot we didn’t get
a chance to talk about!