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By Thor Hansen and Irwin Slesnick Illustrations by D.W. Miller Copyright © 2006 NSTA. All rights reserved. For more information, go to www.nsta.org/permissions. By Thor Hansen and Irwin Slesnick Illustrations by D.W. Miller Arlington, Virginia Copyright © 2006 NSTA. All rights reserved. For more information, go to www.nsta.org/permissions. Claire Reinburg, Director Judy Cusick, Senior Editor Andrew Cocke, Associate Editor Betty Smith, Associate Editor Robin Allan, Book Acquisitions Coordinator PRINTING AND PRODUCTION Catherine Lorrain, Director Nguyet Tran, Assistant Production Manager Jack Parker, Electronic Prepress Technician Will Thomas, Jr., Art Director NATIONAL SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION Gerald F. Wheeler, Executive Director David Beacom, Publisher Copyright © 2006 by the National Science Teachers Association, 1840 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22201. www.nsta.org All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. 09 08 07 06 4 3 2 1 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Hansen, Thor A. Adventures in paleontology : 36 classroom fossil activities / by Thor Hansen and Irwin Slesnick ; illustrations by D.W. Miller. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN-13: 978-0-87355-272-1 1. Paleontology--Study and teaching (Middle school)--Activity programs. I. Slesnick, Irwin L. II. Title. QE715.H36 2006 560.71’2--dc22 2006003510 NSTA is committed to publishing material that promotes the best in inquiry-based science education. However, conditions of actual use may vary, and the safety procedures and practices described in this book are intended to serve only as a guide. Additional precautionary measures may be required. NSTA and the authors do not warrant or represent that the procedures and practices in this book meet any safety code or standard of federal, state, or local regulations. NSTA and the authors disclaim any liability for personal injury or damage to property arising out of or relating to the use of this book, including any of the recommendations, instructions, or materials contained therein. Permission is granted in advance for photocopying brief excerpts for one-time use in a classroom or workshop. Permissions requests for electronic reproduction, coursepacks, textbooks, and other commercial uses should be directed to Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Dr., Danvers, MA 01923; fax 978-646-8600; www.copyright.com. Featuring sciLINKS ®—connecting text and the internet. Up-to-the-minute online content, classroom ideas, and other materials are just a click away. Figures 2.12, 2.16, 2.17, 2.28, 2.41, and 7.3 adapted from Dinosaurs, by D. Norman, J. Sibbick, D. Blagden, and D. Nicholls. Random House, 1996. Figure 6.9 adapted from a photo in Dinosaurs, An Illustrated History, by E. H. Colbert, Hammond World, 1983. ppaleontologyaleontology ffrontront mmatter.inddatter.indd iivv 33/9/2006/9/2006 11:39:23:39:23 PPMM TABLE OF CONTENTS Copyright © 2006 NSTA. All rights reserved. For more information, go to www.nsta.org/permissions. Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. vii Chapter 1: How Do Fossils Form? Introduction .....................................................................................................................................................1 Activity 1, Making a mold and cast ................................................................................................................2 Activity 2, Making a mold and cast of your teeth ...........................................................................................3 Act ivity 3, Simulating permineralization .......................................................................................................4 Activity 4, Molecule-for-molecule replacement of fossils ..............................................................................5 Activity 5, Fossils in strata ...............................................................................................................................6 Activity 6, Inventing ways to make fossils of grapes and bananas ..................................................................8 Activity 7, Fossils in amber .............................................................................................................................9 Chapter 2: What Can You Learn From Fossils? Introduction: Scientific Inquiry ....................................................................................................................13 Activity 1, Inferring the characteristics of people from their hands .............................................................17 Activity 2, Reconstructing Scaphognathus crassirostris ...................................................................................20 Activity 3, Restoring Scaphognathus crassirostris ............................................................................................23 Activity 4, Tracking dinosaurs .......................................................................................................................24 Activity 5, Weighing dinosaurs ....................................................................................................................31 Activity 6, Learning the bones ......................................................................................................................33 Activity 7, Hatching and death on Egg Island ..............................................................................................36 Activity 8, Predation .....................................................................................................................................40 Activity 9, What was the purpose of the plates on the back of Stegosaurus? ................................................42 Chapter 3: Mass Extinction and Meteor Collisions With Earth Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................49 Activity 1, Searching for micrometeorites ....................................................................................................53 Activity 2, Calculating the energy of incoming rocks from space ................................................................54 Activity 3, Modeling impact craters ..............................................................................................................55 Activity 4, What happens to Earth when the energy of an asteroid or comet is released in the rock and atmosphere of Earth? ...............................................................................57 Chapter 4: How Are Fossils Collected and Prepared? Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................59 Activity 1, Preparing a fossil fish ...................................................................................................................60 ADVENTURES IN PALEONTOLOGY v TABLE OF CONTENTS Copyright © 2006 NSTA. All rights reserved. For more information, go to www.nsta.org/permissions. Activity 2, Making fossil replicas ..................................................................................................................63 Activity 3, Microfossils ..................................................................................................................................65 Chapter 5: How Can You Tell the Age of Earth? Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................69 Activity 1, The duration of time since Earth was formed .............................................................................70 Chapter 6: How Did Dinosaurs Evolve? Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................73 Activity 1, Archaeopteryx, Compsognathus, and Gallus domesticus ................................................................74 Activity 2, Homology ....................................................................................................................................77 Activity 3, The method of cladistics .............................................................................................................81 Activity 4, Rates of evolution of Ceratopsia and contemporary reptiles ......................................................86 Chapter 7: Diversity, Classification, and Taxonomy Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................89 Activity 1, The ages of the reptiles, the archosaurs (dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and crocodiles), and the theraspida (mammals) .........................................................................90 Activity 2, How big was Ultrasaurus macIntosh? ............................................................................................94 Activity 3, The worldwide distribution of dinosaurs .....................................................................................96 Activity 4, Measuring diversity .....................................................................................................................99 Chapter 8: Fossils in Society Introduction ...............................................................................................................................................
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