Relative Dating - Telling Time Using Fossils

Grade Level: 7-9

Summary: In this activity, students will use fossil range charts to help them understand the concept of relative dating. An optional teacher-directed activity will help students learn about fossil range charts. Then they will graph a range chart for ammonites, a marine group of organisms that looked like nautilus's and went extinct at the same time as the dinosaurs. They will then use the range chart to determine the geologic age for several 'rocks' and will determine which rocks will be most useful for oil companies looking to drill for oil.

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Student Directions

Activity 1:
I Always Knew My Teacher Was a Dinosaur!

Students learn about fossil range charts and how they are used to determine the relative age of rocks.

Featured video clips in this activity:

Fossil Museum Eons ago, what is now Indiana was under the sea, which is why today thousands of fossils of ancient sea life can be found at the Falls of the Ohio.

Activity 2:
Oil Exploration and Fossil Ranges
Students create their own fossil range charts and use them to predict where oil might be found.

Featured video clips in this activity:

Iowa's Geology - Fossils, Sediments and Loess Iowa's geological history can be traced back through the layers in the earth.

Iowa's Diverse Fossils A variety of fossils from both ancient forests and marine origins can be found near Iowa's coal deposits.