What are Fossils

What are fossils?

Unit 5 Lesson 1

Traces of the Past

Fossils are the preserved
remains or traces of a
living thing.

Paleontologists are
scientists who study
fossils.

Watch the short video to
learn about fossil
formation.

Fossil Vocabulary

Watch the short video to learn
about these fossils:

●Amber

●Frozen in the ice

●Mold

●Cast

Another kind of fossil is called a trace fossil. This type of fossils is different
because it shows an activity or behavior of an animal. Examples are
footprints, a burrow, eggs, or a nest.

This type of fossil
shows an activity or
behavior of an animal.
Ex: footprint, tracks, trails,
burrows, etc

A model of an
organism, formed
when sediment fills a
mold and hardens

An impression that is
left when sediment
hardens around an
organism.

This fossil contains
parts of or whole
insects trapped &
preserved in tree
sap.

Unit 5 Lesson 1 Vocabulary

Fossil Features

Scientists study fossils to
see how animals and
plants from long ago
were the same and
different.

Use the next interactive slide to
learn more about trilobites.

https://www.dkfindout.com/us/dinosaurs-and-prehistoric-li
fe/prehistoric-invertebrates/trilobites/

Read the information about
trilobites by moving the red dot
down after clicking on the link.

What Fossils Tell Us

Paleontologists study fossils to learn what life on Earth was like long ago.
Fossils show that some types of plants and animals have changed a lot. Other
plants and animals have hardly changed at all.

The woolly mammoth (left 2 pictures) is related to the modern elephants. It lived during
the Ice Age, when the climate was very cold. Today’s elephants live mostly in warm
climates. The baby woolly mammoth was found frozen in the ice. Observe the body
shape and size of the woolly mammoth fossils. How are the fossils similar and different
from today’s elephants?

What Fossils Tell Us…..

Fish have changed a lot over time. The first fish had no jaws. Over time,
fish developed jaws and became larger. Some fish developed heavy
armor plates that covered their bodies. Fish today have jaws but no
armor.

What Fossils Tell Us…..

The ginkgo tree has been around for at least 420 million years. The
leaves of today’s ginkgoes look very similar to those that grew long ago.
Organisms that look as if they have not changed much over time are
sometimes called living fossils.

Model: Fossil Activity

●

Materials: Play-Doh and an object

●

Create an example of a MOLD fossil by pressing an object into
the Play-Doh. Observe the hollow space left by the object.

●

Here are some ideas:
○Pen cap

○Thumb print

○Pencil tip

○Leaf

○Other ideas?

●Think: How does a cast fossil form from a mold fossil?

●Think: What type of fossil is formed by the dinosaur feet?