ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Chemostratigraphy

Chemostratigraphy is a fancy word that means studying rocks by looking at the chemicals and elements in them. Think of rocks like really big puzzles made up of tiny pieces called minerals. You know how you can put pieces of a puzzle together to make a picture? Scientists use chemicals and elements to figure out how different rocks fit together over time.

Imagine you are playing with different colored blocks to make a tower. Each block is like a different type of rock. Chemostratigraphy helps scientists figure out which blocks fit together in what order. They do this by looking at the special chemicals and elements that are in each block.

Just like your toy blocks have different colors, rocks have different chemicals and elements inside them. Scientists can measure these chemicals and elements and compare them to other rocks to see if they are the same or different. This helps them figure out how old the rocks are, what they were formed from, and where they came from.

Chemostratigraphy is really cool because it’s like being a detective! By looking at the chemicals and elements in rocks, scientists can put together a big puzzle that tells us a story about the Earth’s past.