Question
Task: You have received nine rock samples from a paleontologist in
California. Your job is to arrange the samples in order from oldest to
soungest according to their fossil content and to determine their
relative ages using the process of relative dating. Results from absolute
dating methods will not be available from a laboratory for several
weeks, and the paleontologist needs the information immediately You
know from previous work that the rocks of Sample 2 are the oldest.
Fossil Key
Globus
slimius
Circus
bozoensis
Fungus
amongius
Bogus
biggus
Microbius
hairiensis
Bananabar
bobana
Procedure: Part 1
1. Arrange the fossil cards from oldest to youngest. Begin with Sample
2 because you know this sample is the oldest. You may need to try
several different arrangements to get the cards in order. HUNT: After
an organism becomes extinct, it does not reappear in younger rocks.
2. Record the samples in order from bottom to top (oldest to youngest) in
the first column of Table 1. Sample 2 is done for you.
3. Write the fossil names in order by age from left to right in the top row of Table 1. HUNT: Examine your
fossil cards carefully to determine where each fossil appears in the rock record. Write an X in the
appropriate column to indicate which fossil or fossils are present in each sample. Your X's should be lines
Data/Observations. Table 1.
Sample #
Order
Globus
slimius
Youngest-
Answer
Arrange the fossil cards from oldest to youngest, beginning with Sample 2. Record the samples in order from bottom to top in the first column of Table 1. Write the fossil names in order by age from left to right in the top row of Table 1 and write an X in the appropriate column to indicate which fossil or fossils are present in each sample.