Lesson 2 Building a Time Line – We explored how geologists use correlation, evidence of Earth’s major events, and the fossil record to build a timeline of Earth’s history. They will create a scale model of the geologic timescale, and construct scientific explanations to enhance their understanding of how the geologic time scale is interpreted from rock strata and used to organize Earth’s history. We reviewed the fact that determining the absolute age of a rock is more accurate than the method of relative-age dating. We learned that all mass extinction events were caused by meteorites, asteroids, or comets impacting Earth. They occurred in small amounts of time, such as a few days or weeks.

Lesson 2 Building a Time Line – We learned that the geologic timescale interpreted from rock strata provides a way to organize Earth’s history. Analyses of rock strata and the fossil record provide only relative dates, not an absolute scale. Then we discovered that time, space, and energy phenomena can be observed at various scales using models to study systems that are too large or too small.

Lesson 2 Building a Time Line – We investigated how fossil records provide evidence of the existence, diversity, disappearance, and change of many life forms throughout the history of life on Earth. We explored the sequencing of events preserved in the geologic record. We used models to observe time phenomena and analyze and interpret rock strata in the fossil record to provide relative dates. Then we constructed scientific explanations based on evidence gathered and an understanding of the principles of relative-age dating.

Lesson 2 Building a Time Line – We analyzed fossil records to determine the relative ages of rocks and learn about Earth’s history. The fossils showed us clues about the kinds of organisms and climates that occurred on Earth. We learned to use the complexity of fossils to provide relative dates.

Lesson 1 Analyzing the Rock and Fossil Records – We learned how fossils are discovered anywhere on Earth. More than 3 million have been discovered in the middle of Los Angeles, California in the La Brea Tar Pits. We discovered how fossils are formed in ash, asphalt, or amber. We watched a video of the cloned dire Wolf.

Lesson 1 Analyzing the Rock and Fossil Records – We reviewed the principles of relative-age dating and designed a graphic to remember the details of each method. Then we completed an activity on uniformitarianism and geological processes.

Lesson 1 Analyzing the Rock and Fossil Records – We learned that fossils contained in rock layers can help geologists determine the ages of rocks and events of Earth’s history. We discovered that fossils found in the oldest layers of rock are of relatively simple organisms and fossils of more complex organisms appear in younger layers of rock.

Lesson 1 Analyzing the Rock and Fossil Records – We learned about the principle of uniformitarianism which states that geologic processes that occur today are similar to those from the past. Then we learned about relative-age dating which determines the age of rocks and geological features compared with other rocks and features nearby. Next, we answered several questions about several different types of rocks by applying the principles of relative-age dating. We named the principles of relative-age dating and then applied them to determine and label the oldest to newest layers of rock in several illustrations.

Lesson 1 Analyzing the Rock and Fossil Records – We learned that unconformity is a junction between two groups of rocks that are completely different in character and age. We discovered that an 18th-century Scottish geologist named Dr. James Hutton was the first to discover rock formations of this kind in Siccar Point, Scotland. We watched a video on how the Grand Canyon was formed and other interesting rock formations around the world.

Lesson 1 Analyzing the Rock and Fossil Records – We learned how rock strata and the fossil record are used to establish the relative ages of major events in Earth’s history and how the geologic time scale is used to organize that history.