Sample Lesson 1

Fossils

A fossil is any remains or trace of an animal or plant. Such remains can be a shell, bone, or footprint. These remains are preserved in rock by gradually being changed into rock. Bodies of organisms (life forms) can become a fossil in two ways.

The first is when an animal dies and the soft part of the animal deteriorates. Sediment fills in the soft part, and permeates the pores of the bone of the animal, thereby, fossilizing the animal. The fossil is then a mixture of sediment and animal.

The second way is when the soft and hard part of the animal deteriorate and sediment fills in both places creating a fossil that is entirely made of sediment.

It is extremely rare that any soft parts of a body are preserved, and only in exceptional circumstances does an organism get preserved in its entirety. Some examples of this are woolly mammoths preserved in ice in Siberia, and insects caught in amber (a sap like substance).

Experiment: Making a Fossil

Materials: modeling clay, paper cup, plastic spoon, paper plate, petroleum jelly, plaster of paris, water, seashell (you may