Lab Write Up – Fossil Making Lab Name ______Ramshaw – Biology Hour ______Date ______Inquiry Lab

On notebook paper, copy ALL of the following sections as your lab write up. Answer the questions in the sections that have them listed.

OBJECTIVE: Students will model the process of how a fossil is formed. They will identify the cast and the mold. They will analyze the importance of the fossil record.

BACKGROUND: - In paragraph form, use these points to write your background. o What is a fossil o How is a fossil formed o Describe the different types of fossils (p. 393) o How scientists determine a fossil’s age (2 categories) o Where are they located . Type of rock layer . What environment must be present for them to form o How they provide evidence of evolution (several sentences)

NO HYPOTHESIS

MATERIALS: - Plaster of paris - Wooden stick - Modeling clay - Plastic bowl - Water - “Organism”

PROCEDURE: 1. Make a small soap dish shape out of the clay. 2. Press the “organism” into the clay. 3. Remove the organism. 4. Mix up the plaster of paris to the consistence of gravy. 5. Pour the plaster of paris into the mold. 6. Let the fossil sit until it dries. 7. CAREFULLY remove the modeling clay from the plaster of paris. 8. Observe the fossil formed from both the clay and plaster of paris.

RESULTS: - Draw a picture of what you see on the cast. - Describe your pictures in words.

CONCLUSION: - Write these questions and answer them. 1. What did you use for an organism? 2. Was your fossil a trace fossil? Why or why not? 3. What did we use for the mold? 4. What did we use for the cast? 5. Describe how each step we did in the lab simulates how real fossils are formed.