Determining the age of the earth:  A Rising Tide Project for Grades 9 and 10

Purpose
To demonstrate the concept of stratigraphy and how coastal sedimentary environments are influenced by sea-level change.

Activity Synopsis
Students will examine a "core" taken from a cup containing different layers of gelatin and compare their findings to determine the true sequence of events which occurred to create the different layers.

Time Frame
Preparation time:  Five days

Lab time:  One period

Keywords
relative dating, stratigraphy, law of superposition, law of original horizontality, uniformitarianism, cross-cutting relationships, unconformities, lateral continuity, sea level transgression and regression