Science Experiment: Making Mountains
Making Mountains
What is Geology? The study of the Earth
What part of Earth do people live on? The crust.
What are the layers of the Earth? What are they made of? Solid or liquid? Inner core is solid. Outer core is liquid. Mantle is like silly putty. We have learned what the layers are by monitoring earthquakes. They produce an S-Wave that can not travel through liquids. It leaves a shadow behind when we try to hear the wave from the other side of the world.
What are some things we know about the earth’s crust since we live here? Has it always looked the same? Why are there mountains in some places but not in others?
In sedimentary rock, there are layers of sediment and often fossils form in this sedimentary rock from the burying of animals or plants. Are the older layers on the top or the bottom? Bottom (Dirty laundry Example) This is the law of superposition which helps scientists date fossils because the deeper we dig, the further back in time we see.
Cave of the Mounds is a limestone/ solution cave. That limestone is a sedimentary rock in an area that is the highest point in Southern Wisconsin. Our rock has tons of fossils. As a person walks through the cave, they pass almost 28 fossils that we have found SO FAR. There is so much more to find.
As you make these mountains, think about the layering of the rock in relationship to what you see every day. Are there layers in the rock you walk past? Are there any fossils in that rock? If there are fossils, how old are they?
You will need: Dough of different colors, Shells
- Roll the first dough into a flat pancake. Sprinkle with shells(fossils).
- Repeat this for another layer. (dough/shell/dough/shell/dough/dough/dough)
- Push the sides together to make an arch.
- This happens when rocks are squeezed together.
- Adult will use a butter knife to slice off the top at an angle to reveal the layers.
