How can the rock layers be disturbed?

Today, using the play-dough we made in class, you are going to model ways that the rock layers can be disturbed.

The Principle of Superpostion: Geologists assume that the layers of rock are formed in order, with the oldest rocks on the bottom, and younger  layers on top. 

Superposition is an important idea when looking at the rock evidence to try to figure out when major events such as meteor strikes, mass extinctions (lots of fossils in a particular layer), etc., happened.

Forces within the earth, due to the movement of the Earth's tectonic plates can cause the layers of rock to be disturbed.

Using the four different colors of your play-dough, make a four layer "sedimentary rock" and   model the following types of disturbances and draw them in your journal.

 For folding and tilting, use arrows to show how you had to push on your model to cause the disturbance.

Folding: 















Tilting: 

 

Fault

Intrusion