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Weighing the Evidence for a Mass Extinction: In the Ocean

Image from the activity

Topic

  • Evolution
  • Paleobiology
  • Extinction
  • Scientific Skills & Literacy
  • Explanations & Argumentation

Resource Type

  • Activities
  • Card Activities

Level

High School — GeneralHigh School — AP/IBCollege
Saved By
16 Users
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Description

This activity supports concepts covered in the short film The Day the Mesozoic Died by replicating observations and measurements made by researchers of fossilized protists, called foraminifera (or forams), below and above the K-T boundary.

Students will use photomicrographs of foram research samples to note the differences in the fossils, mirroring those made by researchers documenting a mass extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous period about 66 million years ago.

This activity has three parts which complement Act 1 of the short film The Day the Mesozoic Died. Part 1 is a foram-sorting activity using the Foraminifera cards that students complete before watching the film. In Part 2, students analyze the data on forams found near the K-T boundary, and in Part 3, students compare data related to the size of the forams.

Student Learning Targets

  • Measure and compare irregularly shaped objects to identify patterns in rock layers above and below the K-T boundary that can be correlated to a dependent variable. 
  • Collect and categorize objects from multiple observations, converting scaled images and making direct size comparisons between specimens. 
  • Analyze information contained in graphs. 

Estimated Time

Three 50-minute class periods.

Key Terms

Cretaceous period, foraminifera, fossil, marine biology, oceanography, Paleogene period, sediment, Tertiary period

Primary Literature

Alvarez, Luis W., Walter Alvarez, Frank Asaro, and Helen V. Michel. “Extraterrestrial cause for the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction.” Science 208, 4448 (1980): 1095–1108. https//:doi.org/10.1126/science.208.4448.1095.

Huber, Brian T., Kenneth G. MacLeod, and Richard D. Norris. “Abrupt extinction and subsequent reworking of Cretaceous planktonic foraminifera across the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary: Evidence from the subtropical North Atlantic.” Geological Society of America. Special report 356 (2002): 277–289.

Terms of Use

Please see the Terms of Use for information on how this resource can be used.

Version History

Date Published 03.05.12
Date Updated 10.30.17

NGSS (2013)

HS-LS4-4, HS-LS4-5; SEP4

AP Biology (2019)

EVO-1.M, EVO-1.N, EVO-3.E, EVO-3.G, EVO-3.H, EVO-3.J, ENE-4.B, ENE-4.C, SYI-2.C, SYI-3.G; SP3, SP4, SP5, SP6

IB Biology (2016)

5.1

IB Environmental Systems and Societies (2017)

3.2

Common Core (2010)

ELA.RST.9–12.7
Math.N-Q.1, Math.A-CED.1; MP2

Vision and Change (2009)

CC5; DP2, DP4

Materials

Student Handout (PDF) 673 KB
Educator Materials (PDF) 302 KB
Foram Cards (PDF) 6 MB
Student Handout - Español (PDF) 768 KB
Educator Materials - Español (PDF) 371 KB
Foram Cards - Español (PDF) 6 MB

Additional Materials

  • foraminifera cards 
  • geologic time scale poster
  • ruler 
  • scissors 
  • colored pencils (optional) 
  • calculator (optional) 
     

Use This Resource With

Video Resource
The Day the Mesozoic Died

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