Fossils

Q: What do you know about fossils?
A: I know that fossils help determine time. Some types of fossils are amber [crystallized tree sap], petrified wood, trace fossils, carbonized leaf fossils, molds and casts,and trilobites [fossilized poo]. These are the basics.

Below is fossilized bugs in amber:

Do you know the Geological Timeline?

Q: How are you coming along with the Geological Timeline?

A: Wellll..... So far I know:
              -Precambrian
              -Cambrian
              -Ordovician
And that's all I know.

What I plan on doing for memorizing the timeline is knowing a mnemonic device. "Please come over some day, maybe play poker. Two jacks cover two queens"
   -Precambrian  [Oldest]
   -Cambrian
   -Ordovician
   -Silurian
   -Devonian
   -Missippian
   -Pennsylvanian
   -Permian
   -Triassic
   -Jurassic
   -Cretocious
   -Tertiary
   -Quaternary   [Youngest]

Two days ago in class we made our own molds of fossils using sand, plaster and a shell. Today we get to dig out our shells.
Our mixtures included one with 25% plaster and 75% sand, another with 50% plaster and 50% sand and the third with 75% plaster and 25% sand. The easiest one to break the shell out of was the cup with 25% plaster and 75% sand but it was difficult to see the shell. The most difficult one to get the shell out of was the one with 75% plaster and 25% sand. The 50%/50% cup was the best sup even though it was difficult to get out [not as difficult as 75% plaster], it was clear the it was a shell.
Some strategies include putting the chuck of sand and plaster in a plastic bag and smashing it on the ground versus using scissors.

What Do You Think Geological Time Is?

When I think of time, I right away think about a clock on the wall and the minutes and seconds that pass by. But geological time is much much more than that. Yes, like a clock, geological time passes by, but what makes this different is that geological time starts from when Earth began. as soon as the Big Bang (the Big Bang is a theory) happened, the clock began and started counting the seconds, minutes, days and years that pass by. It is estimated that 4.5 BILLION years have past and that's just a guess based on the evidence that we have found. It could be even great but we are still unsure. The geological time was organized into a timeline and it explains the different eras very well.

Geologic Timeline [Videos]

Below are links to videos about the geological timeline. 
Ages of Rock
Geologic Timeline Music Video
Humans and Geologic Times
Geologic Time Scale by Jason Dee

After watching the videos, I think that the "Geological Timeline Music Video" would be a great one to show in class. The song is creative in the fact that it goes to the rhythm of the popular song "We Didn't Start the Fire" (which I do say is a great song). Because the rhythm is well know, learning the timeline is made easier.

If I Had $100

Q: How much money is spread out in the solar system?
A: If the solar system was to be put into money, I would distribute it like this:
 
     Sun: $50
     Planets: $25 total
     Moons: $10 total
     Satellites: $4 total
     Minor elements (stars, comets, asteroids, etc...): $11 total

Actual:
     Sun: $99.85
     Jupiter + moons: 10.6 cents
     Saturn: 3.2 cents
     Neptune: .006 cents
     Uranus: .005 cents
     Earth: .0003 cents
     Mercury: .00002 cents
     Venus: .0003 cents
     Mars: .00004 cents
     Minor Elements (TNOs, Asteroids, Comets, etc...): almost nothing

Well, as you can see I was way off!

Here is a link that shows you the scale of the solar system and let's you know why it's called space for a reason:
http://www.exploratorium.edu/ronh/solar_system/