Fossils:
Fossils are preserved remains or traces of living things. They are normally found in
sedimentary
rocks. Hard parts are the only parts of an organism that leaves a fossil. Eg - Bones,
Shell,
Teeth, Seeds and Woody stems.
Types of Fossils:
1) Petrified fossils: Are fossils in which minerals replace all or part of an organism.
Water rich in dissolved minerals seeps into all spaces of an organism. Over time, the
minerals come out of the solution and harden filling in all the spaces. This causes the
organism to be preserved.
2) Body fossils: They are also called preserved remains. Some process preserve the
remains of organisms with little or no charge. Processes that preserve the remains of
organisms with little or no change. Eg - Tar, Amber and Ice.
3) Trace fossils: Trace fossils provide evidence of the activities of ancient organisms.
A
fossilized footprint is a trace fossil. From trace fossils, scientists can learn about a
prehistoric organism size, diet, environment and behavior.
4) Molds: A hollow area in sediment in the shape of an organism is mold. A mold
forms
when the hard part of the organism is buried in sediment. When water comes on and
dissolves away the organism, the hollow area left that is in the shape of the original
organism is the mold.
5) Casts: A cast is a solid copy of the shape of a fossil or organism. It is the opposite
of
mold. Both mold and cast preserve details of the organism's structure. Water carries
away dissolved minerals and sediments may seep into the mold.
6) Carbon films: Carbon films are extremely thin coating of carbon on rocks. When
sediment buries an organism, some of the materials that make up the organism
evaporate or become gases. These gases escape the sediment leaving carbon behind.
Eventually, only a thin layer of carbon is left behind. This helps in preserving the
organism.
Uses of fossils:
1) Fossils offer evidence of previous life on earth - geological time scale.
2) Fossils helps us find out the progressive changes within an animal or plant group.
3) Age of geological strata
4) Information about climate and environment.
Varves:
This method tells the actual age of rocks. It was developed by swedish geologist
Gerard De
Geer (1858 - 1943). He studied the building up of sediments in lakes that received
water from
melting glaciers.
During summer - The water from glaciers causes sand and silt downstreams and
rivers into
lakes. It forms a light colored band in the sediment.
During winter - The amount of water entering the lakes slows down and carries only
smaller clay
particles. These form a darker band above the lighter band of sand and silt.
The set of these two layers are called varves. (Meaning layer in swedish)
Carbon dating:
Radiocarbon dating is a scientific method to accurately determine the age of organic
materials.
It is used in dating things such as bone, cloth, wood and plant fibres, etc. Carbon -14
dating
works by comparing the ratio of C-12 to C-14 in a sample.
Radioactive materials:
Many rocks contain a radioactive substance A. As substance A decay, it produces a
non-radioactive substance B. Every million years half of the substance A decays into
B.
Scientist compare the amount of substance A with the amount of Substance B to find
the age of
rock. If the rock has equal amounts of A and B(50% each), the rock is million years
old.
Fossil formation in seas and oceans:
This can happen in 2 ways: Replacement method and petrification method.
1) Replacement method: In this method, cells and tissues of the dead organisms are
washed away by water that passes through them. A cavity is formed. The minerals
present in the water deposits in the cavity and forms a solid. This solid rock will be
shaped like the body of an organism.
2) Petrification method: In this method, the water that contains the dissolved minerals
will
seep through the tissue of the dead bodies and the minerals comes out of the solutions
and strengthens the tissue of the rock.
Fossils and rocks:
After many studies and examining the fossils thoroughly, scientists found that some
fossils were
found only in the single layer or only a few layers. But other fossils were found in
may layers.
Some fossils were found only in few places around the world but other’s were found
in many
places.
Some fossils were easy to recognize and some had to be very thoroughly examined.
Using these characteristics, scientists concluded that the fossils formed only in one
layer means
like organism had lived only for one particular time period.
The fossils that were found in many parts of the world and that were easy to
recognize helped
the scientists to indicate the age of layer of rock. These fossils are known as
indicators or index
fossils.
Fossil Record:
It is the history of life as documented by fossils which are the remains of organisms
that lived
once upon a time. With the help of these records, we will be able to understand the
condition on
earth and the kind of organism that lived at that period.