In this activity, students date fossils from one site by matching them to fossils already dated somewhere else. They use real data1 from Mangahouanga, made famous by paleontologist2 Joan Wiffen.
By the end of this activity, students should be able to:
- understand how the age of fossils in one rock can be obtained using dates from fossils in a different place
- understand that most fossils can only be dated to a time range, not a precise date
- realise that microscopic fossils can be as important as big ones
- read information from scientific charts and share their results with others.
Download the Word file (see link below) for:
- introduction/background notes
- what you need
- what to do
- student worksheets.
Related content
The article Date a dinosaur and the video clip Cretaceous creatures look at the fossils at Mangahouanga and how they have been dated.
Activity idea
Fossil3 correlation4 is one method of absolute dating. This interactive explains four methods of absolute dating5.
- data: The unprocessed information we analyse to gain knowledge.
- paleontologist: Someone who studies fossils of plants and animals.
- fossil: The remains or imprint of an organism preserved in some manner. Typically fossils are found in sedimentary rock as a result of mineral replacement or imprinting in once soft silt or sand layers. Normally, rock fossils only include the hard parts of an organism such as the skeleton or shell. Fossils can also include the original remains (including soft tissue) preserved in amber, pitch or ice, or preserved in ‘fossil layers’ in special sheltered cave environments.
- correlation: (Noun) A relationship between two things, for example, doing exercise and your heart rate increasing.
(Verb) To find a relationship between two things. For example, in geology, correlation involves trying to match rocks or fossils of the same age between different locations. - absolute dating: Finding the actual dates of geological or archaeological objects. Normally expressed as calendar years ago.
