Vocabulary
What is a scientist who studies Earth's rocks and processes called?
What is a geologist?
What is a fossil?
A clue about life from the past preserved in rock.
What is the first step in fossil formation?
The organism dies.
True or False: The environment of a place always stays the same.
False.
What is something you notice using your senses?
What is an observation?
In what type of rock are most fossils found?
Sedimentary rock.
What covers the dead organism during fossil formation?
Sediment.
Name one natural process that can change Earth's surface over time.
Wind, water, weathering, or erosion.
What is it called when you figure something out using observations and what you already know?
What is it called when you figure something out using observations and what you already know?
About how long does it take fossils to form?
Thousands to millions of years.
What happens to the sediment after it covers the organism? (MUST use learned vocabulary)
It compacts and cements into rock.
What is a rock layer?
A thick sheet of rock formed from the same material.
What are small pieces of rock such as sand or silt called?
What is sediment?
Why are fossils important to scientists?
They help scientists learn about organisms and environments from long ago.
What happens to the organism after the sediment turns into rock?
It turns into a fossil.
Why might fossils of sea animals be found in an area that is now dry land?
The environment changed over a long period of time.
What is something scientists make to help answer questions about the real world?
What is a model?
Why are fossils usually found in sedimentary rock rather than other types of rock?
Sedimentary rock forms gently from sediment, making it more likely that fossils will be preserved.
Put these in order: sediment turns to rock, organism dies, fossil forms, organism is covered by sediment.
Organism dies → Organism is covered by sediment → Sediment turns into rock → Fossil forms.
What can fossils and rock layers tell scientists about the past?
They provide clues about what Earth and living things were like in the past.