Worksheet

Rock Clues Beside the Park Amphitheater

Use a city park investigation to compare rock layers and fossils, explain landscape changes, and evaluate what the evidence supports.

Grade 4ScienceInteractive · Printable

Aligned to4-ESS1-1

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Single worksheet
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1 NGSS standard
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13 questions
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Details

Format: Interactive · Printable
Grade: Grade 4
Subject: Science
Question types: Fill in the blank, Multiple choice, Circle the answer, Sorting, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

Students use the order of undisturbed rock layers to compare when past environments existed.
Students combine fossil and rock-layer evidence to explain changes in a landscape.
Students distinguish supported landscape claims from claims that need more evidence.

How to use

Read the investigation and layer records together. Have students refer to specific layers when explaining their answers and discussing limits of the evidence.

Curriculum

NGSS standard covered

4-ESS1-1

Use patterns in rock layers and fossils to explain how a landscape changed over time.

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Rock Clues Beside the Park Amphitheater

Investigate how one part of a city park changed over time.

1. Investigate the Rock Face

Read the investigation and records. Use the evidence to answer each question.

An Investigation Beside the Seats

A fourth-grade class visited the outdoor amphitheater in Alder City Park. Grass and paved paths now surround its seats. Beside the amphitheater, two natural rock faces rise above the ground. The rocks were not brought in to build the park. A park geologist helped the class investigate what the rocks could reveal about earlier landscapes.

Step 1: Students stayed on the marked path and photographed the west rock face. They did not climb, chip rocks, or collect fossils. The geologist checked that its four layers had not been overturned or mixed. In this undisturbed stack, lower layers formed before the layers above them. The class labeled the layers A through D, starting at the bottom.

Step 2: Students examined enlarged photographs. They recorded each layer's rock description and fossil groups separately. The geologist identified the fossils using their shapes and other features. Keeping the records separate would let students connect each fossil observation with its place in the stack. The class did not measure the ages of the rocks in years.

Step 3: The class used a habitat reference card. The identified coral and clam groups lived in salt water. The identified snail and water-lily groups lived in freshwater ponds. Tree stumps with roots still attached in their growing positions showed that trees had grown at that location. A loose fossil carried from somewhere else would give less certain evidence about that spot.

Step 4: Students repeated their photo observations at the east rock face, across the amphitheater lawn. They kept the same recording method and compared rock descriptions, fossil groups, and layer order. The upper part of the east face was hidden by soil and grass. The class recorded what was visible without guessing what lay behind the covering.

West rock-face record — top to bottom
D — Tan siltstone; fossil tree stumps with roots attached in their growing positions.
C — Brown mudstone; fossils of the identified freshwater snails and water lilies.
B — Dark shale; fossils of the identified saltwater clam group.
A — Light gray limestone; fossils of the identified saltwater coral group, attached where they grew.

Which order shows the west layers from oldest to youngest?

A. D → C → B → A
B. A → C → B → D
C. A → B → C → D
D. B → A → D → C

How many west layers contain fossils of groups identified as saltwater animals? layers

Which landscape history best fits the west layers, from earlier to later?

A. Salt water → freshwater pond → land with trees
B. Land with trees → freshwater pond → salt water
C. Freshwater pond → salt water → land with trees
D. Salt water → land with trees → freshwater pond

Why was it important to record the layer containing each fossil instead of making one combined fossil list?

A. A combined list would make the fossils look older.
B. Layer labels would reveal each fossil's age in years.
C. Separate lists would show how tall each animal grew.
D. Layer positions help put past environments in order.

2. Compare and Check the Evidence

Use both rock-face records. Separate supported conclusions from guesses.

East rock-face record — top to bottom
Upper section — Hidden by soil and grass; no rock observations recorded.
Top visible layer — Brown mudstone with the identified freshwater snail and water-lily fossils.
Middle visible layer — Dark shale with the identified saltwater clam fossils.
Bottom visible layer — Light gray limestone with the identified saltwater coral fossils attached where they grew.

Sort each statement by whether the class records support it.

West layer B formed after west layer A.West layers C and D record the same kind of habitat.Both rock faces include evidence of a freshwater pond.West layer A formed 10 million years ago.

Supported by the records	Not supported by the records

The class claims that salt water was present during the formation of two different west layers. Select the two observations that support this claim.

Layer A has the identified saltwater coral fossils.Layer C has the identified freshwater snail fossils.Layer D has fossil tree stumps rooted in place.Layer B has the identified saltwater clam fossils.

A visitor finds a loose fossil beside the path and says, “This proves the pond came after the trees.” What information is most important to check first?

A. Whether the fossil is larger than the tree-root fossils
B. Which undisturbed layer the fossil originally came from
C. Whether the fossil was found closer to the park seats
D. Which student took the clearest picture of the fossil

Which west layer is the best match for the top visible east layer, using both rock type and fossil groups?

A. Layer A: limestone with coral fossils
B. Layer B: shale with clam fossils
C. Layer D: siltstone with rooted stumps
D. Layer C: mudstone with snails and water lilies

Explain how the west record supports the claim that a freshwater pond was followed by land where trees grew. Name both layers, their fossil evidence, and their positions.

3. Decide What the Records Can Tell Us

Apply the evidence. Be careful not to claim more than the investigation shows.

10.

A student says, “These two rock faces show that the whole city was once covered by salt water.” Which response best evaluates this claim?

A. The records support salt water at these spots; more locations need study.
B. The two nearby records show that salt water reached the city's full area.
C. The grass around the seats shows that salt water did not reach these spots.
D. The different rock colors show that salt water covered the city recently.

11.

Suppose another undisturbed layer is found between west layers C and D. It also contains the identified freshwater snail and water-lily fossils. What would this add to the landscape history?

A. Evidence of salt water between the pond and the trees
B. Evidence that trees grew before the first pond layer
C. Evidence of another pond layer before the tree layer
D. Evidence that the coral layer formed after the trees

12.

The class wants to find out whether a layer like west D also occurs near the east face. Select the two safest, most useful next steps.

Count the modern trees along the amphitheater lawn.Examine a geologist's clear photograph of rock above the east pond layer.With the geologist, view a nearby exposed section from an approved path and record its upper layers.Use the color of the grass covering the east face to identify the hidden fossils.

13.

A student says, “Trees did not grow at the east location because we did not see rooted stumps there.” Explain why the class should not accept that conclusion yet. Use the east record.