Core Sample

A core sample is a piece of rock, soil, or ice that is carved, or cut, from the ground using a piece of equipment that works a lot like an apple-corer. If you have ever scooped the core out of an apple you would get an idea of how a core sample is cut. The reason scientists cut core samples is to get a piece from the interior, or underlying, layers of rock/ice/soil and look at the parts they couldn't otherwise see. By studying core samples scientists can get clues about events that happened in the past at the time the rock/soil/ice was being formed.