Chronostratigraphy
Chronostratigraphy is like playing a game of blocks but with real rocks that are millions of years old! Scientists use different layers of rocks (this is called stratigraphy) to figure out when different things happened in the past.
Let's say you're playing with Legos and you start stacking different colors on top of each other. The red Legos are at the bottom, then green, then blue, and so on. Each layer is like a different time period. Scientists do the same thing with rocks!
They use a timeline called the geologic time scale to divide the Earth's history into different periods like the Jurassic, Devonian, and so on. Each period might cover millions of years.
Scientists then examine the different layers of rock in a process called biostratigraphy. They look for fossils of plants and animals that only lived during certain time periods. For example, if they find a layer of rock with a lot of dinosaur fossils, they know that layer must be from the Jurassic period.
By looking at the different layers of rock and figuring out which period they come from, scientists can better understand the Earth's history and how it's changed over time. It's like a giant puzzle, and all the rocks and fossils help tell the story!
Let's say you're playing with Legos and you start stacking different colors on top of each other. The red Legos are at the bottom, then green, then blue, and so on. Each layer is like a different time period. Scientists do the same thing with rocks!
They use a timeline called the geologic time scale to divide the Earth's history into different periods like the Jurassic, Devonian, and so on. Each period might cover millions of years.
Scientists then examine the different layers of rock in a process called biostratigraphy. They look for fossils of plants and animals that only lived during certain time periods. For example, if they find a layer of rock with a lot of dinosaur fossils, they know that layer must be from the Jurassic period.
By looking at the different layers of rock and figuring out which period they come from, scientists can better understand the Earth's history and how it's changed over time. It's like a giant puzzle, and all the rocks and fossils help tell the story!
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