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Introduction
Today's world emphasizes making immediate records of what is happening around us, but today's news is always a part of tomorrow's history. It is important to know how we got there, especially if we're looking at our current situation in terms of future implications. All of Earth's present-day life forms have evolved from common ancestors reaching back about three billion years to the simplest one-celled organisms. This process is complex and encompasses yesterday, today and tomorrow. To understand this process we have to have details recorded somewhere. We will study the earth's history through rock and fossil records which are important to us today as they will be in the future.
Tasks
The name of the corporation is GeoTec Laboratory and your team of 3 members discovered fourteen different fossils from six widely spaced outcrops in the Grand Canyon.
Your team must complete the following:
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Identify the fossils
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Reconstruct the complete sequence of events and draw the layers
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Determine the age and period/epoch of the layers for which you have enough evidence
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Discuss how you would determine the absolute age of the fourteen fossils.
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As a team, construct an electronic journal of the groups consensus
Process
GeoTec Laboratory is a small company consisting of a geologist, anthropologist and a chemist.
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Choose a role. Decide who will be the expert in the following areas:
Anthropologist
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Identify the fossils
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Date the fossils
Geologist
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You are interested in the principles
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Explain the significance of index fossils in correlating widely separated rock layers
Chemist
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List the radioisotopes that you can use to assist in determining the age of the fossils. Explain your answers.
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Determine the absolute age of the rocks.
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Each expert must print the fourteen fossil and the six outcrop locations.
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Use the resource links to gather information base on your area of expertise and answer the questions on the data sheet.
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Create an e-portfolio to show the result of your findings. (Use the rubric as a guide for compiling your portfolio).
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The group will do a ten minutes media presentation of their findings.
Resources
The experts will go to the following basic websites:
Geologic Time Scale
Relative and Absolute Age
Anthropologist Resources:
Name the fossil
Date the fossil
Geologist Resources:
Fundamental Principles
What came first?
Chemist Resources:
Radioisotope dating
Evaluation
At the conclusion of this WebQuest, students will be evaluated on how well they have completed the Tasks. A rubric will be used to evaluate the information of each member of the GeoTec Laboratory Team. This is an individual group member grade. A media presentation rubric will be used to evaluate the ten minutes media presentation. A group grade will be given based on these rubrics. Teacher will use this as an assessment tool. Students will use the group grade to evaluate their assignment.
Conclusion
 Though this activity, the students should be able to explain how a study of fossil record shows that life-forms have evolved through geologic time.
Investigating and inferring should allow the students to develop scientific process skills.
Studying rocks should lead to a better understanding of Earths history.
How would you determine that Chronoperates paradoxus lived 60 million years ago?
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