Life Science
The study of living things is life science. Included in this study is the life cycle that living things go through. Even the study of what was once a living thing falls under life science. There are many things that scientists can learn from studying organisms or creatures that once lived. We can deduce the conditions of the earth many years ago, and determine how the earth's creatures and terrain have evolved through the years.
Fossils
A fossil is the preserved remains of creatures that once lived. Studying these remains fall under life science. Usually the hard parts of the creature are what become fossilized. It is rare for soft material to survive or remain preserved unless the fossilization process is perfect. Whatever does remain preserved as fossils survived thousands or millions of years of time without becoming destroyed. Some good examples are shell, coral, and dinosaur bones.
There are several different forms of fossilization processes that take place in nature. The first one is complete preservation. This means that the entire organism is preserved, both hard parts and soft parts. The best example for this is seen in the case of insects trapped in tree sap. The sap later on hardens and turns into amber, trapping the insect and preserving it for as long as the amber remains. Another example of this is freezing. Some animals from the ice age that were frozen in ice were well preserved, including the soft parts.
Carbonization is another form of fossilization. This happens when a living thing begins breaking down and the elements that composed it leave the object. Eventually only the carbon element remains. This carbon residue left in the outline of the creature in rock forms the carbonized fossil. Similar to carbonization, petrification is another way in which a fossil is formed. The main difference is that in petrification, as the organism breaks down, instead of the elements breaking down to its basic carbon form, they are replaced by a different mineral matter. In petrification, the object is turned into an almost stone like material.
Molds and casts are another way to fossilize a living thing. Sand, sediments, or clay fill the area around the object and harden around it. The object eventually decays or dissolves, but it leaves an imprint onto the surrounding material forming a mold. Sometimes, the sediments go inside the crevices or cavities and the sediments mold into the shape of the organism.
There are many other types of fossilization, some are sub‐types of the ones mentioned. Fossilization can be a complicated process and so its study involves great detail. In this easy science activity, your child will create their own fossil with one of the easiest or simplest methods of fossilization. Using the fossilization process of creating a mold or cast, you and your child can build a dinosaur and see how some of the giant creatures of the earth were fossilized.
Next Article: Build a Dinosaur Fossil
