I.E.

Henry Clay

SCIENCE
Mr. Christian
 Contents
1 LESSON INTRO 4 EARTH’S CLIMATE
HISTORY

2 FOSSILS & EARTH’S

5 ACTIVITY #1
HISTORY

3 EARTH’S SURFACE
Lesson Intro
 Fossil Record (Key Term)
All the fossils that have been discovered
Fossil’s & Earth’s on Earth. It represents a part of the
history of life on Earth, showing
History information about past organisms and
the environments they lived in.

Fossils are like ancient clues that help scientists learn about Earth's past.
They show us where different creatures lived, like fish in water and palm
trees in warm places. Fossils also tell us how animals changed over time to
survive in different conditions. Scientists look at these clues to understand
how life on Earth has changed. Sedimentary rocks also have cool patterns
that show how they were made, like ripple marks from waves and mud
cracks from drying up. They can even tell us about Earth's changing shape,
like how the continents used to be one big land called Pangaea
 Take into account erosion
when thinking about Earth’s
surface. Mountains that
were once very tall and big
can become small and
Earth’s Surface rounded because of this
phenomenon. Also,
mountains can be formed by
It keeps changing because big pieces of land
the collision of tectonic
move around, making mountains and causing
earthquakes. Over time, these mountains can plates other (but this can
become smaller, and rocks can change shape. also cause earthquakes).
So, Earth's rocks and features help
scientists understand its long and ever-
changing history.
 One of the key pieces of
evidence for Pangaea was
the discovery of identical
fossils on continents that are
now far apart, like fossils of
the same ancient reptiles
found in Africa and South
America.
 Earth’s Climate
Materials that Tell Us About Earth's
Climate
Scientists use different materials to learn about
Earth's climate history. These materials include tree
rings, sea-floor sediments, and ice cores. Tree rings
tell us about past climate conditions by their
thickness, while sea-floor sediments hold microscopic
fossils that reveal climate changes. Ice cores from
places like Iceland show climate history through
layers and the composition of ice.
How They Work
Tree rings show thick rings for good growing
conditions with rain and favorable temperatures
and thin rings for poor conditions. Sea-floor
sediments have fossils and chemical clues
indicating cold or warm climates. Ice cores with
layers and gas concentrations provide a history
of Earth's climate, showing how much
precipitation fell and the atmosphere's
conditions.
 Activity
Bonus Question (+1 in this activity)
Imagine you could talk to a sedimentary What pr How do
ocesses sedimen
es the f
ormatio
rock or fossil, what would you ask it and
can cau tary roc n of
se rock clues ab k provid
what do you think it would tell you about
break ap to out the
environ
e
Earth’s past. (To get the point you must be
art into where i ment
t was c
what ca reated
as creative as possible). sedimen n the co and
t? sedimen
tary roc
mpositi
on of
k tell us
its sour about
ce?

Why wa
s Panga
importa ea
nt in th o r
history e s, s e a -f l o
of Earth tr e e r in g
h e lp
how did and How d o
d ic e c o r e s
a te
it affec n t s, a n h 's c lim
where c t sed im e t Ea r t
a b o u s do
ontinen ts le a r n
cif ic c lu e
ts are scient is
w h at s p e
t pa s t
now? y, a n d e a b o u
histo r p r o v id
te ria l s t io n s ?
es e m a l c o n d i
th m e n t a
enviro n
Thanks!