Grade 4 · Science · Unit 9 of 9
Fossils, Mining & Earth Processes
How fossils form and how people use the Earth
What your child practises
How fossils form and what they tell us, everyday uses of rocks and minerals, mining in Ontario (nickel at Sudbury, salt near Windsor and Goderich), recycling, and how earthquakes, volcanoes and mining affect people and the environment. First Nations, Métis and Inuit geological knowledge is not covered here.
Ontario Curriculum expectation: E1.1, E1.2, E2.4, E2.5 · everyday uses of rocks and minerals, fossils, and how geological processes and mining affect people and the environment
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
Why can a fossil not form if a dead animal is eaten and broken apart quickly?
🦴- wind makes fossils
- fossils never form from animals
- the sun makes fossils
- it needs to be buried quickly to be preserved
Show answer
it needs to be buried quickly to be preserved
Hint: Quick burial protects remains.
Question 2
Does it come from a rock or mineral? Tap an item, then tap its basket.
Sort into: 🪨 comes from rocks and minerals · 🌿 comes from living things
- 👕a cotton shirt
- 📚a paper book
- 🔌copper wire
- 🧂table salt
- 🛣️gravel on a road
- 🧶a wool sweater
Show answer
🪨 comes from rocks and minerals: copper wire, table salt, gravel on a road · 🌿 comes from living things: a cotton shirt, a paper book, a wool sweater
Hint: Salt, pencil lead (graphite), copper wire, gravel and concrete come from rocks and minerals. Wool, wood and cotton come from living things.
Question 3
A volcano erupts near a town. What can happen to people?
🌋- homes can be damaged and ash can fall
- the sky turns to ice
- nothing at all
- it rains candy
Show answer
homes can be damaged and ash can fall
Hint: Geological processes can affect society.
Question 4
Where are fossils most often found?
🪨- on the Moon
- in sedimentary rock
- in melted rock
- in lava
Show answer
in sedimentary rock
Hint: Sediment can bury and keep remains.
Question 5
Which everyday object is made using a mineral?
✏️- a paper book
- a wool sweater
- a pencil with graphite
- a wooden chair
Show answer
a pencil with graphite
Hint: Pencil lead is graphite, a soft mineral.
Question 6
Sudbury, Ontario is known for mining which metal?
⛏️- aluminum
- ice
- silver
- nickel
Show answer
nickel
Hint: Nickel comes from rocks and minerals in the ground.