Making Sedimentary Rock - rubytuesdaybooks.com · Making Sedimentary Rock Sedimentary rocks are...
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www.rubytuesdaybooks.com/scienceKS2 © Making Sedimentary Rock Sedimentary rocks are made from tiny pieces of rock called sediment. Sediment is carried by rainwater into rivers, lakes and seas. Layers of sediment build up over time along with bits of dead animals and plants. Over thousands or millions of years, the pressure from the weight of the sediment causes it to join together and form rock. This is why sedimentary rocks often have stripes or bands of different colours or textures running through them. These stripes are the layers of different sediments that made up the rock. Sometimes the layers include fossilised plants and the bones, teeth or shells of animals. 1 These coiled shapes are the fossils of extinct ocean animals called ammonites. Dolomite Shale Can you see any lines of sediment or fossils in these sedimentary rocks? For more information on fossils and how they formed, go to page 18 in Science Essentials: Let’s Investigate Rocks. Banded ironstone
Transcript of Making Sedimentary Rock - rubytuesdaybooks.com · Making Sedimentary Rock Sedimentary rocks are...
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Making Sedimentary RockSedimentary rocks are made from tiny pieces of rock called sediment. Sediment is carried by rainwater into rivers, lakes and seas. Layers of sediment build up over time along with bits of dead animals and plants.
Over thousands or millions of years, the pressure from the weight of the sediment causes it to join together and form rock. This is why sedimentary rocks often have stripes or bands of different colours or textures running through them. These stripes are the layers of different sediments that made up the rock. Sometimes the layers include fossilised plants and the bones, teeth or shells of animals.
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These coiled shapes are the fossils
of extinct ocean animals called
ammonites.
Dolomite Shale
Can you see any lines of sediment or fossils in these sedimentary rocks?
For more information on fossils and how they formed, go to page 18 in Science Essentials: Let’s Investigate Rocks.
Banded ironstone
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Method:1. Spoon some sand into the jar, pressing it down firmly.2. Next, spoon some small stones or pebbles into the jar, on top of the sand. 3. Then, add a third layer of sediment using your other material.4. Add a toy dinosaur to this layer (so it can be seen through the glass). 5. Continue to add your sediment materials in layers, firmly pressing each one down.
Continue to add a dinosaur or two within your layers.6. When your jar is full, screw the lid on tightly and observe your sedimentary
rock in a jar.
Have a go at making your own model of sedimentary rock to better understand how the layers form and why fossils appear in this type of rock.
Make a Sedimentary Rock Jar
Equipment:• An empty glass jar with a lid• A spoon• 3 types of sediment: sand, gravel, small stones• Plastic toy dinosaurs
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Observations
ConclusionHow are the layers of sediment you used similar to the layers that form at the bottom of a riverbed or lake and become sedimentary rock? How about the dinosaurs?
What else can you learn from your sedimentary rock in a jar?
What questions do you have about sedimentary rocks and fossils? How could you investigate this further?
